Micropterix gaudiella Zeller & Huemer

Zeller, Hans Christof & Huemer, Peter, 2015, A new species of Micropterix Huebner, 1825 from the Orobian Alps (Italy) (Lepidoptera, Micropterigidae), Nota Lepidopterologica 38 (2), pp. 133-146 : 136-141

Taxon classification Animalia Lepidoptera Micropterigidae

Micropterix gaudiella Zeller & Huemer sp. n.

Material.

Holotype ♂: Italia sept., Bergamo, Alpi Orobie Rifugio Ca d´Arera 1600 m 9°47,8'E, 45°55,07'N 25.vi.2014, leg. Huemer TLMF 2014-006 (TLMF), label with identification numbers CZ-Z30577, label "DNA BARCODE TLMF Lep14851" and red label "HOLOTYPE of Micropterix gaudiella Zeller & Huemer". - Paratypes: 4 ♀, same locality as holotype, but 16.vii.2013, leg. Massaro M. (MBCG), labels with identification numbers CZ-Z30771, CZ-Z30774-CZ-Z30776; 3 ♂, 2♀, same locality as holotype, but 17.vii.2014, leg. Siegfried Ortner (RCSO), labels with identification numbers CZ-Z29417, CZ-Z29459-CZ-Z29462; 40 ♂, 22 ♀, same data as holotype, but leg. Norbert Pöll (RCNP), labels with identification numbers CZ-Z29463-CZ-Z29524; 69 ♂, 26 ♀, same data as holotype, but leg. Mayr Toni (RCTM), labels with identification numbers CZ-Z29360-CZ-Z29369, CZ-Z29371-CZ-Z29416, CZ-Z29418-CZ-Z29445, CZ-Z29446 and AP: MK-1072, CZ-Z29448-CZ-Z29457; 76 ♂, 15 ♀, same data as holotype (TLMF), labels with identification numbers CZ-Z29330-CZ-Z29347, CZ-Z30561-CZ-Z30576, CZ-Z30578-CZ-Z30580, CZ-Z30582-CZ-Z30623, CZ-Z30625-CZ-Z30631, CZ-Z30633-CZ-Z30634, CZ-Z30636-CZ-Z30638; 16 ♂, same locality as holotype, but 23.vi.2014, labels with identification numbers CZ-Z29314-CZ-Z29327, CZ-Z29328 and AP-Nr 1/2014, CZ-Z29329; 1 ♂, same data as holotype (TMLF), label with identification number CZ-Z30581, label "DNA BARCODING TMLF Lep14853"; 1 ♀, same data as holotype (TMLF), label with identification number CZ-Z30624, label "DNA BARCODING TMLF Lep14852"; 1 ♀, same locality as holotype, but 25.vi.2013, leg. Huemer (TLMF), label with identification number CZ-Z29359, label "DNA BARCODING TMLF Lep09987". All 276 paratypes bear red label "PARATYPE of Micropterix gaudiella Zeller & Huemer".

Description.

Adult (Figs 1, 2). Forewing length 3.5-3.9 mm (♂, n=206), 4.0-4.4 mm (♀, n=71). Head black-brown; vestiture of hair-like scales on the head, yellow to dirty yellow; antennae dark brown, respectively 3/4 (♂) and 1/2 (♀) of forewing length; thorax and tegulae violet with golden reflection; forewing dull bluish with conspicuously broad and mostly bronzy golden markings: a trapeziform fascia at 1/4, at 1/2 a moderately broad straight fascia across the whole wing width, inwardly oblique, at 3/4 a broad, variably shaped, inwardly convex fascia; fringe bronzy golden, basally bluish violet; hindwing bronzy golden, apically tinged purplish; fringe bronzy golden; legs and abdomen brown, golden shining.

There is some variation in the ground coloration from dull bluish to purple-violet. Sometimes there is also a small spot on the costa at 3/5. The wing pattern differs between the sexes only a little in the broadness of the fasciae, as is typical for the genus.

♂ Genitalia (Fig. 3). Uncus long, slender, with a broad rounded tip; a paired association of hair-like setae ventrally beyond the uncus; accessory claspers moderately long, nearly keel-shaped; along distal margin, a row of about 10-12 moderately long distally hook-like modified thickened setae oriented in slightly ventral direction; at inner surface proximally another irregular row of five or six shorter, finer setae; valvae moderately long, stout, distal third enlarged and strongly bent dorsally, constricted at the point of inflection; on the inner surface of the valvae a group of shorter setae postbasally; on the inner surface of the lower margin two to three irregular rows of shorter spinous setae and some longer setae on the distal fourth part.

♀ Genitalia (Fig. 4). Tergite IX missing; sternite IX reduced, constricted medially, with strongly fringed lateral margins, without diagnostic features. Terminal papillae with two sclerotized plates forming an undiagnostic band; receptaculum seminis long and slender, constricted in the first third, with transverse striation typical for the genus.

Diagnosis.

Micropterix trifasciella from Piedmont (Italy) shows somewhat similar but conspicuously narrower fasciae and differs in the ground colour. Micropterix rablensis from Friuli (Italy), Carinthia (Austria) and western Slovenia shows a somewhat similar wing pattern but is predominantly smaller and differs in the reddish bronzy golden to purple ground coloration of the forewings. Micropterix completella , endemic to Sardinia and Corsica ( Thierry and Nel 2012), has usually lighter purple-violet forewings with comparably broad fasciae and differs in the shape of the outer fascia. From all these mentioned species, the new species is furthermore clearly separated by its male genitalia, e.g. by the distinct shape of uncus and accessory claspers as well as by the orientation and form of the 10-12 long setae on the accessory claspers ( Kurz and Kurz 2015). In the male genitalia, the new species closely resembles Micropterix isobasella from Valais (Switzerland) (Fig. 5) and the recently described Micropterix stuebneri from Sierra Nevada (Spain), being distinguished from Micropterix isobasella mainly by its longer uncus and the partly hook-like modified thickened setae at the rounded distal margin of the accessory claspers and from Micropterix stuebneri mainly by its distinctly shorter and smaller accessory claspers ( Zeller-Lukashort et al. 2013). Micropterix isobasella can also easily be distinguished by its unicolorous golden forewings without any significant markings. In the female genitalia the new species differs from Micropterix rablensis by the shape of sternite IX, from Micropterix trifasciella and Micropterix completella by its strongly fringed lateral margins of sternite IX. There are no differences in the female genitalia between Micropterix isobasella and the new species.

Based on morphological characters ( Kurz et al. 2015), the new species is considered to belong to a species-complex together with Micropterix calthella , Micropterix isobasella and the recently described Micropterix stuebneri .

Molecular data.

The intraspecific divergence of the barcode region of Micropterix gaudiella sp. n. is moderate with a mean distance of 0.46% and a maximum distance of 0.77% (n=4) (Tab. 1). The minimum distance to the nearest neighbour Micropterix schaefferi on the contrary is much higher with 2.65% (mean dist. 3.18%, max. dist. 3.76%; n=9). The minimum distance to the morphologically closest Micropterix isobasella is 3.67% (mean dist. 3.85%, max. dist. 4.18%; n=1) and to Micropterix stuebneri 4.73% (mean dist. 4.99%, max. dist. 5.22%; n=1).

Distribution.

The new species is only known from the mountain Pizzo Arero (Alpi Orobie, Piedmont, Italy) from an elevation of about 1600 m.

Life history.

The early stages are unknown. The new species was observed from the end of June to mid-July near the border of a montane-subalpine beech forest with tall herbaceous vegetation and bushes (Figs 6, 7), congregating on Rosa sp. feeding on its pollen. Together with the new spe cies, Micropterix aruncella (Scopoli, 1763) was recognized on flowers of Rosa sp. too (Fig. 8). At the same locality Micropterix rothenbachii Frey, 1856 was also found. Several specimens of the new species were swept from flowers of Helianthemum spp. in adjacent subalpine grassland. The habitat is southern exposed slopes on limestone.

Etymology.

It was a great pleasure to find this unexpected new species from the Italian Alps. Therefore the new species is called “gaudiella”, derived from the Latin word “gaudium”, which means "fun, pleasure, happiness".

Remark.

The labels used by PH, Melania Massaro, Toni Mayr, Norbert Pöll and Siegfried Ortner differ in the usage of local names of the type locality but all refer to the same spot centred on 9°47,8'E; 45°55,07'N (DDM). According to Melania Massaro there are additional specimens collected at the type locality and deposited in MBCG, which are not examined and therefore not included in the type series.