Kiwaia (Empista) yadongensis, Bidzilya, Oleksiy & Li, Houhun, 2016

Bidzilya, Oleksiy & Li, Houhun, 2016, A review of the genus Kiwaia Philpott, 1930 (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae) in the Palaearctic Region, Zootaxa 4098 (3), pp. 471-497 : 484

Kiwaia (Empista) yadongensis sp. n.

( Figs 22 , 61 )

Type material. CHINA: Holotype ♀, Yadong County [27°55′N, 88°92′E], Xizang (Tibet), 2950 m, 28.viii.2003, coll. Xinpu Wang & Huaijun Xue, gen. slide no. L07059 (NKU).

Description. Adult ( Fig. 22 ): Wingspan 14.0 mm. Head light grey mottled with light brown, with indistinct medial black line, labial palpus up-curved, grey with light grey medial belts and whitish apex, upper and inner surface of segment 2 whitish, underside with groove, segment 3 about as long as segment 2 and two times slender, antenna black grey ringed; thorax and tegulae dark-grey; forewing black mottled with grey, three black spots with light brown streaks between them under costal margin from it base to half length, two additional light brown streaks and three diffuse black spots in cell, subapical area slightly ligthter than rest of wing, covered with light grey and brownish scales, cilia grey, black-tipped; hindwing light grey.

Male unknown.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 61 ): Papilla analis ovate, covered with short setae; apophyses posteriores very long and narrow, exceeding over the bottom of bursa copulatrix; sternite VIII twice longer than broad, posterior 1/3 trapezoidal, subgenital plate narrow, densely covered with microtrichia especially along medial margins, far extending antriorely beyond the anterior margin of segment VIII and reaching one half length of antrum, anteromedial corners rounded, ventomedial depresion broad, subostial sclerite digitate, laterally and anteriorely strongly edged, merged anteromedially and broadly separated posteromedially, ostium opening indistinct; apophyses anteriores about six times shorter than the length of segment VIII, slender; antrum weakly sclerotized, reaching the tip of apophyses anteriores; ductus bursae very short; corpus bursae prolonged, pyriform; basal half of signum stout, distal hook narrow, pointed, weakly curved, inner margin with two small and one big teeth.

Biology. Host plant unknown. Adult has been collected late August at altitude of 2950 m.

Remarks. The only female was collected close to the type locality of K. (E.) montana sp. n. and K. (E.) medogia sp. n., but 150 m higher. Adult looks similar to K. (E.) medogia sp. n., but smaller, forewings are slightly broader and brown pattern is well developed along veins in cell. The genitalia are related to K. (E.) medogia sp. n. too, in having such a unique character for Kiwaia as a subgenital plate that is strongly protruded anteriorly. However K. (E.) yadongensis sp. n. differs in the shape of subostial sclerite, the narrower antrum, the shorter ductus bursae, slightly different signum and, particularly, extremely short apophyses anteriores. All these differences justify the consideration of K. (E.) yadongensis sp. n. as a closely related to K. (E.) medogia sp. n. but a separate species, that can be named after additional material, especially of the male, will be available. One could suppose that K. (E.) yadongensis sp. n. is an unknown female of K. (E.) montana sp. n., however the latter species well differ externally in the light brown pattern along the dorsal margin that is absent in K. (E.) yadongensis sp. n..

Distribution. China (Xizang).

Etymology. The specific name is derived from the type locality, Yadong County, Xizang.

Figures

FIGURES 21 – 27. Adults of Kiwaia (Empista) spp. 21, K. (E.) medogia sp. n., PT, ♂ (China: Xizang); 22, K. (E.) yadongensis sp. n., HT, ♀ (China: Xizang); 23, K. (E.) kumatai (Povolný), ♀ (Nepal); 24, K. (E.) povolnyi sp. n., HT, ♂ (China: Xizang); 25, K. (E.) povolnyi sp. n., PT, ♂ (China: Xizang); 26, K. (E.) povolnyi sp. n., PT, ♂ (China: Xizang); 27, K. (E.) ramulata (Meyrick), HT, ♂ (India).

FIGURES 60 – 62. Female genitalia of Kiwaia (Empista) spp. 60, K. (E.) medogia sp. n., PT (China: Xizang), slide no. L 07039; 61, K. (E.) yadongensis sp. n., HT (China: Xizang), slide no. L 07059; 62, K. (E.) kumatai (Povolný) (Nepal), slide no. 34175.