Megacraspedus albovenata Junnilainen, 2010

Huemer, Peter & Karsholt, Ole, 2018, Revision of the genus Megacraspedus Zeller, 1839, a challenging taxonomic tightrope of species delimitation (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae), ZooKeys 800, pp. 1-278 : 101-103

Megacraspedus albovenata Junnilainen, 2010

Megacraspedus albovenata Junnilainen, 2010, in Junnilainen & Nupponen, 2010: 1, figs 22, 28.

Examined material.

Paratypes. Russia. 3 ♂, S Ural, Cheliabinsk district, Arkaim reserve near Amurskii village, 16.vi.1996, leg. K. Nupponen, J.-P. Kaitila, J. Junnilainen & amp; M. Ahola (RCKN, ZMUC); 1 ♂, same data, but 17.vi.1996 (ZMUC); 1 ♂, same data, but 18.vi.1996 (ZMUC); 1 ♂, same data, but 19.vi.1996 (RCKN); 3 ♂, same data, but, Troizkii reserve near Berlin village, 30.vi.1997, leg. K. Nupponen & J. Junnilainen, genitalia in vial (RCKN, ZMUC); 1 ♂, same data, but 2.vii.1997 (RCKN). Non-type material. Czech Republic. 5 ♂, 1 ♀, Moravia, Znojmo distr., Ječmeništĕ, 250 m, 11.vi.2011, leg. J. Šumpich, genitalia slides GEL 1210 ♂ Huemer, GU 17/1474 ♀ Huemer (NMPC, TLMF, ZMUC). Russia. 1 ♂, S Ural, Cheliabinsk distr., Ustinovo village, 25.vi.2016, leg. H. Roweck & N. Savenkov; 1 ♂, S Ural, Cheliabinsk distr., Kizilskoye village, 1.vii.2017, leg. H. Roweck & N. Savenkov; 9 ♂, S Ural, Cheliabinsk distr., Uvelsk reg., Mihiri village, Zhemeryak river, 1-2.vii.2016, leg. H. Roweck & N. Savenkov; 14 ♂, S Ural, Cheliabinsk distr., Oktyabrskoya, Kocherdyk reserve, 3-4.vii.2016, leg. H. Roweck & N. Savenkov (all ECKU).

Redescription.

Adult. Male (Figure 81). Wingspan 15-18 mm. Labial palpus long, about one-third length of antenna, porrect, white with medial part of inner and outer surface dark brown; segment 3 reduced. Antennal scape with pecten consisting of a few hairs; flagellum greyish brown, indistinctly ringed with white. Head, thorax, and tegula white. Forewing light yellow mottled with brown and black scales especially in costal and apical part; veins pure white; fringes light grey. Hindwing white with white fringes.

Female (Figure 82). Wingspan 15 mm. Similar to male apart from slightly more slender and pointed wings.

Variation. The examined specimens show only slight variation, and specimens from central Europe are similar to those from the southern Urals.

Male genitalia (Figure 213). Uncus moderately slender, sub-rectangular, approximately 1.5 times longer than wide, distally rounded; gnathos hook massive, slightly longer than uncus, distally curved with pointed apex; anterior margin of tegumen with broad and moderately shallow excavation, medially with additional small emargination, longitudinal sclerotised ridge from anterior edge to posterior third; pedunculi small, rounded; valva moderately slender, exceeding base of uncus, apex weakly rounded, setose; saccular area covered with setae, without separated sacculus; posterior margin of vinculum with shallow medial emargination, without lateral humps, suboval vincular sclerite with strongly sclerotised posterior edge; saccus sub-triangular, basally broad, distally tapered to pointed apex, ratio maximum width to length about 1, posterior margin with weakly sinusoid mediolateral projections, separated by shallow emargination, medial part smooth, without sclerotised ridge, lateral sclerites long and slender, slightly shorter than maximum width of saccus; phallus straight, with bulbous coecum, distal two-thirds slender, rod-like, with weakly curved lateral sclerotisation, few minute subapical thorns.

Female genitalia (Figure 283). Papilla analis strongly sclerotised, large, apically constricted, rounded; apophysis posterior slender rod-like, moderately short, approximately 1.5 mm long, basal fifth weakly curved and widened anteriad; segment VIII approximately 0.6 mm long, about same width, large sclerotised dorso- and ventrolateral zone, medially largely membranous; subgenital plate with band-like subostial sclerotisation, with broadly sinusoid projection anteriorly, posteriorly extended into moderately long, basally widened, distally pointed sub-medial sclerites, delimiting oblong ostium bursae, anterior margin with rod-like edge connected with apophysis anterior; apophysis anterior moderately stout, rod-like, about length of segment VIII, posteriorly becoming band-like venula of segment VIII, distinctly widening to large sclerotised zone, extending to posterior margin; colliculum short, sclerotised; ductus bursae gradually widening to weakly delimited, slender corpus bursae, entire length of ductus and corpus bursae approximately 2.7 mm; signum moderately large, transverse, sub-triangular spiny plate.

Diagnosis.

Megacraspedus albovenata is characterised by its light yellow, brownish dusted forewings with clear white veins, giving it a striped look. It is similar to M. longipalpella (Figs 83-84) and M. kazakhstanicus sp. n. (Figure 93) and furthermore to M. ribbeella (p 103) and M. tabelli sp. n. (p 100). The male genitalia are characterised by the shape of the uncus in combination with the sub-triangular saccus. M. albovenata is very similar to M. numidellus (Figs 210-212) in these and several other characters but differs from the latter by the more stout valva. It furthermore largely resembles M. longipalpella (Figure 214) only differing in subtle characters such as the apex of the valva. The female genitalia are very similar to M. longipalpella (Figure 284) and mainly differ in subtle characters such as the longer apophysis posterior and anterior, the sinusoid anteriomedial projection of the segment VIII and the smaller colliculum.

Molecular data.

BIN BOLD:ACE2688 (n = 3). The intraspecific divergence of the barcode region is moderate with mean 0.9% and maximum divergence of 1.4%. The distance to the nearest neighbour M. kazakhstanicus is 5.1% (p-dist).

Distribution.

Czech Republic, Russia (S Ural).

Biology.

Host plant and early stages are unknown. The type series was collected in June. The adults fly at night and come to artificial light. The habitat is grassy steppe ( Junnilainen and Nupponen 2010).

Remarks.

Megacraspedus albovenata was described from numerous males collected in the southern Ural Mountains, Russia ( Junnilainen and Nupponen 2010).