Nemophora chionites (Meyrick, 1907)

(Figs. 19, 20, 80)

Nemotois chionites: Meyrick 1907: 990 .

Lectotype ♁ (designated by Kozlov 1995): India, Meghalaya, Khasi Hills (approx. 25 o 35′ N, 91 o 36′ E); labelled: 8 mm circle with violet border, print ‘Lecto-│type’; 5 × 10 mm, print + black ink ‘Khasi Hills │ Assam. │D. 1906’; 13 × 16 mm, black ink + print ‘ Nemotois │ chionites │ Meyr. 3/4 │ E. Meyrick det. │ in Meyrick Coll.’; 6 × 13 mm, print ‘Meyrick Coll. │ B. M. 1938–290’; 8 × 18 mm, print ‘ LECTOTYPE ♁ │ Nemotois chionites │ Meyrick, 1907 │ teste M. Kozlov 1995 ’ (NHM) [examined]. Paralectotypes. 1 ♁, labelled: 8 mm circle with blue border, print ‘Para-│lecto-│type’; 5 × 10 mm, print + black ink ‘Khasi Hills │ Assam. │D. 1906’; 13 × 16 mm, black ink + print ‘ Nemotois │ chionites │ Meyr. x/4 │ E. Meyrick det. │ in Meyrick Coll.’ [x = 4]; 6 × 13 mm, print ‘Meyrick Coll. │ B. M. 1938–290’; 8 × 18 mm, print ‘ PARALECTOTYPE ♁ │ Nemotois chionites │ Meyrick, 1907 │ teste M. Kozlov 1995 ’. 2 ♁, all labels as in previous paralectotype, except the date ‘.10.1906’ [x=1, 2]. One of these paralectotypes bears the label: 8 × 13 mm, print ‘B. M. │ Genitalia slide │ No. 27805’ (all in NHM) [examined].

Nemotois chionites: Meyrick 1912a: 7, 1912b: 9; Clarke 1955: 84.

Nemophora chionites: Kozlov 1995: 471‒472, figs. 9, 10, 13, 19, 40‒44; Das & Singh 2022: 264.

Other material. India. Meghalaya. 13 ♁ 3 ♀, Cherrapunji, x.1894 (Doncaster); 4 ♁, Khasi Hills, 1898‒1899 (Doncaster); 2 ♁ 2 ♀, Shillong, ix‒x.1918 (Fletcher) . Thailand. 1 ♁, 40 km SW Chiang Mai, Doi Inthanon NP, 1700 m, 25‒27.viii.1987 (Allen) (all in NHM) .

Diagnosis. Nemophora chionites differs from all other species of the askoldella species-group (Kozlov 1995) recorded in India ( N. cassionites, N. griseella and N. ischnodesma; Figs. 21‒26) by very long PLB (2 × vertical eye diameter) covered with long dense piliform scales, white costal spot in the apical part of the forewing and almost completely white hindwing.

Description (Figs. 19, 20, 80): see Kozlov (1995).

Distribution. India (Meghalaya), Thailand.