Holcophora statices Staudinger, 1871

Adamski, David & Sattler, Klaus, 2019, Holcophora Staudinger, 1871, a senior synonym of Aponoea Walsingham, 1905, syn. n., (Lepidoptera, Gelechioidea, Gelechiidae): with Holcophorainderskella (Caradja, 1920), comb. n., transferred from Blastobasis Zeller, 1855 (Blastobasidae), Nota Lepidopterologica 42 (1), pp. 17-25 : 23-24

Holcophora statices Staudinger, 1871

Holcophora statices Staudinger, 1871: 313. Lectotype ♂, RUSSIAN FEDERATION: S Russia, Volgograd, Krasnoarmeysk ( ‘Sarepta’) ( Christoph ), PRESENT DESIGNATION. (ZMHU, Berlin).

Hostplant(s).

Unknown. Limonium sp. (' Statice ') sp. suspected (Staudinger 1871: 313) - Plumbaginaceae .

Distribution.

Palaearctic: Europe (France, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, Russia), Kazakhstan, China.

Remarks.

Holcophora statices was described by Staudinger from 15 specimens, both sexes, he had received from H. Christoph under the manuscript name Ypsolophus statices . As there was only one female amongst the 15 specimens Staudinger concluded that Christoph may not have bred the species but collected the adults from Limonium (' Statice ') Statice flowers.

Head structures.

Various modifications of the head structure, culminating in distinct frontal processes are widespread in Lepidoptera and have independently evolved in many families. If present they are equally developed in both sexes. Their function, although plausibly interpreted in a few instances as that of a cocoon cutter, is largely obscure. Sand grains found on the head around such processes suggest that in some species they may assist the adult in drilling through soil on eclosion from the pupa. In Gelechioidea frontal processes are known in Autostichidae ( Symmocinae), Cosmopterigidae and Gelechiidae . In the last family they occur in several genera unrelated to each other, such as Athrips Billberg, 1820 (1 of 70+ spp., Palaearctic), Catatinagma Rebel, 1903 (1 of 5 spp., Palaearctic), Caulastrocecis Chrétien, 1931 (2 of 7 spp., Palaearctic), Cerofrontia Janse, 1951 (1 of 1 sp., Afrotropical), Leistogenes Meyrick, 1927 (1 of 1 sp., Neotropical), Ornativalva Gozmány, 1955 (about 15 of 60+ spp., Palaearctic), Prolita Leraut, 1993 (8 Nearctic, of 22 spp., Holarctic), Scrobipalpa Janse, 1951 (2 Palaearctic, of 300+ spp. worldwide) and others. Examples were illustrated by Hodges (1966, pl. 8, Prolita ) and Sattler (1976, pls 6-12, Ornativalva ). Such specializations of the head structure can provide useful characters for species recognition but they are not important at the generic level as in several genera ( Athrips , Ornativalva , Prolita , Scrobipalpa ) there exist species with processes next to such without. In Gelechiidae there seems to be a concentration of species with frontal processes in arid parts of the Palaearctic and Nearctic regions.

Frontal modifications are only obvious once the head is freed of scales, and even a prominent frontal process can otherwise remain hidden in the scale cover. On the denuded head the transfrontal sulcus, the border between frons and vertex, normally extends in an almost straight line between the antennal sockets and is clearly visible as a narrow band free of scale bases. If a discrete frontal process is developed it usually arises beneath the transfrontal sulcus which it tends to push dorsad. Various teeth and protuberances, when present, originate from enlarged scale bases, and the central process may be surrounded by such enlarged scale sockets which can be arranged into a distinctive arc. An additional arc of teeth sometimes arises above the transfrontal sulcus. The whole range of such developments is demonstrated in the genus Ornativalva Gozmány, 1955 ( Sattler 1976: 92, pls 5-12), where the arrangement in O. cornifrons Sattler, 1976, is not unlike that in the unrelated H. inderskella .