Astrotischeria viscacha Diškus & Stonis, 2024

Stonis, Jonas R., Diškus, Arūnas, Remeikis, Andrius, Orlovskytė, Svetlana & Katinas, Liliana, 2024, How high can trumpet moths occur: documentation of mountainous leaf-mining Tischeriidae, featuring a species from record-high elevations, Zootaxa 5507 (2), pp. 201-223 : 206-207

Astrotischeria viscacha Diškus & Stonis , sp. nov.

http://zoobank.org/NomenclaturalActs/ 2293E13D-4DBB-4492-95E3-DFE7FD203817

( Figs 4–6 , 29–33 , 43, 44 , 51, 52 )

Type material. Holotype: 1 ♂, PERU, Calca Province , Písac, 13°25'17"S, 71°50'36"W, elevation ca. 2,990 m, mining larvae on Baccharis salicifolia , 22.x.2008, ex pupa xi.2008, field card no. 4949, leg. A. Diškus, genitalia slide no. AD1177 ♂ ( MfN) . Paratypes 2 ♀, same label data as holotype, genitalia slide no. AD1176 ♀ ( MfN) .

Diagnosis. This species exhibits strong sexual dimorphism; males are characterized by irrorated forewings, while females display distinctive cream and dark brown oblique patches on the forewings. In the male genitalia, the combination of a chunky, wide uncus and a slender phallus with unique, T-shaped lateral lobes distinguishes the new species from all other species within the genus.

Male ( Fig. 4 ). Forewing length 4.8 mm; wingspan 10.3 mm (n = 1). Head: frons glossy grey cream; palpi cream; frontal tuft and collar glossy grey cream; antenna slightly longer than half the length of forewing; flagellum pale brown to dark brown. Thorax and tegulae glossy grey cream. Forewing glossy grey cream, densely irrorated with ochre and numerous dark brown scales, some ochre-tipped; fringe pale ochreous brown; fringe line indistinctive or absent; forewing underside pale brown, without spots or androconia. Hindwing and its fringe pale grey to pale ochreous brown (angle-dependent), without androconia. Legs pale grey-brown.

Male genitalia ( Figs 29–33 ). Capsule 550 µm long, 250 µm wide. Uncus relatively short and chunky, with wide lateral lobes and short, wide inner lobes ( Figs 29, 30 ). Socii relatively large, membranous, covered with tiny spines. Valva divided: ventral lobe (main body) very slender and slightly sinuous ( Fig. 31 ); dorsal lobe inwardly curved, strongly chitinized, distinctly pointed distally ( Fig. 31 ). Transtilla absent. Anellus weakly chitinized, indistinctive. Phallus ( Figs 32, 33 ) 420 µm long, slender, deeply divided apically, with T-shaped lobes distally ( Fig. 32 ).

Female ( Figs 5, 6 ). Forewing length 4.3–4.5 mm; wingspan 9.3–9.7 mm (n = 2). Head: frons ochreous cream; palpi cream; frontal tuft and collar yellow ochre but pale grey-brown distally and laterally; antenna slightly longer than half the length of forewing; flagellum pale, sparsely annulated with brown scales. Thorax and tegulae yellow-ochre. Forewing with oblique yellow-ochre and dark brown patches; fringe pale ochre; fringe line indistinctive or absent; forewing underside pale ochreous brown, without spots or androconia. Hindwing and its fringe grey cream, without androconia. Legs pale grey-brown.

Female genitalia ( Figs 43, 44 ) 840 µm long. Ovipositor lobes large, flattened, clothed with short, modified setae ('peg setae'); area between ovipositor lobes relatively narrow, with tiny indistinctive papillae and some short setae. Second pair of lobes, lateral and anterior to the ovipositor lobes, three to four times smaller than ovipositor lobes, but bearing setae. Anterior apophyses distinctly shorter than posterior apophyses; prela comprised of two pairs of unique projections ( Fig. 44 ). Corpus bursae with a very long and slender "neck"; the main part small and oval-shaped, without distinctive pectinations or signum. Accessory sac absent. Ductus spermathecae short and very slender, with about 4–5 medium-large or small coils and an indistinctive vesicle.

Bionomics. Host plant is Baccharis salicifolia (Ruiz & Pav.) Pers. , Asteraceae ( Figs 51, 52 ). Larvae mine leaves in October; adults occur in November. Otherwise, the biology is unknown.

Distribution. This species is currently known from a single locality in Peru (Pisac, Calca Province), at the elevation of 2,990 m.

Etymology. The species name is derived from the name of the viscacha, rodents of the family Chinchillidae living in the Andes. It refers to the specific chunky uncus found in the male genitalia of the new species, which reminds one of the ears of the viscacha.

Figures

FIGURES 4–10. Adults of mountainous Astrotischeria species. 4, A. viscacha Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., 2,990 m, male holotype; 5, 6, same, female paratype; 7, A. andina Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., male holotype, 3,595–3,600 m; 8, same, male paratype; 9, 10, same, female paratype (MfN).

FIGURES 29–33. Male genitalia of Astrotischeria viscacha Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., 2,990 m, holotype, genitalia slide no. AD1177 (MfN). 29, 30, uncus, 31, genitalia capsule with phallus removed, focused on valvae; 32, 33, phallus.

FIGURES 43–46. Female genitalia of mountainous Astrotischeria species. 43, 44, A. viscacha Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., 2,990 m, paratype, genitalia slide no.AD1176 (MfN); 45, 46, A. andina Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., 3,595–3,600 m, paratype, genitalia slide no. AD1179 (MfN).

FIGURES 47–52. Bionomics of mountainous Astrotischeria species. 47, habitat of A. parapallens Diškus & Stonis and A. montivaga Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., Ayacucho, Huamanga Province, Peru, 3,320 m; 48, unidentified host plant of A. peruanica Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., possibly Baccharis trinervis Pers., Asteraceae, 2,110 m; 49, 50, leaf mines with feeding larvae of Astrotischeria peruanica Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov.; 51, 52, Baccharis salicifolia (Ruiz & Pav.) Pers., Asteraceae, a host plant of Astrotischeria viscacha Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., Pisac, Calca Province, Peru at an elevation of 2,990 m.