Ectoedemia (Ectoedemia) spinosella (Joannis)

van Nieukerken, Erik, Laštůvka, Aleš & Laštůvka, Zdeněk, 2010, Western Palaearctic Ectoedemia (Zimmermannia) Hering and Ectoedemia Busck s. str. (Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae): five new species and new data on distribution, hostplants and recognition, ZooKeys 32 (32), pp. 1-82 : 70

Ectoedemia (Ectoedemia) spinosella (Joannis)

Figs 109, 110

Ectoedemia (Ectoedemia) albiformae Puplesis & Diškus, 2003: 186 . Holotype ♁ Turkmenistan: 40 km E Kara Kala, western part of Kopet dag ridge, 800 m, 30.V–27. VI.1993, Puplesis & Diškus (VPU) [paratype examined]. New synonymy

Biology. Hostplants: Prunus spp., P. spinosa L., P. domestica L., P. cerasifera Ehrh. , P. fruticosa Pallas , P. dulcis (Miller) , P. webbii (Spach) Fritsch. (new record). In most of Europe P. spinosa is the main host, in Greece the almonds P. dulcis and P. webbii . On most other hosts confusion with mines of E. mahalebella is possible. Univoltine in much of its area, in Greece bivoltine. Larvae in June ( Greece) and again July to November, depending on latitude and season. Adults fly in May-July.

Distribution. Russia: Van Nieukerken et al. 2004b; Belgium: Van Nieukerken 2006; Switzerland: Sauter 1983. Also recorded from Turkmenistan: Kopet Dag ( Puplesis et al. 1996). A former record from Lithuania (dot on map, Van Nieukerken 1985) was a mistake. Th e record from France (26): Les Prés (Van Nieukerken et al. 2006) wa misidentification for Ectoedemia mahalebella .

Remarks: E. albiformae was described from Turkmenistan, Western Kopet Dag. The authors compared it with E. petrosa Pupesis, 1988 , but (after studying a male paratype, see Figs 109, 110) we cannot separate it from E. spinosella in any detail, apart from the white colour of the androconial scales that surround the brown hairpencil, which are brown in normal spinosella . We also once found this form in Greece, and since E. spinosella also occurs in the western Kopet Dag ( Puplesis et al. 1996), we assume albiformae is most likely a colour aberration of spinosella , and hence synonymise it here. A female paratype of albiformae turned out to be an unknown Stigmella species.

Material. Greece: vacated mines, dead larvae, Argolis , Ligourio, Epidauros theater archeological site, 360, 8.XI.2008, Prunus webbii , E.J. van Nieukerken ( RMNH) ; lar- vae and vacated mines, Fokis , Dhelfoi, archeological site, 600–640 m, 6.XI.2008, E.J. van Nieukerken ( RMNH) ; 3♁, 2♀, Fokis , Itea, 12. VI.1998, A. & Z. Laštůvka (AL) ; 1♁ [“ albiformae ”], 2♀, Messinia , Pírgos, 18. VI.1998, A. & Z. Laštůvka (AL) ; 2♁, Préveza , Thesprotiko, 11. VI.1998, e.l. VII.1998, A. & Z. Laštůvka (AL) . Italy: 1♁, 1♀, Cuneo , Valdieri, Ris. Naturale Speciale Juniperus phoenicea, 860–950 m, 14–16. VIII.2007, e.l. 7. V.2008, E.J. van Nieukerken ( RMNH) . Turkmenistan: 1♁, 40 km E Kara Kala, western part of Kopet dag ridge, 800 m, 14. VI.1993, Puplesis & Diškus ( VPU) (paratype albiformae ) .