Coleophora textoria Meyrick, 1921

Baldizzone, Giorgio & Van Der Wolf, Hugo W., 2015, On the taxonomy of Afrotropical Coleophoridae (II) (Lepidoptera, Coleophoridae), Zootaxa 4000 (3), pp. 335-362 : 357-359

Coleophora textoria Meyrick, 1921

( Fig. 10 )

Material examined. Lectotype ♂, here designated, (GP Janse 6384) “ Pret.[oria] North | 20.2.1917 | C.J. Swierstra ”, “776”, “D”, “G. 6384”, “ Coleophora textoria Meyr. | Cotype No. 2581”, coll. DNMN. Specimen in bad condition with only two left wings, and without antennae and legs.

Paralectotype ♀, (GP Janse 6388) “Pret. North. 16.I.1917, C.J. Swierstra”, coll. DNMN.

Paralectotype ♂ (GP BMNH 27344) “Pretoria, Transvaal, CJS 10.2.17 ”, coll. BMNH.

Paralectotype ♀ (GP BMNH 27345) “Pretoria, Transvaal, CJS 15.2.17 ”, coll. BMNH.

1♂ (GP Bldz 15297) “ Kenya: Central Naro Moru, 2060 m, 3.XII.2009, D.J.L. Agassiz”; 1 ♂ (GP Wolf 8434) ibidem, 27.XII. 1999; 1 ♂ (GP Bldz 15300) ibidem, 2. XI.2006; 1 ♂ (GP Wolf 8438) “ Kenya: Rift Valley, Ndoinet, 9000 ft. 20.XII. 1998 D.J.L. Agassiz”; 1 ♂ (GP Wolf 11027)” Kenya: Rift Valley, Mpala Res. C 1720 m. 0° 17’27” N, 36° 53’52” E, 27.XI.2008 D. Agassiz, L. Aarvik & A.J. Kingston”; 1 ♀ (GP Wolf 11028), idem; 1 ♂ (GP Wolf 11029), ibidem, 26.XI.2008; 1 ♂ (GP Wolf 11043) “ Kenya, Eastern, Lewa, 2070 m. 0° 8’24” N, 37° 27’28”E, 28.XI.2008, D. Agassiz, L. Aatvik & A.J. Kingston”; 2 ♂ ♂ (GP Wolf 8437, 8447) “ Kenya Coast, Mwabungu s.l. 19.VIII. 2000 D.J.L. Agassiz”; 1 ♂ (GP Wolf 8957) “ Tanzania Morogoro Distr. & Town: Kihonda 500 m. 1.X.1992 leg. L. Aarvik”; 1 ♀ (GP Bldz 13545) “ Namibia, Exp. ZMB 1992 Bushmanland: Klein Doba, 19° 25’ S, 20° 21’E lux 19–21.II. 1992, leg. W. Mey”; 1 ♂ ( PG Bldz 15302) “ Botswana, Maun, 957 m, 1–2.XII.2010, lux, leg. G. Bassi”. Colls. BMNH, Bldz, Wolf.

Diagnosis. A species with forewing sandy ochreous, more brownish in the apical region, with lighter streaks.The genitalia do not connect it to any other Afrotropical species, but resemble those of C. longiductella Baldizzone, 1989 , a species attributed to Toll’s 9th group, known from Iran, Yemen and Pakistan, of which the habitus is different: it is smaller, and its forewings are uniformly light brown. The male genitalia are rather identical, but stand out by the shape of the sacculus and by the long line of cornuti. In the female genitalia the differences are more obvious, because of the shape of the sterigma with two characteristic symmetrical folds, and the spiculate part of the ductus, which is shorter and wider in longiductella .

Description. The original description of the adult as given by Meyrick is correct: “♂ ♀ 11 mm. Head shining whitish. Palpi whitish, second joint slightly tufted at apex beneath. Antennae whitish, basal joint with rough projecting scales anteriorly. Thorax shining whitish, shoulders sometimes infuscated. Abdomen pale greyish, anal tuft ochreous-whitish. Forewings elongate-lanceolate; rather light ochreous-fuscous or greyish-ochreous, more or less suffused with darker irroration towards apex; costa slenderly white from base to about 2/3; a very fine indistinct whitish line along fold, and three or four feebly marked similar parallel lines above and below it, dorsal area suffused with white towards base; cilia ochreous-grey-whitish, on costa white except towards apex. Hindwings light grey, cilia ochreous-whitish.”( Meyrick 1921: 120)

Male genitalia ( Figs. 76–79 ): Gnathos knob globular, small. Tegumen stretched. Pedunculus small, slightly rounded. Transtilla slender, straight. Valvula wide, little pronounced, rounded, with upper margin more or less pronounced and rounded, on which occurs a large curved bristle. Cucullus long, slender, apically rounded. Sacculus narrow, ventral margin curved, tapering towards an acute dorso-caudal process. Phallotheca broad, transparent, tapering towards a blunt tip. Cornuti a long curved string of needle-like spines, accompanied by a thin sclerotized lamina.

Female genitalia ( Figs. 80, 81 ): Papillae anales stretched, narrow. Apophysis posterioris slightly less than twice length of anterioris. Sterigma subtrapezoid; distal margin rounded, medially excavated towards ostium bursae. Ostium bursae V-shaped. Colliculum chaliced, half length of sterigma. First section of ductus bursae transparent with strong medial line; second section, about 18 times longer than sterigma, a strongly chitinized band enveloped in a sleeve speckled with tiny spikes, continuing into several wide convolutions; third segment transparent, merging into a sack-like bursa, provided with a large leaf-like signum.

Abdominal apodemes ( Fig. 82 ): No posterior lateral struts. Transverse strut with convex slender margins. Tergal disk three times longer than wide, covered with about 36 tiny spikes.

Bionomy. The foodplant and the early stages are not known

Distribution. Widespread: from Namibia and South Africa to Tanzania and Kenya.

Figures

FIGURES 8 – 13. Adults of Coleophora spp. 8, C. hirsutella Baldizzone & van der Wolf, sp. nov. — Holotype ♀. 9, C. niphocrossa Meyrick, ♂ (GP Bldz 14989) “ South Africa, Franschhoek, Theewaters Nat. R., 16. X. 2009 LF [Lichtfang], leg. W. Mey ”. 10, C. textoria Meyrick, ♂ (GP Bldz 15302) “ Botswana, Maun, 957 m, 1 - 2. XII. 2010, lux, leg. G. Bassi ”. 11, C. enchitis Meyrick, ♀ (GP Bldz 15036) “ Kenya, Mt. Kenya, Hadquarter camp, 10. I. 2004, 2442 m, leg. L. Kühne ”. 12 – 13, C. enchitis Meyrick, larval cases, “ Kenya, Rift Valley, Turi, 8000 ft., larva on Trifolium semipilosum, em. 31. X. 1999, D. J. L. Agassiz ”.

FIGURES 76 – 79. Male genitalia of C. textoria Meyrick. 76, GP Bldz 15300, “ Kenya: Central Naro Moru, 2060 m, 2. XI. 2006, D. J. L. Agassiz ”. 77, enlarged detail of valva, sacculus and phallotheca, GP Bldz 15302, “ Botswana, Maun, 957 m, 1 - 2. XII. 2010, lux, leg. G. Bassi ”. 78, enlarged detail of valva, sacculus and phallotheca, GP Bldz 15300. 79, much enlarged cornuti, GP Bldz 15300.

FIGURES 80 – 82. Female genitalia of C. textoria Meyrick. 80, GP BMNH 27345, “ Pretoria, Transvaal, CJS 15.2.17 ”, coll. BMNH. 81, detail of sterigma and colliculum. 82, abdominal segments 1 – 5.