Smerkata zolotuhini ( Saldaitis & Ivinskis, 2015 )

Saldaitis, Aidas & Volynkin, Anton V., 2018, Description of the female of Smerkata zolotuhini (Lepidoptera: Endromidae), Zootaxa 4429 (3), pp. 581-584 : 581-584

Smerkata zolotuhini ( Saldaitis & Ivinskis, 2015) ( Figs 1–3, 6 )

Mustilia (Smerkata) zolotuhini Saldaitis & Ivinskis, in Saldaitis, Ivinskis & Rimsaite, 2015 , Zootaxa 3915 (3): 439, figs. 1, 2, 11, 12.

(Type locality: “ China, West Sichuan, road Bamei / Danba, Taizangou valley , h– 3700 m, N 30°28.693’’, E 101°38.863”).

Material examined: in addition to the 13 male specimens in the type series (see Saldaitis et al. 2015), we examined the following specimens: 2 ♀ ( Figs. 1, 2 ), China, W Sichuan, near Kangding, road to Mugecuo lake , H- 3500 m, N30°15’51’’, E102°48’50’’, 13.IX.2007, Saldaitis leg, gen. slide AV4317 ♀ (Colls AFM, WIGJ) .

Diagnosis of female. Like in other species of the genus Smerkata , in S. zolotuhini a sexual dimorphism is well developed: female ( Figs 1, 2 ) is slightly larger than male ( Fig. 3 ), with filiform antennae, has more robust body, more elongated forewing apex, and much darker, chocolate brown forewing coloration. At the moment, the genus Smerkata includes eight species ( Zolotuhin 2007; Saldaitis et al. 2015), but females of only two of them, Smerkata fusca ( Kishida, 1993) ( Fig. 4 ) and Smerkata craptalis ( Zolotuhin, 2007) ( Fig. 5 ) are known. Female of S. zolotuhini can be easily distinguished from females of the both species by its monotonous chocolate brown body and wing coloration; in addition, the female of S. zolotuhini differs from that of S. craptalis by the slightly larger size, and the more elongated forewing apex; from S. fusca it differs by the less falcate forewing apex. The female genitalia of S. zolotuhini ( Fig. 6 ) are very similar to those of S. fusca ( Fig. 7 ), and differ in the weaker sclerotized antrum, shorter twisted posterior section of corpus bursae, and larger sack-like anterior section of corpus bursae. The female genitalia of S. craptalis are unknown.

Length of wingspan of males 37–40 mm (holotype 39 mm), forewing of males 16–19 (holotype 19 mm).

Description of female. Adult ( Figs. 1, 2 ) Length of wingspan 56 mm, forewing 25. Antennae broadly filiform, whitish proximally, and brown distally. Body covered with chocolate brown hair-like scales. Forewing broad, with elongated apex and falcate costa at apex. Forewing ground color chocolate brown, basal and costal area slightly lighter. Discal spot small, semilunar, blackish brown. Subterminal line diffuse, as blackish brown suffusion. Cilia chocolate brown. Hindwing pale brownish anteriorly and chocolate brown posteriorly; discal spot small, dot-like, bark brown; cilia dark brown on outer margin and blackish on anal margin. Female genitalia ( Fig. 6 ) Ovipositor elongated, conical. Papillae anales broad, rounded, covered with short, but robust setae; apophyses posteriores very long and thin; apophyses anteriores 4 times shorter than apophyses posteriores, thin. Ostium bursae narrow, antrum short, weakly sclerotized, with rounded medial posterior projection. Ductus bursae medium-broad, membranous; posterior section of corpus bursae narrow, twisted, weakly sclerotized; anterior section of corpus bursae sack-like, membranous.

Distribution and bionomics. Two females were collected in middle of September at altitude ranging 3500 meters in Kangding area near Zheduo Pass of China's Sichuan province on the east edge of the Tibetan plateau in the shrubby transition between the mountain primary mixed forest and the alpine grassland zones ( Figs 8, 9 ).

Figures

FIGURES 1–7. Smerkata spp., adults (1–5) and female genitalia (6–7), 1. S. zolotuhini, ♀, China, W Sichuan (Coll. AFM); 2. S. zolotuhini, ♀, China, W Sichuan (Coll. WIGJ); 3. S. zolotuhini, holotype ♂, China, W Sichuan (Coll. ASV /WIGJ); 4. S. craptalis, paratype ♀, China, Yunnan (ZFMK); 5. S. fusca, ♀, Taiwan (MWM/ZSM); 6. S. zolotuhini, China, W Sichuan, slide AV4317♀ Volynkin; 7. S. fusca, Taiwan (after Wang et al. 2015).

FIGURES 8, 9. China, W Sichuan, near Kangding, road to Mugecuo lake, H-3500 m, N30°15’51’’, E102°48’50’’ locality of S. zolotuhini (photo by A. Saldaitis).