Stigmella paniculata Diškus & Navickaitė, 2020

Stonis, Jonas R., Remeikis, Andrius, Diškus, Arūnas & Navickaitė, Asta, 2020, Documenting new and little known leaf-mining Nepticulidae from middle and southwestern areas of the Asian continent, Zootaxa 4881 (3), pp. 401-452 : 418-419

Stigmella paniculata Diškus & Navickaitė , sp. nov.

( Figs 15 , 133–136 )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:4ACFA17B-D8BB-4902-A3EC-9B846230B904

Type material. Holotype: ♂, India, Uttarakhand, Tehri Garhwal Distr., Chamba , 30°20’39”N, 78°23’59”E, 24.viii.2010, A. Diškus and A. Navickaitė, genitalia slide no. AD496 ( ZIN).

Diagnosis. S. paniculata sp. nov. belongs to the Stigmella ruficapitella group. In the male genitalia, this new species differs from other representatives of the group in the presence of a basal set of very long, transverse cornuti ( Fig. 135 ) and apically rounded valva without a conspicuous apical process ( Fig. 136 ).

Male. Known from adult in pupal skin; only genitalia are preserved and desribed.

Genitalia ( Figs 133–136 ) with capsule 180 µm long, 140 µm wide. Uncus with two very short, well-separated lateral lobes ( Figs 133, 134 ). Gnathos U-shaped ( Fig. 133 ). Valva ( Fig. 136 ) about 130 µm long, with a slightly concave and heavily papillated inner lobe and rounded apex without pronounced apical process. Transtilla with long and slender sublateral processes. Vinculum with a short ventral plate and short triangular lateral lobes ( Fig. 133 ). Phallus ( Figs 133, 135 ) about 180 µm long, without carinae; vesica with a set of four very long, transverse cornuti basally ( Fig. 135 ).

Female. Unknown.

Bionomics ( Fig. 15 ). Host plant is unknown (unidentified). Larva is green, with a dark green intestine and pale, yellowish brown head ( Fig. 15 ). Larvae mine in leaves in late August and possibly in September. The leaf mine is a slender, contorted gallery; in the initial part, brown-black frass fills the width of the gallery; further on, black frass is deposited in a slender central line ( Fig. 15 ). Adults fly in September.

Distribution. Known from a single locality in the western Himalaya (Uttarakhand: Chamba), at the elevation of about 2600 m ( Fig. 1 : wHi).

Etymology. The species name is derived from Latin panicula (a cluster), in reference to the set of four very long and slender cornuti in the male genitalia.

Figures

FIGURES 7–15. Leaf mines of new species of Nepticulidae. 7, 8, Stigmella ziziphifolia Rocienė & Stonis, sp. nov.; 9, 10, S. alilediella Diškus & Navickaitė, sp. nov.; 11–13, S. pyramidata Diškus & Navickaitė, sp. nov.; 14, S. latilobata Diškus & Navickaitė, sp. nov.; 15, S. paniculata Diškus & Navickaitė, sp. nov.

FIGURES 130–136. Male genitalia of new Stigmella species. 130, 131, holotype of S. latilobata Diškus & Navickaitė, sp. nov., genitalia slide no. AD484, capsule with phallus inside; 132, same, phallus; 133, holotype of S. paniculata Diškus & Navickaitė, sp. nov., capsule with phallus inside; 134, same, uncus and gnathos; 135, same, cornuti; 136, same, valvae (ZIN).

FIGURES 1–6. A geographical map (courtesy of T. Patterson, USA) and new host plants of Nepticulidae. 1, localities in this study; 2, 3, Ototropis elegans (DC.) H. Ohashi & K. Ohashi, Fabaceae, a host plant of Stigmella longa sp. nov.; 4, Viburnum cotinifolium D. Don., Adoxaceae, a host plant of Acalyptris nasutus sp. nov; 5, Ototropis sp., Fabaceae, a host plant of Stigmella pyramidata sp. nov.; 6, Spiraea canescens D. Don., Rosaceae, a host plant of Ectoedemia orbiculata sp. nov.