Athrips bidzilyai Junnilainen

Junnilainen, Jari & Nupponen, Kari, 2010, The gelechiid fauna of the southern Ural Mountains, part I: descriptions of seventeen new species (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), Zootaxa 2366, pp. 1-34 : 23-24

Athrips bidzilyai Junnilainen sp. n.

Figs. 46–49

Type material. Holotype: Ƥ (Fig. 46): Russia, S-Ural, Orenburg district, 51°09–12’N 58°02–08’E, 320 m, Orsk 40 km W, near Guberlja village, 25.VI.2003, K. Nupponen leg. ( TKN, to be deposited in ZMH). Paratypes (3 3, 4 ƤƤ): Same data as holotype except for dates: 25.VI.2003 (1 Ƥ), 26.VI.2003 (1 Ƥ) ( TKN).

Russia: S-Ural, Cheliabinsk district, 52°39’N 59°34’E, 350 m, Arkaim reserve near Amurskii village, 14– 19.VI.1996 (1 3), K. Nupponen, J-P. Kaitila, J. Junnilainen & M. Ahola leg. ( JJ); S Buryatia, 51º11–13’N 106º10–12’E, 700 m, Hamar Daban mnts, Murtoy river, Gusinoe Ozero village 6 km NW, forest steppe, 19.VI.2002 (2 3, 2 ƤƤ), K. Nupponen leg. ( TKN). Genitalia slides: J. Junnilainen prep. no. 0 4022302 (Ƥ), 0 4022304 (3); K. Nupponen prep. no. 1/ 03.IV.2006 (3).

Diagnosis. A. bidzilyai is habitually a characteristic species and rather easy to separate from other known species of the genus. It most resembles A. pruinosella (Lienig & Zeller, 1846) and A. spiraeae (Staudinger, 1871) , but differs from these by its unicolorous dark grey ground colour and very distinct blackish spots with erect scales on the forewings. The genitalia of both sexes are close to those of A. mouffetella (Linnaeus, 1758) . In the male genitalia of A. bidzilyai the valva is more curved and longer, exceeding the tip of uncus setae, and the juxta lobes are basally narrower. In the female genitalia the sclerotized part of the ductus bursae does not extend to the tips of the apophyses anteriores and the lateral patches in sternum VIII are anteriorly more rounded.

Description. Wingspan 13.0– 13.5 mm. Head, thorax and abdomen fuscous. Antenna dark brown, weakly ringed greyish. Labial palp strongly pointed upwards; segment II broad, covered by dark brown white-tipped scales; segment III thin, ringed black and white. Legs covered by dark brown white-tipped scales, tarsus whitish. Ground colour of forewing dark greyish; nine distinct blackish spots with erect scales forming the following three cross rows: oblique at 0.2; almost straight at 0.4; angled at 0.6. Hindwing dark fuscous.

Male genitalia (Fig. 47). Uncus subrectangular, 1.5x longer than wide, distal margin and lateral sides covered with long setae. Gnathos hook long and slender; basal half slightly curved, distal half almost straight, apex pointed. Tegumen 2x longer than uncus. Valva long and slender, gradually curved inwards, exceeding apex of uncus setae. Sacculus evenly thick and curved, apex blunt. Juxta lobes as long as sacculus, moderately slender, slightly tapering towards rounded apex. Saccus short and broadly rounded. Aedeagus robust; caecum large, distal half straight and stout, gradually tapering towards apex.

Female genitalia (Fig. 48–49). Papillae anales almost as broad as long. Apophyses posteriores thin, length 1.2 mm. Apophyses anteriores rod-shaped, as long as segment VIII (0.5mm). Sternum VIII with separate honeycomb-like patches on both lateral sides, anterior margins of patches rounded; lateromedially a pair of low and laterally weakly wrinkled subtriangular projections. Ostium narrow, pipe-like structure. Sclerotized part of ductus bursae extending 0.7 of apophyses anteriores. Ductus bursae long, posterior part spiral-shaped. Corpus bursae asymmetrical sack, signum V-shaped plate close to ductus bursae.

Bionomy. The specimens were collected by artificial light in the second half of June, in Guberlja and S Buryatia from rocky steppe slopes, and in Arkaim from a grassy lowland steppe.

Distribution. Russia (S Ural, S Buryatia).

Etymology. This species is dedicated to Dr. Oleksiy Bidzilya, who kindly supported us to solve many difficult taxonomical problems concernig the Eastern Palearctic fauna of Gelechiidae .

Remark. The species is not mentioned in a review of the genus Athrips in the Palaearctic region (Bidzilya 2005).