Prophaecasia lindae Heppner & Bae

Heppner, John B. & Bae, Yang-Seop, 2017, A new Prophaecasia species from Cambodia and the female characters of the genus (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae: Olethreutinae: Olethreutini), Zootaxa 4291 (3), pp. 595-600 : 596

Prophaecasia lindae Heppner & Bae , new species

( Figs. 1–7 )

Type locality. Cambodia (Kep, Kep Province).

Diagnosis. This species can be distinguished from congers by the paler scaling of the head (more olive-green in P. anthion ), the green and pink-black margined forewings (olive-green and pink in P. anthion ), and the much longer socius; also the white vertical stria at the middle of the forewing is straighter in P. lindae and more curved in P. anthion .

Description. Wing expanse: 11.2–12.0 mm male (n = 2), 11.7–12.8 mm female (n = 4). Male ( Fig. 1 ). Head ( Figs. 3–4): Vertex pale tan; frons pale tan; labial palpus pale tan; antenna tan-brown, scape light tan with some brown on distal margin. Thorax: Tan, with dark brown near posterior end and light tan on posterior margin; tegulae olive-green with some pale brown and pale tan mixed; venter white-tan; legs pale white-tan, with forefemur overlain with pale gray-brown and tarsi with bands of dark brown, mid-legs yellow-tan on tibia, with strong dorsal spine-scales and tarsi with bands of dark brown, hindlegs white-tan. Forewing green in basal half, with numerous short dark brown to black vertical striae evenly spaced, but in irregular pattern from costa to dorsal margin; costal margin with fine white strigulae from base, but most prominent in apical 1/3; midwing with fine vertical white line margined with a thinner black line towards base of wing and distally, with pink mixed over white, continued to termen, and with numerous black spots and 2–3 larger merging blotches of black, the largest near termen and angled to near tornus; a subterminal line of black from near apex to mid-termen; termen with fine line of pink, with several black spots on upper termen; fringe pink with some black scales on tornus; anal margin ( Fig. 5 ) with orange hair-pencil, cubital pecten with black scales; venter gray-brown, lighter on cubital section. Hindwing dark graybrown, with slight greenish tinge; fringe dark gray with a basal line of pale tan; venter gray-brown, lighter along costal section. Abdomen: Lustrous light brown-gray; venter tan-white; genital tuft tan-white, with yellow-tan ventrally; pregenital plates ( Fig. 6 b) in male with tree trunk-like shape on sternite, with a flanged base at anterior. Male genitalia ( Fig. 6 ) with tegumen somewhat quadrate, truncated dorsally, lacking distinct uncus; gnathos a thin rod-like structure strongly arched dorsally; socius ( Fig. 6 a) on narrow, long arms, heavily setose in distal half; valva with straight sacculus, followed by an abrupt bend (45° angle) dorsally to narrow and somewhat acute apex, densely setose except on ventral margin of distal 1/4, with long dense setae on saccular angle and a separate setal tuft near base; juxta ( Fig. 6 a) triangular with a Y-shaped narrow flanged caulis with dorsal arms (as long as caulis) of juxta-caulis complex; anellus a circular short collar; phallus short, tubular, with numerous short cornuti; vinculum undeveloped, rounded.

Female ( Fig. 2 ). Head and Thorax: As described for male, except forewing maculation with green areas darker olive-green; hindwing more brown, lacking corematal setae on anal margin. Abdomen: Female genitalia ( Fig. 7 ) with ovipositor very short but with relatively enlarged papillae anales, greatly elongated posteriorly as narrow extensions; apophyses subequal; 8th sternal plate simple and subrectangular, broadly emarginated around sterigma; ostium ( Fig. 7 a) ovate-quadrate, with sterigma bearing a strong carinate ridge anteriorly and laterally, narrow posteriorly around antrum; ductus bursae as long as corpus bursae, with posterior 1/3 more strongly sclerotized to narrow junction with more membranous anterior portion, lacking a distinct colliculum; ductus seminalis originating just before sclerotized portion of ductus bursae; corpus bursae ovate with fine scobinations; signum ( Fig. 7 b) a single short blunt thorn-like spine with expanded elongate base along the posterodorsad wall of corpus bursae.

Specimens studied. Holotype male: Cambodia: Kep, Kep Province, 1–2 May 2011, J. B. Heppner (gen. slide JBH 3328; photo 12811) ( MGCL) (deposited at MGCL) . Paratypes (1♂, 4♀). Same data as holotype (1♂, 3♀) (gen. slide JBH 3329♀; photo 10577) (MGCL); Kep, Kep Province, 17 Jul 2012 (1♀), Y.S. Bae, Y.D. Ju, X.V. Le, B.S. Park, and H.J. Lee ( INUC) .

Etymology. The species is named in honor of Linda Stevenson, former staff assistant for the Florida State Collection of Arthropods, Gainesville, Florida, for her many years of dedicated work in entomology.

Biology. Unknown

Distribution. Known only from southern coastal Cambodia, near the border with Vietnam.

Discussion. Prophaecasia lindae is most related to P. anthion Diakonoff from Borneo. The latter was described from a single male from southeastern Borneo (Balikpappan) and is superficially very similar to P. lindae from Cambodia, but the male is more olive-green on the forewings and the head scaling is darker than in P. lindae . Genital characters distinguish the two species, mainly the larger socius with longer setose arms in P. lindae (shorter in P. anthion ), and the longer the juxta-caulis arms in P. lindae . Otherwise the remaining genital features are much the same in the two species, as are the genitalia of the Madagascar species. For the female, the characters noted in the description are the first known for Prophaecasia : P. anthion and the Afrotropical species are known only from males. The male and female specimens of P. lindae were collected on the same night at the same site in Cambodia.

Figures

FIGURE 5. Thorax and base of abdomen of Prophaecasia lindae n. sp., male. Note orange coremata from anal margin of hindwings and the black setae of the cubital pecten.

FIGURE 6. Male genitalia of Prophaecasia lindae n. sp., male holotype (phallus in situ), with details a) phallus and central area of genitalia, and b) pregenital sternal plate (gen. slide JBH 3328).

FIGURE 7. Prophaecasia lindae n. sp., female genitalia, with details, a) sterigma and ostium, and b) signum at posterior end of bursa (image turned sideways) (gen. slide JBH 3329).

FIGURES 1 – 2. Prophaecasia lindae n. sp. 1. Male holotype (12.0 mm wingspan). 2. Female paratype (12.3 mm wingspan).