Dahlica (Postsolenobia) weidlichi, Arnscheid, 2020

Arnscheid, Wilfried R., 2020, A new species of the genus Dahlica Enderlein, 1912, from Hungary (Lepidoptera, Psychidae), Nota Lepidopterologica 43, pp. 319-327 : 320-323

Dahlica (Postsolenobia) weidlichi sp. nov.

Type material.

Holotype ♂ (Fig. 1 ). Nord-Ungarn, Szarvaskö bei Eger, 24.iv.1975, leg. Meier. 47°59'17"N, 20°19'51"E.

Genitalia slide.

GP4064 (CWA) (Fig. 2 ).

The holotype is here designated for deposition in the SMNK. Both the holotype and all paratypes in MWM and SMNK were subsequently labelled after the original pencil-written label written by Meier was found on the pin of the first specimen of the series in the MWM. This sole original label remains with the paratype series in the MWM and will later be accessioned to ZSM.

Paratypes ♂♀. 1 ♂ ex pupa with case and exuvia, Europe centralis/Hungaria, Nordungarn-Umg. Eger N, Bükk W, Umg. Szarvaskö N, 18.iv.2019; 1 case with ♂ and exuvia ditto, 09.iv.2019; 1 ♀ ex pupa with case and exuvia ditto, 14.iv.2019 (Fig. 3a, b, c ); 2 cases with ♀ exuvia ditto, 09.iv.2019 (one in coll. Arnscheid); 4 ♀♀ cases ditto, 09.iv.2019; 2 cases ditto, 02.v.2012, all leg. Weidlich; 95 ♂♂ date as holotype, coll. CWA, CMW, MWM, ZSM.

Genitalia slides.

4063, 4064, and 4065 (CWA).

Diagnosis.

All species of subgenus Postsolenobia are morphologically quite similar (Table 1 ). The males are characterized by their small size as well as the very broad cloaking scales on the upper side of the forewings. The new species differs from D. (P.) juliella (Rebel, 1919) and D. (P.) thomanni (Rebel, 1936) by its conspicuous grey-brown ground colouring and by a regular cream-white reticular pattern of the forewings on most specimens. Dahlica (P.) banatica (Hering, 1922) is clearly lighter in ground colour, the reticular pattern is much less clear than in D. (P.) weidlichi sp. nov. Furthermore, the new species differs from D. (P.) juliella ssp. nanosella Petrů & Liška, 2003 and D. (P.) banatica by the distinctly lower genital index.

Description.

Male. Head: Frons and vertex densely covered with long yellowish hair-like scales. Compound eyes small and widely separated, distance between the eyes 1.5-2.5 times eye-diameter. Ocelli absent. Labial palp reduced to one segment. Maxillary palpus reduced to short stumps. Antenna thread-like with 28-30 segments including scape and pedicel, scaled, pecten ciliated (terminology follows Arnscheid and Weidlich 2017). Thorax: Yellowish grey, foreleg epiphysis absent, midleg with apical tibial spurs, hindleg with medial and apical tibial spurs.

Wingspan 8-11 mm. Forewing length 3.08-4.5 mm, elongate oval, apex broadly pointed, termen oblique; dorsal side dark greyish with distinct reticulate pattern consisting of creamy-white spots, submarginal area somewhat yellowish with brownish transverse stripes; series of brownish spots at termen and on dorsum; scales broad (classes 5-6), ventral side glossy grey scaled. Hindwing uniformly light-grey; veins M2 and M3 coincident, sometimes long-stalked.

Abdomen: Brownish grey scaled.

Male genitalia (Fig. 2 ). Tegumen oval and long in lateral view, slightly indented distally, vaulted and narrower caudally. Vinculum narrow laterally, broader ventrally. Valva relatively long, distinctly protruding from distal end of tegumen, broad at the base, more slender distally and covered with short hairs. Clasper of sacculus hook-shaped with a small, thorn, distally, very slender and curved upwards. Cucullus lobe-shaped. Saccus absent. Phallus long, distinctly curved, thin, attached basally to fultura inferior by a long chitinised clasp, cornuti absent. GI: 0.93-0.95 (n = 4).

Female (Fig. 3b, c ). Apterous. Yellowish brown. Head and legs well developed. Antenna with 16 segments (incl. scapus and pedicellus). Labial palp reduced. All legs with 4 tarsal segments. Only hindlegs with a short pair of spurs. Anal hair-tuft (corethrogyne) ventral only, whitish. Female genitalia have not yet been examined, as only one female was available.

Pupa. Light brown. Antennal sheaths longer than leg sheaths.

Larval case (Fig. 3a ). Small, about 2 mm long and about 1 mm in diameter. A dorsal edge is usually clearly visible. The cases are covered with very small particles of weathered rock and detritus and the colour ranges from dark grey to blackish brown.

Etymology.

It is a pleasure for me to dedicate this new species to my friend Dr Michael Weidlich, Neißemünde. As a leading authority of the Naryciinae worldwide, he has not only collected fresh material to solve the taxonomic questions about new species after years of laborious search, but he has also produced outstanding contributions to the Psychidae research in numerous publications.

Habitat.

The type material was collected by M. Weidlich at the site called "Burgberg" near Szarvaskö (Fig. 4 ). This place likely represents the original location of the males collected by Meier in 1975. The Burgberg is volcanically shaped and consists mainly of Triassic basalts and Jurassic diabases (dolerites). Manganese-containing slate formations were also found in the rocks. Altogether these rock formations form the basis for a xerothermic fauna and flora.

Distribution.

D. (P.) weidlichi sp. nov. is exclusively known so far only from the type locality in Hungary and this represents the northernmost record of a Postsolenobia species thus found (Fig. 6 ). Based on the distribution and analysis of the current habitats, all species of the subgenus Postsolenobia appear to be xero-thermophilic.

Molecular results.

Mean intraspecific distances for the barcode region are not known for Dahlica (P.) weidlichi sp. nov. because only one specimen was sequenced. The analysis of DNA barcodes (mt COI-5P) for all five validly described taxa of the subgenus Postsolenobia shows an unexpected pattern of genetic diversity. The maximum distance of Dahlica (P.) weidlichi to other species of the Postsolenobia -group is 6.4%. The minimum distance to the nearest neighbour, Dahlica (P.) juliella nanosella , is 4.80% (Fig. 5 ).

The sequences of Dahlica (Postsolenobia) weidlichi sp. nov. are generated as new for this study. These as well as the public sequences from the BOLD Systems database are available under the following Barcode Index numbers: BOLD:AAQ2015: ( Dahlica (P.) juliella (Rebel, 1919), BOLD:ABW6648: ( Dahlica (P.) thomanni (Rebel, 1936), BOLD:ABY8014: ( Dahlica (P.) juliella nanosella Petrů & Liška, 2003, BOLD:ACF4253: ( Dahlica (P.) juliella (Rebel, 1919), Dahlica (P.) juliella nanosella Petrů & Liška, 2003), BOLD:ACF5425: ( Dahlica (P.) juliella nanosella Petrů & Liška, 2003, BOLD:ADD9269: ( Dahlica (P.) banatica (Hering, 1922), BOLD:AED7175: ( Dahlica (P.) weidlichi sp. nov.).

Figures

Figure 1. Male holotype of Dahlica (Postsolenobia) weidlichi sp. nov. Northern Hungary, Szarvaskoe near Eger, 24. iv. 1975, leg. Meier, det. W. R. Arnscheid.

Figure 2. Male genitalia of Dahlica (Postsolenobia) weidlichi sp. nov. paratype in lateral view. Northern Hungary, Szarvaskoe near Eger, 24. iv. 1975, leg. Meier. Genitalia slide 4064 (CWA).

Figure 3. Dahlica (P.) weidlichi sp. nov. a: Paratype female case with exuvia. b: Paratype female with case in nature. c: Paratype female preserved in alcohol. (Photos: M. Weidlich).

Figure 4. The " Burgberg " near Szarvaskoe, Hungary. Type locality of Dahlica (Postsolenobia) weidlichi sp. nov. Besides the new species, cases of the following Psychidae were also found: Psyche sp., Taleporia tubulosa (Retzius, 1783), and Apterona helicoidella (Vallot, 1827). (Photo: M. Weidlich, 09. v. 2019).

Figure 5. Neighbor-Joining tree of DNA barcode of the species of the subgenus Postsolenobia Meier.

Figure 6. Distribution of the three Dahlica (Postsolenobia) species in South-East Europe. Map created with SimpleMappr (www. simplemappr. net).