Xyrosaris lichneuta Meyrick, 1918

Ponomarenko, Margarita G., 2024, Taxonomic status of Xyrosaris melanopsamma Meyrick, 1931 (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae) with notes on congeneric species in East Asia, Zootaxa 5486 (3), pp. 338-350 : 344-345

Xyrosaris lichneuta Meyrick, 1918

Xyrosaris lichneuta Meyrick, 1918 , Exotic Microlepidoptera, 2: 188.

Type locality: Khasis, Assam, NE India.

Xyrosaris lichneuta : Clarke 1965: 404, pl. 201, figs 2, 2a–c; Moriuti 1977: 224, Fig. 336; Sinev 2008: 46; Yamauchi & Hirowatari 2013: 162, pl. 3–17, figs 2, 3; Lewis & Sohn 2015: 119; Ponomarenko 2016: 61; Ponomarenko & Sinev 2019: 44; Komatsu 2020: 64, figs 7–9; Yagi 2022: 47, figs 1, 2; Na & Bae 2024: 420 , figs 3A.

Xyrosaris vaginata : Na & Bae 2024: 424 , fig 4C (female genitalia), misidentification.

Material examined. Russia, Primorskii Krai: 3♂, Olginskii distr., upper course of Milogradovka riv., 31.5 km NEE Lazo settl., 24.05.2012, gen. slide 236 MP (leg. M. Ponomarenko) ; 1♀, Ussurijsk district , 3 km SE Krasnyi Jar vill., 14.07.2000, gen. slide 232 MP (leg. M. Ponomarenko) ; 1♀, Ussurijskii distr., 2.5 km S of Kamenushka, Kaimanovka vill., 43°36′14″ N 132°13′09″ E, 25.08.2001, gen. slide 231 MP (leg. M. Ponomarenko) ; 1♂, Ussurijskii distr., Gornotajezhnoe vill., 22.09.1995 (leg. M. Ponomarenko) ; 2♂, Chernigovskii distr., 10 km SE Chernigovka, Gribnoe vill. vicinity, 44°15′30″ N 132°40′41″ E, 25, 27.08.1998 (leg. M. Ponomarenko) ; Sakhalin: 1♂, Nevelskii distr., Yasnomorskoe vill. 18.08.2019, gen. slide 179 MP (leg. M. Ponomarenko) , all in FSCB.

Primorskii Krai: 4♂, Pogranichyi distr., Barabash-Levada vill., 16.07– 8.08.1989 (leg. S. Sinev) ; 2♂, Oktyabr’skii distr., 15 km SW of Pokrovka, Orlikha , 1– 3.08.2005 (leg. S. Sinev) ; 1♂, Nadezhdinskii distr., De-Friz Peninsula , 8.08.1961 (leg. M. Omelko) ; 1♀, Khasanskii distr., 15 km SW of Slavyanka, Ryazanovka vill., 7.08.1983 (leg. S. Seksyaeva); Khabarovskii Krai: Khabarovsk env., Bol’shekhekhtsyrskii Nature Reserve : 1♂, Bychikha vill., 48°18′ N 134°49′ E, 13.05.2006 ; 1♂, Sosnenskii kordon, 48°14′ N 134°47′ E, 7– 8.06.2011 (leg. V. Dubatolov) ; 1♀, Chirki kordon, 48°12′ N 134°41′ E, 25– 26.08.2011 (leg. A. Dolgikh) ; 1♀, Chirki kordon, 48°11′ N 134°41′ E, 17– 18.09.2012 (leg. V. Dubatolov) ; Sakhalin: 8♂, 4♀, Kholmskii distr., Kholmsk settl. vic., 47°028′ N 142°037′ E, 7– 10.10.2018, 31.08.2019 (leg. O. Titova); Kuril Islands : 1♂, Kunashir Isl., 30 km SW Yuzhno-Kuril’sk settl., Alekhino kordon, 14– 16.08.1992 (leg. V. Zolotuhin) , all in ZIN.

Distribution. Russian Far East (Khabarovskii Krai, Primorskii Krai, Sakhalin and Kunashir Islands); South Korea; Northern, Eastern and Central China (Hebei, Jiangsu, Henan and Hubei); Japan (Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu); North–East India (Assam).

Host plants. Confirmed data are absent.

Remarks. Until recently, only two species, X. lirinopa and X. lichneuta , had been recorded in East Asia, but all specimens collected in the area were associated with the last species only. Despite the fact that all collected specimens possess high variability in colouration and wing pattern, the identification of them was made mainly by appearance. Thus, the sample from South Korea identified as X. lichneuta and posted to the Genbank (NCBI) was found to be conspecific with X. insularis based on genetic data ( Ponomarenko & Beljaev 2023). Moreover, both mentioned species are well differing by male and female genitalia. Therefore, data on the distribution of northeast Indian species X. lichneuta in Eastern Asia as well as its host plants require verification and clarification.