Stenolechia Meyrick, 1894

Lee, Sangmi & Brown, Richard L., 2008, Revision of Holarctic Teleiodini (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), Zootaxa 1818, pp. 1-55 : 29-30

Stenolechia Meyrick

Stenolechia Meyrick, 1894: 230 .

Type species: Phalaena (Tinea) gemmella Linnaeus, 1758 , by subsequent designation ( Meyrick 1925). Poecilia Heinemann, 1870: 281 . Homonym of Poecilia Bloch and Schneider, 1801 (Pisces) . Type species: Phalaena (Tinea) gemmella Linnaeus, 1758 , by subsequent designation ( Meyrick 1925). Gibbosa Omelko, 1988: 152 .

Type species: Gibbosa celeris Omelko, 1988 , by original designation.

Description. Imago. Labial palpus with third segment shorter than second. Clypeus with ventral margin rounded. Antenna simple, about 4/5 as long as forewing. Ocellus absent. Posterior area of sitophore with four campaniform sensilla in symmetrical trapezoid, posterior pair closer together than anterior pair; anterior area with four or six campaniform sensilla. Forewing (length/width ratio 4.0) with small tufts of raised scales; R5 and M1 stalked, M2 fused with M3, CuA1 present, CuA2 absent ( Fig. 11 ); median fascia directed from apex of costa toward posterior margin. Hindwing (length/width ratio 4.1) with R5 and M1 nearly parallel, M2 and M3 separated, M3 and CuA1 parallel, male hindwing with hair pencil at base of anal area in some species and on costa at one-third length in other species. Male with pair of hair pencil between abdominal segment III and IV or absent in some Asian species; tergum VIII rounded, reduced, or absent; sternum VIII simple in structure but greatly enlarged, slightly emarginate posteriorly. Female abdominal segment VIII heavily sclerotized.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 35 ): uncus broad, somewhat flattened, hood shaped, apical margin rounded or bluntly produced, bearing setae laterally, subequal in length with gnathos; ventral part of gnathos horn shaped, heavily sclerotized, without basal articulation, dorsal part absent; tegumen flat, longer than length of valva, basal width/length ratio 0.5; vinculum forming an acute angle with tegumen in lateral view; valva divided into costal and saccular parts; saccus always present, variable in size and shape; phallic fulcrum well developed; cornuti absent.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 43 ): apophyses anteriores about 1.5 x length of abdominal segment VIII; antrum membranous; ostium bursae surrounded by sclerotized area in intersegmental area between sterna VII and VIII; ductus bursae membranous except near ostium bursae; corpus bursae fusiform to spherical; one or two signa present and variable in shape and size, usually consisting of two strong lobes, without rhomboid base and serrate margins.

Larva. Body slender and cylindrical, 5– 7 x 1–1.1 mm, dull gray; head, anal shield, and pinnacula chestnut-brown; prothoracic shield pale, margined with green spots; pinnacula and anal shield large; head 0.6–0.63 mm in width, with low frontoclypeus and enlarged hemispheres of crown, antenna short, mandible with long teeth; meso- and metathorax with D1 and D2 on common pinnaculum, SD1 and SD2 on common pinaculum ( Patoèka 1977).

Pupa. Maxillary palpi separated from genae; frons with a tubercle; frontoclypeal suture concave anteriorly; prothoracic legs separated from oculi ( Patoèka and Turcáni 2005).

Diagnosis. Stenolechia resembles the Nearctic genus Arogalea and the European genera Stenolechiodes and Parastenolechia in wing color and pattern. Stenolechia differ from these genera by having veins M2 and M3 fused in forewing. Stenolechia species have shorter forewing lengths (6.5–8.5 mm) than does the single species of Arogalea (8.5–9.4 mm).

Hosts. Fagaceae : Quercus spp. ( S. gemmella ). ( Bland 2002; Emmet 1988; Kanazawa 1984; Meess 1923; Schütze 1931).

Diversity and distribution. The seven species of Stenolechia occur throughout Europe, except northern areas, and Asia, with highest diversity in the latter region. One species, S. bathrodyas Meyrick , has been introduced into North America (California) ( Elsner 1995 [1996]; Huemer and Karsholt 1999; Kanazawa 1984; Okada 1961; Park 1994).

Figures

FIGURES 7 – 18. Wing venation. 7 – 14, Forewing. 7, Sinoe robiniella. ps = pterostigma. 8, Carpatolechia sp. 1. 9, Arogalea cristifasciella. 10, Agnippe sp. 1. 11, Stenolechia gemmella. 12, Parastenolechia nigrinotella. 13, Parachronistis albiceps. 14, Arcutelphusa talladega, sp. nov., 15 – 18, Hindwing. 15, Agnippe sp. 1. 16, Sinoe robiniella. 17, Arogalea cristifasciella. 18, Arcutelphusa talladega, sp. nov.

FIGURES 34 – 39. Male genitalia, cucullus (c), phallus (p), ventral part of gnathos (vg), saccus (s), and uncus (u). 34, Parachronistis albiceps (modified from Huemer and Karsholt, 1999). 35, Stenolechia bathrodyas (modified from Huemer and Karsholt, 1999). 36, Istrianis myricariella. 37, Schistophila laurocistella. 38, Coleotechnites florae. 39, Parachronistis albiceps (modified from Huemer and Karsholt, 1999).

FIGURES 40 – 43. Female genitalia. 40, Agnippe crinella. 41, Pseudotelphusa betulella. 42, Teleiopsis diffinis. 43, Stenolechia gemmella.