Rhopaltriplasia spinalis Yu and Li

Yu, Haili & Li, Houhun, 2005, First record of the genus Rhopaltriplasia Diakonoff from China, with description of two new species (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae: Olethreutinae), Zootaxa 1082, pp. 29-35 : 33-35

Rhopaltriplasia spinalis Yu and Li , sp. n. ( Figs. 6, 7 )

Type material: Holotype, ɗ, CHINA: Mt. Hualong (31°53'N, 109°31'E), Shaanxi Province, alt. 2150 m, 27.vi.2003 (Haili Yu), genitalia slide no. ZAH03872. Paratype: 1ɗ, Jiuzhaigou (33°17'N, 103°54'E), Sichuan Province, alt. 2700 m, 13.viii.2002 (Shulian Hao).

Diagnosis. This new species resembles R. insignata Kuznetsov , but can be separated from it by the following characters: valva constricted at 2/3 length and cucullus with ventrolateral angle right­angled and bearing a sharp spine. In R. insignata the valva is constricted at 3/5 length and the cucullus has the ventrolateral angle rounded and lacks a sharp spine. These characters also separate this new species from R. rotundipetalina sp. n. In comparison to R. macrorhis Diakonoff , R. spinalis has a short valva with a different shaped cucullus.

Description. Adult ( Fig. 6 ): Forewing length 6.5–6.9 mm. Head roughly scaled, yellowish brown or pale fuscous. Antenna with scape pale fuscous to fuscous, flagellum pale fuscous. Labial palpus porrect or ascending, deep fuscous; median segment expanded ventrally, with inner side white; terminal segment slender and pointed, 1/3 length of median segment, white. Thorax blackish fuscous, dusted with pale ochreous. Legs pale yellow; foreleg with inner side of femur and tibia pale fuscous, tarsus with pale fuscous rings; median tibia and tarsus with pale fuscous rings. Forewing with upperside ground color pale yellow; costa with nine pairs of strigulae from base to R4, each pair of strigulae with a gray silvey stria extending obliquely; four pairs distributed between base of the wing and the point where Sc meets costa, the first and second pairs situated before 1/8 forewing length, pale fuscous, striae from them discontinuous, extending backward to base of dorsum, the third and fourth pairs white, with striae from them discountinuous, extending to 1/4 length and middle of dorsum, respectively; the distal five pairs of strigulae white, the fifth and sixth pairs between Sc and R1 points, striae from them confluent and extending obliquely to midwing, the distal three pairs distributed between pairs of veins R1–R2, R2–R3, and R3–R4, striae from them confluent, extending to termen between R5 and M1; basal fascia fuscous; subbasal fascia fuscous, extending broadly from costa between 1/8–1/4 length to narrow width at base of dorsum; median fascia fuscous, extending from narrow area on costa to Cu vein from midlength to lower angle of cell, distal margin coincident with outer margin of cell; postmedian fascia fuscous, extending to dorsum, with proximal margin extending medially to median fascia at lower angle of discal cell, distal margin straight; terminal fascia small, fuscous; a large, quadrate, fuscous blotch set between subbasal fascia and median fascia on posterior part of wing; a fuscous line along termen between M1 and CuA1; tornus pale ochreous; cilia fuscous along termen between apex and M3, intermixed with pale fuscous, pale ochreous along termen below M3 and at tornus; underside fuscous except strigulae 3–9 pale yellow and area of hindwing overlap posterior to CuP grayish white. Hindwing upperside grey, grayish white on area underlapping forewing; cilia pale grey; underside pale grey.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 7 ): Uncus straight, erect, bifurcate and narrowly branched, apically blunt, naked. Socius somewhat clavate, with apical 1/3 a little bent inward, setose. Gnathos a pair of long sclerotized narrow arms, joined at apical 1/4 and separated to apex. Valva constricted strongly at 2/3 length, forming a long almost naked neck, not exceeding uncus apically; basal 2/3 long­ovate, densely setose above cavity and along apical half of sacculus; cucullus large, with short and dense setae; dorsal half somewhat quadrate, nearly two times as broad as ventral half; dorsal margin rounded, ventral margin straight, ventrolateral angle right­angled and with a sharp spine; aedeagus straight, with a fingerlike prominence at 1/3 length; cornuti a sheaf of spines; caulis well­developed.

Female: Unknown.

Distribution. China (Shaanxi, Sichuan).

Etymology. The specific name comes from the Latin spinalis (= spine), referring to the character of the cucullus.

Figures

FIGURES 6 – 7. Rhopaltriplasia spinalis Yu et Li, sp. n. 6. adult; 7. male genitalia.