Ypsolopha asperella (Linnaeus, 1761)

Ponomarenko, Margarita G. & Zinchenko, Yuliya N., 2013, New taxonomic data on the genus Ypsolopha Latreille (Lepidoptera, Ypsolophidae) with descriptions of two new species from the Russian Far East, ZooKeys 289, pp. 25-39 : 26-28

Ypsolopha asperella (Linnaeus, 1761) Figs 17, 8

Phalaena (Tinea) asperella Linnaeus, 1761: 369; type locality: Upsala, Sweden.

Cerostoma falculella Erschoff, 1877: 343; type locality: Irkutsk, Russia; syn. n.

Material examined:

Type. Lectotype of Cerostoma falculella (here designated): ♂, [Russia], "Irkutsk VII [18]66"; "coll. Erschov", gen. slide Yps.-29 MP; red rectangular label "Lectotype Cerostoma falculella Erschoff, 1877" (ZINRAS).

Additional material.

Russia. 1♂, Peterburg [St.-Petersburg] suburb, 21 April [19]06, N. Kuznetcov leg., gen. slide Yps.-39 MP; 1♀, Pskov, 5 October 1907, Chistovsky leg.; 2♀, Irkutsk, coll. Grand Prince N.M. [Romanoff], gen. slide Yps.-32 MP, Yps.-33 MP (ZINRAS); 1♀, Chitinskaya obl., Nizhnii Chasuchei, 2 June 1995, V. Dubatolov, R. Dudko leg., gen. slide Yps.-34; 1♂, Jewish Autonomous Region, Radde, 17 July 2005, M. Ponomarenko leg.; Primorskii krai: 1♀, Sinegorka Mt. foot, 2 August 1999, M. Ponomarenko leg.; 1♂, Ussuriyskii reserve, 10 May 1995, Chistyakov leg.; 2♂, 3♀, 20 km SE Ussuriysk, Gornotaezhnoe, 20 August, 2 October 1994, 28, 29 April 1995, M. Ponomarenko leg., gen. slide Yps.-35 (♂) MP; 2♀, Vladiv ostok, Botanic garden, 17 April 1996, E. Beljaev leg.; 1♂, Shkotovskii distr., Litovka Mt., 22-25 October 1998; 1♂, Anisimovka, 9 October 1999, gen. slide Yps.-36 MP; 1♂, Chuguevskii distr., 16 km SE Yasnoe, Ussuri riv., "Pobedinskaya Polyana" hole, 2 August 2012, M. Ponomarenko leg.; 1♂, Sakhalin, Yuzhno–Sakhalinsk, 28 August 2010, V. Dubinina leg., gen. slide Yps.-37 MP (IBSS). Belorussia. 1♂, Vitebsk, 3 September 1975, V.I. Piskunov leg., gen. slide Yps.-38 MP (ZINRAS). Ukraine. 1♂, 1♀, Sumskaya obl., Lebedin, 10, 13 August 1968, V.I. Piskunov leg., gen. slide Yps.-30 (♂) MP, Yps.-31(♀) MP (ZINRAS).

Distribution.

Europe, Asia Minor, Middle East, Russia (European part, South Ural, Irkutskaya oblast’, Transbaikalia, Amurskaya oblast’, Primorskii krai), Korea and China (Beijing).

Remarks.

Our examination of the lectotype of Cerostoma falculella and specimens of Ypsolopha asperella from Europe, South Siberia and Russian Far East did not show sufficient differences to justify treating them as separate species. It should be noted that in the genitalia of the lectotype of falculella (Fig. 7) the ventral margin of the valva is slightly angled as it is in Far Eastern specimens of Ypsolopha asperella . Other characters (external and genitalic) can be more or less variable. No specific external and genitalic characters correlated with a particular generation were found nor any characters typical of European or Asian populations. Every generation whether of European or Asian populations contains specimens expressing the full spectrum of character variability. The life cycle of this species is studied insufficiently and it is difficult to ascertain how many generations there are. According to the examined material and published data the adults fly in the spring from March-May ( Zagulyaev 1981; Gershenson 1997). Usually spring specimens appear worn with indistinct forewing pattern, suggesting that specimens flying in October overwinter and reappear in early spring. In summer the adults appear in July. Moths flying in spring and summer vary in wing span from 16 mm to 22 mm. The aedeagus in every studied specimen has two more or less recessed apical lobes, 1-3 large square apical denticles and 3-14 small preapical ones (Figs 8a-f). The lectotype of Cerostoma falculella , collected in July, has an aedeagus with two large square apical denticles (Fig. 8a), the same number as found in specimens of Ypsolopha asperella from Vitebsk (Belorussia) (Fig. 8e) collected in September and Anisimovka (Russian Far East) (Fig. 8f) collected in October. Specimens of Ypsolopha asperella from Sankt-Petersburg (Russia, European part) (Fig. 8c) and Gornotaezhnoe (Russian Far East) (Fig. 8b), both collected in April, have a single square apical denticle on the aedeagus whilst in specimens from Sumskaya obl. (Ukraine) collected in August the aedeagus bears three large square apical denticles. Thus, the number of apical denticles on the aedeagus is not correlated with spring and summer generations nor with the geographic distribution, and it is here interpreted as intraspecific variation. Other structures of the male and female genitalia in specimens from different populations are more or less uniform and do not demonstrate distinct differences. Therefore falculella Erschoff is considered to be a junior subjective synonym of asperella Linnaeus.