Phtheochroa carpatiana Kovacs , Kovacs , Zlatkov & Huemer, 2020

Kovacs, Zoltan, Kovacs, Sandor, Zlatkov, Boyan & Huemer, Peter, 2020, Phtheochroa carpatiana sp. nov. (Lepidoptera, Tortricidae), the Carpathian representative of the Phtheochroa frigidana species-group, Nota Lepidopterologica 43, pp. 265-279 : 265

publication ID	https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/nl.43.52581
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:B377EFE7-6761-411F-901E-80BF1A4BBC4B
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/8DE83A9B-E8ED-4BAF-A985-6170F0F99BB3
taxon LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:act:8DE83A9B-E8ED-4BAF-A985-6170F0F99BB3
treatment provided by	Nota Lepidopterologica by Pensoft
scientific name	Phtheochroa carpatiana Kovacs , Kovacs , Zlatkov & Huemer
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Phtheochroa carpatiana Kovacs, Kovacs, Zlatkov & Huemer sp. nov. Figs 1 View Figure 1 , 2 View Figure 2 , 3 View Figure 3 , 4 View Figure 4 , 5 View Figure 5 , 6 View Figure 6 , 12 View Figure 12

Type material.

Holotype. Romania; • ♂; Carpaţii Meridionali, Munţii Făgăraş, Căldarea Bâlea; [45°36 ’12” N, 24°37 ’18” E]; 2100-2200 m; 17 Jul. 2019; S. & Z. Kovács legit & coll. (Miercurea Ciuc) (Fig. 1 View Figure 1 ).

Paratypes. 78 ♂♂, 7 ♀♀, all collected by S. & Z. Kovács and if not otherwise mentioned are deposited in the collection of S. & Z. Kovács (Figs 2 View Figure 2 - 3 View Figure 3 ).

Romania; • ♀; Carpaţii Meridionali, M[un] ţii Făgăraş, Bâlea; 2100 m; 9 Aug. 1992; genit. prep. no. 468/♀/ Kovács (1998); • 3 ♂♂; Carpaţii Meridionali, Munţii Făgăraş, Vârful Lăiţel; 2300 m; 21 Jul. 2015; • 40 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀; Carpaţii Meridionali, Munţii Făgăraş, Căldarea Bâlea; 2100-2200 m; 14 Jul. 2016; genit. prep. no. 1909/♂/ and 1910/♀/ Kovács (2017), genit. prep. no. 1/3.2.2020/♂ and 3/20.1.2020/♀/ Zlatkov; [Barcode identification number] TLMF Lep 27414, TLMF Lep 27444; 1 ♂, 1 ♀ coll. TLMF, 1 ♀ coll. NMNHS; • 24 ♂♂; same data as for preceding; 17 Jul. 2019; genit. prep. no. 2262/♂/ Kovács (2019), genit. prep. no. 1/20.1.2020/♂, 2/3.2.2020/♂ and 3/3.2.2020/♂/ Zlatkov; 1 ♂ coll. NMNHS; • 3 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀; same data as for preceding; 18 Jul. 2019; • ♂; Carpaţii Meridionali, Munţii Făgăraş, Iezerul Caprei; 2350 m; 17 Jul. 2019; • 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀; Carpaţii Meridionali, Munţii Bucegi, V[ âr]f[ul]. Caraiman; 2380 m; 27 Jun. 2003; genit. prep. no. 1486/♂/ Kovács (2017); • 2 ♂♂; same data as for preceding; 9 Jul. 2013; genit. prep. no. 1/4.2.2020/♂/ Zlatkov; [Barcode identification number] TLMF Lep 27445; 1 ♂ coll. NMNHS, 1 ♂ coll. TLMF; • ♂; same data as for preceding; 2300 m; 22 Jul. 2006; • 2 ♂♂; Carpaţii Meridionali, Munţii Parâng, Mohorul; 2100-2200 m; 13 Jul. 2016; genit. prep. no. 2/20.1.2020/♂/ Zlatkov; 1 ♂ coll. NMNHS.

Diagnosis.

Phtheochroa carpatiana male is characterized by the yellowish grey colour of the forewing with indistinct reddish brown markings and the female by its yellow coloured forewing with distinct markings. The male genitalia are also distinct: the apex of the ventral phallic process is curved to the right at about 45 degrees in ventral view and slightly sinuous in both ventral and lateral view, and the diverticula of the vesica are in dorso- and ventrolateral positions. The female genitalia are characterized by the short ductus bursae, wide ventral diverticulum of the ductus bursae, and ellipsoidal corpus bursae.

Description.

Male (Figs 1 View Figure 1 , 2 View Figure 2 ). Head. Frons and vertex covered with yellow scales, reddish brown around eye and scapus. Labial palpus about 2.5 times length of diameter of eye; first segment short; second segment long and wider; third segment slightly shorter than the second, all with long grey scales densely covered with pale yellow scales on the medial surface and reddish brown scales on the lateral surface. Antennae filiform, reaching 1/2 of the forewing’s length, dark brown, scapus and first two flagellar segments covered with reddish brown scales, the rest of the flagellum covered with yellow scales on the dorsal surface.

Thorax. Dorsally covered with yellow scales, similar to tegulae and the head, the lateral edge of tegulae reddish brown. Forewing length of holotype 10 mm and that of the paratypes between 7.5 and 10.5 mm. Forewing long and trapezoidal, narrower at base and wider terminally, termen slightly concave, apex pointed; ground colour yellowish grey; faint reddish brown markings consisting of: a small diffuse spot at base of wing extending along the subcostal vein to 1/5 of the forewing’s length; a dorsal patch extending from dorsum to mid-cell; a narrow, apically curved subterminal fascia extending to M1 vein; fringe light yellow with grey basal line. Hindwing dark grey, with a faint reddish brown longitudinal line along the median cell and M2 vein; fringe light yellow with a broad grey basal line. Underside of thorax dark grey, the similarly coloured forewing pale yellow at termen and apex, hindwing dark grey at base and the subcostal area, light yellow along M2 vein and yellowish grey on the external parts of the wing. Legs yellowish grey similar to the forewing.

Abdomen covered with dark grey scales, last segment reddish brown dorsally.

Male genitalia (Figs 4 View Figure 4 , 5A, B View Figure 5 , 6 View Figure 6 ). Uncus tapered apically, strongly sclerotized. Tegumen rounded. Socii rounded. Valva broad, curved dorsally, valva width uniform. Transtilla dorsally spinulous, apically with median indentation. Phallus broad, slightly curved ventrally, ventral phallic process moderately long, slightly sinuous in both ventral and lateral view, in ventral view moderately wide and with apex curved to the right at about 45 degrees (Fig. 6A, C View Figure 6 ). Vesica with large main part protruded to the right, and two large diverticula each terminating with aciculate, capitate, robust cornutus. Small diverticulum with uneven surface emerges ventrally from main part of vesica. Gonopore located dorsally, surrounded by sclerotized wrinkled plate. Main part of vesica dorsally constricted by median furrow into which gonopore is sunk. Portion located distally of furrow large, protruding dorsally. Large diverticula emerge from right portion of main part of vesica in opposite directions. Right diverticulum directed dorsolaterally terminating with larger cornutus (435-510 μm, mean 469; n = 6), left diverticulum pointed ventrolaterally bearing smaller cornutus (385-448 μm, mean 408; n = 6). Smaller cornutus ca 0.5 × the length of phallus and 0.8-0.9 × the length of longer cornutus. Axis of right diverticulum and sclerotized phallus form angle of 55-90° (mean 76; n = 6). Barely discernible acanthae cover left portion laterally, right portion dorsally and apical third of large diverticula (Figs 4B, C View Figure 4 , 5A, B View Figure 5 ).

Female (Fig. 3 View Figure 3 ). Forewing length 6.5-9 mm. Forewing parallel sided, apex more pointed compared with male, ground colour yellow, markings distinct. Abdomen grey, densely covered with dispersed yellow scales, last segment reddish brown.

Female genitalia (Fig. 5C View Figure 5 ). Papillae anales large, apophyses anteriores slightly shorter than apophyses posteriores. Tergum 8 medially membranous, sterigma with two spatulate protuberances. Antrum trapezoidal, with a shallow posterior incision. Ductus bursae short, with a wide subtriangular diverticulum on the membranous ventral wall, and a sclerite extending from the corpus bursae ending on its dorsal wall. Corpus bursae ellipsoidal, with a large, moderately sclerotized ribbon-like sclerite. Sclerite starting on the right ventral side of the corpus bursae with a few (ca 5) longitudinal folds, from there expanding anteromedially, then bending posterodorsally continuing on left side of corpus bursae and ending on dorsal wall of ductus bursae.

Variability. The dorsal patch and subterminal fascia are not distinct in some male specimens (Fig. 2 View Figure 2 ). One female has a deep yellow forewing without markings. In worn specimens the yellow and reddish brown colour become almost indistinguishable and so these moths look more or less uniformly grey. The male genitalia (n = 12) show small variations: the ventral phallic process is not sinuous in one specimen (Fig. 6B View Figure 6 ); the right diverticulum may be oriented at a different angle towards the sclerotized phallic tube; the orientation of the large diverticula varies from nearly dorsoventral to almost lateral; in some specimens the cornuti are slightly curved (Fig. 4B, C View Figure 4 ); one specimen had two cornuti of normal size on the right diverticulum and diverticula with larger diameters (Fig. 4D View Figure 4 ). The female genitalia (n = 3) show small variations in the shape of the antrum as it is nearly rectangular in one specimen.

Molecular data.

BIN URI: BOLD:AEA2346. No intraspecific variation in the barcode region was observed (n = 3). The minimum distance to the Nearest Neighbor, P. schawerdae from the Dinaric Mountains, is 3.14 % (Fig. 7 View Figure 7 ).

Systematic position.

Because of its external morphology and genitalia structure, Phtheochroa carpatiana should be placed between P. alpinana and P. apenninana .

Habitat.

Phtheochroa carpatiana inhabits the highest mountains in the Romanian Carpathians. The moths can be found in the alpine zone from 2100 to 2380 m above sea level. The substrate is silicate in Făgăraş (Fig. 8 View Figure 8 ) and the Parâng Mountains (Fig. 9 View Figure 9 ), and conglomerate in the Bucegi (Fig. 10 View Figure 10 ). This species prefers sunny meadows, thickly covered with grasses (Fig. 11 View Figure 11 ). In most of its collecting sites it is found with other Carpathian endemic species such as Dichrorampha carpatalpina Kovács & Kovács, 2019 ( Tortricidae ) and Catoptria orientellus ( Herrich-Schäffer, [1855]) ( Crambidae ).

Phenology.

Univoltine, adults are on the wing from the end of June to the beginning of August, being highly dependent on general weather conditions.

Biology.

The early stages and the host-plant are unknown. Adults fly during the day in sunshine or they rest on the upper part of grasses. In cloudy weather they immediately hide deep in the vegetation. The flight of the males is not fast, and only when disturbed do they fly fast and hide deep within the vegetation. Females call on the vegetation. They were much more rarely collected than males: when we observed freshly emerged females we counted 40 males and only 4 females. One pair in copula was also observed on low vegetation (Fig. 12 View Figure 12 ). Following the end of the copulation with the first male, a second attracted male immediately started to mate with the female. Phtheochroa carpatiana does not seem to be active by night as none were collected by light traps installed at sites where specimens were observed during the same day.

Distribution.

Phtheochroa carpatiana seems to be widespread and locally common in the three main mountain ranges in the Southern Carpathians: Bucegi, Făgăraş and Parâng (Fig. 13 View Figure 13 ). It may also occur in the other parts of the Southern Carpathians, at least in the very similar Retezat Mountains, where we made only one unsuccessful attempt to find it. Phtheochroa carpatiana replaces P. drenowskyi in the checklist of the Romanian Lepidoptera ( Rákosy and Goia 2007).

Etymology.

The specific name is a feminine adjective derived from the name of the Carpathians, the mountain range where the new Phtheochroa species was discovered.