Microchilo Okano, 1962

Microchilo Okano, 1962 a: 129 . Type species: Microchilo inouei Okano, 1962

DIAGNOSIS

Species of Microchilo exhibit short greyish forewings. Okano (1962) provides a diagnostical description of the genus. Forewing very small (4-8 mm), greyish white, brown or grey; antemedian and postmedian lines present. Male genitalia with the following characters: uncus wide at base, medially narrowed, apex rounded; gnathos with very short, pointed projection; tegumen arms relatively short; valva narrow, costa sclerotized, produced at apex into a spine pointed upwards or outwards; saccus conspicuously protruding anterad; vesica with or without cornuti (Okano, 1962; pers. obs.). Female genitalia have the following characters: papillae anales minute, connected dorsally, free ventrally; posterior and anterior apophyses very long; intersegmental membrane VIII-IX roughly 2 X length of tergite VIII; antrum membranous or sclerotized, tubular; ductus bursae rather short, in some species covered with minute spines, often straight; corpus bursae often with short, streak-like signum (Okano, 1962; pers. obs.).

DISTRIBUTION

Distributed in Eastern Palearctic (Japan, continental China) and Oriental regions. Four species are newly described here for the Philippines: Microchilo bundoki sp. n., Microchilo cebuano sp. n., Microchilo spinosus sp. n., Microchilo imminutela sp. n.

PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIPS

Microchilo has been placed by Gaskin in the Diptychophorini (Gaskin, 1971), but molecular analyses suggest the genus belongs to the “narrow-winged clade,” sister to the Diptychophorini (Léger et al., 2019).