Agonopterix pseudoferulae Buchner & Junnilainen

Buchner, Peter, Corley, Martin & Junnilainen, Jari, 2017, Three new species and one new subspecies of Depressariinae (Lepidoptera) from Europe, ZooKeys 684, pp. 119-154 : 130-136

Agonopterix pseudoferulae Buchner & Junnilainen sp. n.

Type locality.

Italy, Sardinia, Laconi, 39°51'N; 9°3'E.

Holotype.

♂, Italy, Sardinia, Laconi, 16.vi.2009, leg. J. Junnilainen, DNA barcode id. BC TLMF Lep 19306, gen. prep. DEEUR 4462, in coll. J. Junnilainen.

Paratypes.

1 ♀, same data as holotype, DNA barcode id. MM24152, leg. & coll. J. Junnilainen; 2 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀, same data as holotype, leg. & coll. J. Junnilainen; 1 ♂, 1 ♀, same data as holotype, leg. J. Junnilainen, in coll. ZMUH; 1 ♂, 1 ♀, same data as holotype, leg. J. Junnilainen, in coll. NHMUK; 1 ♂, 1 ♀, same data as holotype, leg. J. Junnilainen, in coll. M. Corley; 1 ♀, Greece, Peloponnese, Chelmos, 2100 m, 10.vii.1963, leg. J. Klimesch, coll. ZSM; 1 ♀, Italy, Puglia, 21.vii.1955, leg. S. Zangheri, in coll. ZSM; 1 ♂, Italy, Puglia, “FG“ Gargano sopra Vieste, 400 m, 5.ix.2008, coll. G. Fiumi; 1 ♂, Italy, Sicilia, Madonie, Piano Battaglia, 18.x.1990, gen. prep. DEEUR 1928, in coll. TLMF; 1 ♀, Italy, Latium, Mt Terminillo, 17.vii.2010, DNA barcode id. TLMF Lep 19067, gen. prep. DEEUR 1737, leg. & coll. T. Mayr; 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Italy, Puglia, Gargano, leg. larva 4.iv.2016 from Elaeoselinum asclepium , e.p. end of April 2016, leg., cult. & coll. P. Sonderegger.

Diagnosis. A. pseudoferulae sp. n. (Figs 19-27) was confused with A. ferulae (Figs 28-29) by Klimesch. At first glance, they do look similar, but a closer look shows two constant differences: the brick-red line between the proximal pair of dots and the distal dot and the diffuse dark spot which touches this line on costal side in A. pseudoferulae sp. n., which are both absent in A. ferulae (if diffuse dark spots are present, they are found in other areas). A. atomella (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775) (Fig. 33) and A. scopariella (Heinemann, 1870) (Fig. 32), the two species closest to A. pseudoferulae sp. n. in DNA barcode, do not have the reddish elements in central forewing pattern. A. oinochroa (Turati, 1879) (Fig. 31) has reddish elements here, but they surround the dots and do not form a line. A forewing pattern similar to A. pseudoferulae sp. n. is found only in A. cluniana Huemer & Lvovsky, 2000 (Fig. 30), but here differences are found in outline of forewing and shape of interneural dots at outer margin: apex rounded, outer margin convex, interneural dots round and diffuse in A. pseudoferulae sp. n., apex pointed, outer margin straight to concave, interneural dots narrow lines in A. cluniana .

Description.

Adult: Wingspan 19-21 mm. Scales of head brown, tips markedly paler. Labial palp segment 2 inner side pale, outer and ventral sides medium greyish brown or rusty brown scales mixed with blackish scales; third segment bicoloured, blackish at base, shortly above middle and at extreme tip, pale between the dark areas. Antenna dark brown. Thorax with posterior crest, rather dark brown, tegulae similar. Forewing predominantly dark reddish brown, whitish and black scales interspersed in low (but variable) numbers, basal field markedly paler, gradually passing into a pale stripe which runs along costa especially in proximal half and is interrupted by irregular dark patches. The centre of the forewing has the typical basic pattern of Agonopterix (two oblique dots at about one-third, one or two dots along veins at about one-half and a diffuse black spot between the two pairs of dots but closer to the costa) but with very distinct details: the two black, oblique dots partly bordered with reddish (brick-red to ochreous) scales which may connect the two dots on their proximal margin, distal margin pale to white, the third dot at about one-half with clear white centre and surrounded by a few dark scales, a brick-red to ochreous line connects the oblique dots with the distal dot and exeeds it a little; the diffuse blackish spot touches the brick-red line between the dots on the costal side. Cilia concolorous with wings. Under side of forewing dark grey except costa which is predominantly yellowish with interspersed groups of dark scales. Hindwing rather dark greyish brown, moderately translucent at base, cilia concolorous with wings, base and tips darker than in between. Legs covered with a mix of dark grey and pale scales, tibia yellowish to rusty brown on outer side, especially on fore- and hindlegs. Abdomen greyish, with broad dark line laterally and two rows of indistinct dark spots on ventral side.

No gender-specific differences could be found.

Variation: Little variation was found within the nine examined specimens. The number of interspersed white scales on forewing varies to some extent, and between the proximal pair of dots and the distal dot, an additional white dot may be developed or not. In one specimen the thorax (but not tegulae) is entirely black.

Male genitalia (Fig. 34): There is no single feature which separates male genitalia of A. pseudoferulae sp. n. from all other species of Agonopterix , therefore it is best to compare genitalia with each of the externally similar species individually.

A. ferulae (Fig. 35) belongs to the alpigena/selini species group, which is characterised by a two-horned process of the anellus toward transtilla (see arrow in insert of Fig. 35) in combination with transtilla significantly widened in the middle. In A. pseudoferulae sp. n. these features are not present. In A. atomella (Fig. 36), A. oinochroa (Fig. 37) and A. scopariella (Fig. 38) anellus lobes are large, nearly touching in A. atomella and A. oinochroa , overlapping in A. scopariella in standard preparation. In A. pseudoferulae sp. n. anellus lobes are narrow with a wide gap in between. In A. cluniana (Fig. 39) cuiller is rather short (about 70% of valva-width) and socii markedly narrow, gnathos far exceeding end of socii, in A. pseudoferulae sp. n. cuiller nearly reaching costa of valva (at least 90% of valva-width), socii and gnathos of average shape, compare Figs 34 and 39 (appearance of socii and gnathos may be influenced by preparation artifacts, so it is not helpful to point out a numerical ratio).

Female genitalia (Figs 40, 41a). Anterior margin of sternite VIII with a triangular process, which is separated from lateral parts of anterior margin by distinct steps (arrows 41a), ostium round, in the centre of sternite VIII, not reaching into the triangular process. Ductus seminalis with about 8 turns. Ductus bursae rather stout with structures common in genus Agonopterix , widening gradually in its course. Corpus bursae of average size (diameter approximately equalling width of sternite VIII in standard preparation, i.e. dorsoventrally flattened), signum narrow oval (4 times wider than long), rather large (maximum diameter about one half diameter of bursa).

As in the males, all the species compared with A. pseudoferulae sp. n. also show distinct differences in female genitalia: A. ferulae (Fig. 41b) has a straight margin of sternite VIII without any fold. In A. atomella , oblique folds (arrow Fig. 41c) are developed at each side of centre of margin. In A. scopariella these folds are also present and between them, the anterior margin shows a somewhat rectangular extension (arrow Fig. 41d). In A. oinochroa it is slightly curved with a narrow transverse fold (arrow Fig. 41e), in A. cluniana it is extremely bulged (arrow Fig. 41f), which gives a character of the female genitalia of this species which is unique within Agonopterix .

Molecular data.

Data of barcoded specimens: BC TLMF Lep 19306 (658 bp., holotype, ♂, Italy, Sardinia, Laconi, 39°51'N; 9°3'E, 16.vi.2009, leg. & coll. J. Junnilainen); MM24152 (658 bp., ♀, same locality as holotype, leg. & coll. J. Junnilainen); TLMF Lep 19067 (658 bp., ♀, Italy, Latium, Mt Terminillo, 1600m, 42°29'N; 13°0'E, 17.vii.2010, gen. prep. DEEUR 1737 P. Buchner, leg. & coll. T. Mayr).

Neighbour-joining analysis shows Agonopterix atomella ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775) (BOLD:ABZ0059) as the nearest neighbour at a minimum of 2.45% p-distance. So far there are only sequences from the Italian population available, where no intraspecific divergence had been found, but this may change when Greek specimens are sequenced.

For Maximum Likelihood analysis, see Fig. 18.

Related species: Searching for the most closely related species based on a neighbour-joining tree (Fig. 42), Maximum Likelihood analysis (Fig. 18) and genitalia patterns of both sexes has not achieved a satisfactory result in A. pseudoferulae . Compared with the nearest neighbour, there are some distinct differences: A. atomella is a Fabaceae -feeder, in male genitalia anellus lobes are very different. Looking further afield at the second nearest neighbour, Agonopterix scopariella (Heinemann, 1870) with a p-distance of 2.6% is also a Fabaceae -feeder, and the differences in genitalia are at least as marked as in A. atomella . On the other hand, the two Fa baceae -feeders A. atomella and A. oinochroa have very similar male genitalia, but a barcode distance of 4.08%. This suggests that every single parameter must be handled with care. Pronounced similarity may result from being closely related, but it does not prove it, because a single distinctive feature may develop independently in different groups. The only certainty from present evidence is that A. pseudoferulae is not a cryptic species.

Etymology.

The species name is a noun in genitive case. The first specimens of this new species were discovered in ZSM in the Klimesch collection under A. ferulae . This was decisive for the species name pseudoferulae , which means "the false ferulae ".

Distribution.

So far known from Italy and Greece. In Italy it had been collected from Mt Terminillo (Latium), Gargano (Puglia), Madonie, Piano Battaglia (Sicily) and Laconi (Sardinia) and in Greece from Chelmos (Peloponnese).

Bionomics.

Peter Sonderegger reared it from larvae collected on Elaeoselinum asclepium (L.) Bertol. ( Apiaceae ) from Gargano, Italy. Unfortunately he was not expecting anything of great interest, so no photo or larval description was obtained. Larvae were collected on 4 April, while the moth emerged in late April. Moths in good condition have been caught in June and July, and a worn specimen has been caught in October. It remains unclear in which stage the species survives winter.

Remarks.

In ZSM under the name Agonopterix ferulae P. Buchner found a specimen collected by Josef Klimesch in Greece, which had a red mark in the discal cell which is not present in A. ferulae . Genitalia examination showed that it was distinct from A. ferulae and subsequently, when more recent specimens were found it was possible to obtain barcodes. Both genitalia and barcodes show this to be a new species not closely related to A. ferulae . It is described here as A. pseudoferulae .