Dialectica columellina ( Vári, 1961 )

Sruoga, Virginijus & Prins, Jurate De, 2023, New species, new country distribution records, and a new generic combination of Afrotropical Acrocercopinae (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae), Zootaxa 5285 (1), pp. 75-115 : 90

Dialectica columellina ( Vári, 1961)

( Figs 11A–F )

Acrocercops columellina ; Vári 1961: 149–150; pl. 14, fig. 8; pl. 61, fig. 4; pl. 97, fig. 6.

Dialectica columellina ; De Prins & De Prins 2005: 172.

Material examined. 1♁, Kenya, Arabuko Sokoke Forest , 15 km W Gede, 50 m, 03°17’S 039°59’E, 03.iv.2004, leg. J. De Prins. Gen. prep. VS550, in coll. RBINS .

Diagnosis. Among the Afrotropical species of the Dialectica , D. columellina is mostly similar to D. pavonicola ( Vári, 1961) , known from South Africa and D. odontosema ( Vári, 1961) , known from South Africa and Kenya. Superficially D. odontosema can be easy separated from D. columellina by the white fasciae strongly narrowed towards anterior margin of the forewing and D. pavonicola differs from D. columellina by the wider third transversal fascia. In the male genitalia D. columellina can be distinguished most easily by the presence of pair of separate cornuti near the apex of aedeagus, while in D. odontosema all cornuti are in clusters. In the female genitalia, a pair of sclerotized horns situated just before the corpus bursae in D. columellina (for illustrations refer to Vári 1961, 97, fig. 6), while in D. odontosema and D. pavonicola such horns are present at some distance from corpus bursae.

Flight period. Adults on the wing are recorded in April–May ( Vári, 1961).

Host plant(s). Pavonia columella Cav. , Malvaceae ( Vári 1961) .

Distribution. South Africa ( Vári 1961); Kenya (new record).

Figures

FIGURE 11. Dialectica columellina, male.A, adult, scale bar 1 mm; B, head, frontal view; C, genitalia, general view (aedeagus removed); D, aedeagus; E, cornuti; F, caudal part of abdominal pelt, gen. prep. VS550. Scale bar 0.1 mm.