Megacraspedus albella (Amsel, 1935) Amsel, 1935

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 : 107-108

Megacraspedus albella (Amsel, 1935) comb. n.

Chilopselaphus albella Amsel, 1935: 302, pl. 10, fig. 57

Examined material.

Lectotype ♂, here designated, [Israel/Palaestine, West Bank]"Georgsklost. Wad. Kelt Lichtfang 1.4.1930" “Palästina Expedition 18.2.-4.6.30 H. Amsel" "GU 699" "Typus leg. H. Amsel % Chilopselaphus albella" "coll. SMNK" "ex coll. H. G. Amsel" (SMNK). Non-type material. Iran. 1 ♂, 1 ♀, 40 km N of Bandar-Abbas, 7.iv.1972, genitalia slides Mus. Vind. 16.662 ♀, Mus. Vind. 16.663 ♂ (NHMW).

Redescription.

Adult. Male (Figure 87). Wingspan 15 mm. Labial palpus moderately long, porrect, cream-white, slightly mottled brown on outer surface; segment 3 reduced. Antennal scape with pecten consisting of several hairs; flagellum indistinctly ringed white and dark. Head light yellow in middle, laterally white; thorax light yellow; tegula yellowish white. Forewing yellowish, darker yellow along costa, lighter yellow in dorsal third; veins white; a white sub-costal streak from base to 2/5, a brown streak in basal third and brown patches at end of cell and in apex; fringes yellowish grey. Hindwing whitish grey with concolorous fringes.

Female (Figure 88). Wingspan 10 mm. Forewing apically lanceolate; costal and dorsal third whitish, medially yellow. Hindwing very short, sub-triangular, white. Otherwise similar to male.

Variation. Not observed because of very limited material.

Male genitalia (Figure 216). Uncus moderately slender, approximately 1.8 times longer than minimum width, weakly obovate with outer edges slightly diverging towards evenly rounded distal part, posterioventral part covered with strong microtrichia; gnathos hook stout, about length of uncus, evenly curved to pointed apex; anterior margin of tegumen with broad and shallow excavation, medially with additional small emargination, tegumen medially without distinct longitudinal sclerotised ridge; pedunculi small, rounded, with transverse sclerotised ridge; valva moderately slender, extending to about middle of uncus, apex weakly rounded, setose; saccular area with few short setae, without separated sacculus; posterior margin of vinculum with shallow medial emargination, indistinct lateral humps, suboval vincular sclerite with strongly sclerotised medio-posterior edges; saccus sub-triangular, basally broad, with weakly convex outer edge, distally tapered to pointed apex, short, 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 moderately short, approximately 0.7 times length of maximum width of saccus; phallus straight, with strongly bulbous coecum, distal two-thirds moderately slender, with dorsal and ventral sclerotised lobes, 3 minute subapical thorns, apex broadly rounded.

Female genitalia (Figure 286). Papilla analis long and moderately slender, apically weakly narrowing, rounded; apophysis posterior slender rod-like, about 2 mm long, with small sclerotised field posteriorly; segment VIII approximately 0.6 mm long, membranous; subgenital plate with narrow subostial sclerotisation, with shallowly rounded projection anteriorly, posteriorly extended into very long, pointed sub-medial sclerites, delimiting oblong ostium bursae, anterior margin with rod-like edge connected with apophysis anterior; apophysis anterior slender, rod-like, almost length of segment VIII, posteriorly becoming rod-like venula of segment VIII, posterior fifth distinctly widening to oblong sclerotised zone, extending to posterior margin; small colliculum present; ductus bursae gradually widening to weakly delimited suboval corpus bursae, entire length of ductus and corpus bursae approximately 2.6 mm; signum small, spiny plate.

Diagnosis.

Megacraspedus albella is characterised by its long labial palps with reduced segment 3, by the antennal scape with pecten consisting of several hairs, and by the light yellowish forewings with brown streaks/patches in medial part and by having white veins. It resembles M. numidellus (Figs 79-80) but that species has many dark brown scales on the forewing. The male genitalia are very similar to M. fallax and differ only in subtle characters such as the shorter gnathos hook, the absence of a sclerotised teguminal ridge, and the apically less swollen valva. The female genitalia are somewhat similar to M. gallicus sp. n. (Figure 280) but differ in particular in the absence of a sclerotised antrum.

Molecular data.

Not available, no suitable specimen was available for barcoding.

Distribution.

Iran, Israel/Palaestine.

Biology.

Host plant and early stages are unknown. The few adults known to date have been collected in early April and early June at unreported altitudes.

Remarks.

Chilopsephalus albella Amsel, 1935 was described from few specimens ( “selten”) collected by HG Amsel at “Georgskloster”, now Israel, 1 April 1930. A lectotype is here designated in order to fix the identity of the species and conserve stability of nomenclature. The lectotype is rather worn and bleached. The original male genitalia slide (without phallus) has been remounted. It fully agrees with specimens from Iran and we thus consider these samples conspecific.