Megacraspedus feminensis, Huemer, Peter & Karsholt, Ole, 2018

Huemer, Peter & Karsholt, Ole, 2018, Revision of the genus Megacraspedus Zeller, 1839, a challenging taxonomic tightrope of species delimitation (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae), ZooKeys 800, pp. 1-278 : 141-143

Megacraspedus feminensis sp. n.

Examined material.

Holotype ♀, "Kazakhstan 43°47'55"N 79°54'51"E Rahat Kuduk by Ili River shore tugai forest, 515 m 2.VI.2014 K. Nupponen & R. Haverinen leg." " DNA Barcode TLMF Lep 23656" "GU 17/1495 ♀ P. Huemer" (RCKN). Paratypes. Kazakhstan. 6 ♀, same data as holotype (RCKN).

Description.

Adult. Male. Unknown.

Female (Figure 118). Wingspan 22 mm. Labial palpus long, about two-fifths length of antenna, porrect, light yellow to white on upper and lower surface, white mottled with brown on inner and outer surface, white on upper and lower surface; segment 3 reduced. Antennal scape without pecten, scape white, indistinctly ringed with light brown. Head, thorax and tegula whitish yellow. Forewing light yellow; veins white; a narrow white line along costa; fringes light yellowish grey. Hindwing grey, with light grey fringes.

Variation. The colour of the upper and lower surface of the labial palpus varies from predominantly light yellow to white. Worn specimens become lighter.

Male genitalia. Unknown.

Female genitalia (Figure 295). Papilla analis laterally compressed, extruding from tip of abdomen, strongly sclerotised, with fine longitudinal lines, large, approximately 1.6 mm long, posteriorly evenly tapered to pointed apex, ventral edge convex, dorsal margin nearly straight; apophysis posterior rod-like, about 3 mm long, posterior end pointed, anterior end rounded; segment VIII about 1 mm long, strongly sclerotised except for transverse suboval ventromedial zone; subgenital plate almost without modified sclerotisations, anterior edge of segment straight, small elongated ostium bursae delimited by sclerotised lateral ridge; apophysis anterior rod-like, about length of segment VIII, with slightly inflated apex; colliculum short, weakly sclerotised; ductus bursae widening to weakly delimited corpus bursae, posterior part with granulate microsculpture; corpus bursae suboval, entire length of ductus and corpus bursae approximately 2.6 mm; signum small, rounded, spiny plate.

Diagnosis.

Megacraspedus feminensis sp. n. is characterised by its rather large size, by the long, porrecting labial palps, and by its yellowish forewings with white veins. It resembles M. coleophorodes (Figure 117), but diffiers in having porrecting labial palps and a thin white costa. M. feminenis sp. n. is also very similar to M. argyroneurellus (Figure 122) (especially matching lighter coloured specimens occurring in Turkey, Iran and Turkmenistan), and M. lagopellus (Figure 115), but these species have segment 3 of the labial palps well developed, and M. argyroneurellus has white hindwings. The female genitalia are similar to those of M. lagopellus (Figure 293) and M. coleophorodes (Figure 294) but differ e.g., in the large and less pointed papilla analis with longitudinal lines, and the shape of the membranous zone of segment VIII.

Molecular data.

BIN BOLD:ADJ1364 (n = 2). The intraspecific divergence of the barcode region is low with mean and maximum divergence of 0.2%. The distance to the nearest neighbour M. lagopellus is 7.8% (p-dist).

Distribution.

Kazakhstan.

Biology.

Host plant and early stages are unknown. The adults have been collected at the beginning of June at an altitude of ca. 500 m.

Etymology.

This species, being known only from females, is named in honour of the feminine gender. The name is a noun in apposition.

Remarks.

Megacraspedus feminensis sp. n. is one of the few species in the genus with predominant numbers of collected females, resembling other closely related species of the M. lagopellus species group.