Lukeniana utaheidenreichae Lehmann, Zahiri & Husemann, 2023

Lehmann, Ingo, Zahiri, Reza & Husemann, Martin, 2023, Revision of the Metarbelodes Strand, 1909 genus-group (Lepidoptera: Cossoidea: Metarbelidae) with descriptions of two new genera and 33 new species from high elevations of eastern and southern Africa, Zootaxa 5267 (1), pp. 1-106 : 39-40

Lukeniana utaheidenreichae Lehmann, Zahiri & Husemann sp. nov.

Figs 6g , 17a urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:0EBC89C1-02F4-4F77-99D0-A9D2B661387C

Type locality and repository: Mozambique, the Zoological State Collection , Munich ( ZSM) .

Material examined. Holotype male, Mozambique, Manica Province, Manica District, Barr De Chikamba Real, 640 m, 1901′S, 3303′E (corrected for Barr De Chikamba Real: 1909′S, 3308′E), 16 February 2009, J. Lenz leg., genitalia slide number 05/082015 I. Lehmann ( ZSM). Note: The holotype has a barcode label “BC ZSM Lep 33730”. The number is within the barcode series of Lukeniana lenzi (BC ZSM Lep 33728–33731), but according to the genitalia, is not similar to the latter species. Hence, there may have been a mistake in the barcode label on the specimen of L. utaheidenreichae

Description. Male. Head: Dark ochre mixed with honey yellow hair-like scales; long, dense, hair-like dark ochre scales between eyes; eyes mostly black with small brown patches; antenna 0.45 length of forewing, bipectinate, with branches 4.5 width of shaft, covered with cream-coloured scales laterally, shaft covered with creamcoloured scales dorsally; antennal tips not spatulate and with two long scales, bending towards apex; labial palpi dark ochre.

Thorax: Patagia and tegulae not shiny; long hair-like scales of ochre mixed with sepia; small pale ochre metathoracic crest. Hindlegs ochre with fine hair-like scales; one pair of narrow tibial spurs present, outer spur ca. 1.1 mm, inner spur ca. 0.9 mm. Forewing length of holotype 13.5 mm (wingspan 29.0 mm). Forewing upperside ochre, paler towards termen; costal margin without striae, sepia near base of wing; termen with small, faint lunules; terminal line absent, subterminal line represented by faded striae; no striae on entire wing; CuA 2 with narrow creamcoloured band, edged broadly with sepia above; remaining veins not distinctly coloured; cilia long in forewing and hindwing, 1.6 mm, cream-coloured, shiny. Underside of forewing not roughly scaled, with fine hair-like scales, cream-coloured, glossy, costal margin dark ochre, without striae. Hindwing upperside cream coloured, glossy; underside as forewing but without dark costa.

Abdomen: Cream-coloured with ochre, glossy; abdominal tuft short, one-fifth of abdominal length. Genitalia ( Fig. 17a ) with uncus lobes bearing rounded tips, short and long setae ventrally, basal edge of uncus bent at middle, almost triangular in ventral view, emargination broad, ca. 2.5 as broad as one tip of uncus lobe; gnathos arms only 1.1 longer than basal width of valva; valvae elongate, ovoid, costa without setae; sacculus without setae; only 30% of inner side of valva covered by weakly-sclerotized projection, setose, with a rectangular tip shorter than single thorn-like process below; the latter hollow and with few tiny setae; a long and ovoid emargination extending 40% of length of valva between weakly-sclerotized projection and thorn-like process; ventral side of valva not bent at middle. Saccus short, finger-shaped, opposite unsually broad ventral part of vinculum, rectangular, ca. 12 larger than saccus. Juxta large, 6 larger than saccus, tips acuminate, between them a deep emargination extending 90% length of juxta. Phallus long, 1.5 as long as width of valva, not trumpet-like, not bent in middle, slightly bilobate with cleft at each end.

Female. Unknown.

Diagnosis. Lukeniana utaheidenreichae is most similar to L. stueningi (see diagnosis of the latter species).

Distribution. Lukeniana utaheidenreichae is known only from Barr De Chikamba Real (elevation 630‒735 m), located on the eastern shore of the artificial lake Chikamba Real ( Fig. 21c ) between the Bvumba Mountains, Zimbabwe on the west, and Bandula on the east. Zambezia jennyhuntae , Z. darrelplowesi sp. nov., Z. durrellbarnesi sp. nov. and Metarbelodes umtaliana occur ca. 25–45 km to the west of Barr De Chikamba Real, but none of these species are closely related to L. utaheidenreichae since they belong to the two other genera. Lukeniana utaheidenreichae can be classified as an Afromontane linking species.

Habitat. See Appendix 1.

Etymology. Lukeniana utaheidenreichae is named in honour of Uta Heidenreich (born in 1981), a German teacher with an interest in Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. We are grateful to Uta for providing the majority of the genitalia pictures presented herein.

Figures

FIGURE 6. a. Lukeniana kammeri, holotype, male, Kenya, County Kiambu, Thika; b. L. mbalaensis, paratype, female, Zambia, Northern Province, Mbala; c. L. mbalaensis, holotype, male, Zambia, Northern Province, Mbala; d. L. hausmanni, paratype, male, Zambia, Northern Province, 23 km southeast Mbala; e. L. lenzi, paratype, male, Zambia, Northern Province, Mutinondo Wilderness Area; f. L. robplowesi, holotype, male, Zambia, Northern Province, Mbala; g. L. utaheidenreichae, holotype, male, Mozambique, Manica Province, Barr De Chikamba Real; h. L. stueningi, holotype, male, Zambia, Muchinga Province, Nyika National Park, Manyenjere Forest.

FIGURE 17. a. Lukeniana utaheidenreichae, holotype, male, Mozambique, Manica Province, Barr De Chikamba Real; b. L. georgeadamsoni, holotype, male, Kenya, Eastern Province, Game Ranch of Dr. David Hopcraft, 1.5 km west from the Lukenia Hills; c. L. mikerobertsi, holotype, male, Kenya, County Laikipia, Lolldaiga Hills Ranch and Wildlife Conservancy, “Kambi ya Simba”; d. L. andreashempi, holotype, male, Tanzania, Arusha Region, Mount Meru; e. L. kakamegaensis, holotype, male, Kenya, Western Province, Kakamega; f. L. jankiellandi, holotype, male, Tanzania, Katavi Region, Luega village.

FIGURE 21. a. Wetter type of miombo with open canopies and consequently with a high grass cover. The picture shows colourful woodland viewed from a small grassy plateau down into in the Mutinondo Wilderness Area (Zambia). The wet miombo is dominated by Brachystegia longifolia Benth., B. spiciformis and Julbernardia paniculata (Caesalpiniaceae). The picture was taken in October 2010 by Jürgen Lenz. b. One of the granite inselbergs (the hill in the centre) with distinctive scrub woodland in the Mutinondo Wilderness Area that is still on but close to the northeastern edge of the Southern African Plateau. Inselbergs sensu Bornhardt (1900) are rock outcrop formations occurring in a broad range of size, e.g. as single hills or as inselberg plateaus and in a varying degree of isolation. Hence, inselbergs are often least-disturbed ecosystems. The inselberg in the picture is partly covered by scrub woodland comprising, e.g. Vitex madiens Oliv. (Verbenaceae) and Ozoroa insignis Delile (Anacardiaceae) between the granite blocks and is surrounded by wet miombo. The picture was taken in October 2010 by Jürgen Lenz. c. The artificial lake of Chikamba Real (Mozambique) viewed from the Bvumba Mountains (Zimbabwe) in the West. The landscape that represents the habitat of Lukeniana utaheidenreichae is diverse and comprises Deciduous Miombo Savanna Woodland sensu Wild & Barbosa (1968) characterised by Caesalpiniaceae, e.g., Brachystegia spiciformis, B. boehmii Taub. and Julbernardia globiflora (Benth.) Troupin (Jonathan Timberlake, Friston, East Dean, U.K., pers. com. to I.L. in 2015). The picture was taken in April 2006 by Jürgen Lenz (Harare, Zimbabwe). d. Habitat of Mountelgonia arcifera (Hampson, 1909) and Lukeniana georgeadamsoni on the game ranch of Dr. David Hopcraft in Somalia-Masai edaphic grassland sensu White (1983).A young tree (left) of Acacia xanthophloea Benth. is in the foreground. To the right and in the background occur small trees of Balanites glabra Mildbr. (Balanitaceae) in Themeda triandra Forssk. (Poaceae) grassland. The small light green woody plant below the Acacia is Hibiscus flavifolius Ulbr. (Malvaceae). The picture was taken by Ingo Lehmann in March 1999. e. Habitat of Lukeniana mikerobertsi: 270–286 years old trees of Juniperus procera Hochst. (Cupressaceae) that form a Single-dominant Afromontane forest sensu White (1983) on Site 1 of Kambi ya Simba at 2.165 m (Lolldaiga Hills Ranch and Wildlife Conservancy). The smaller tree in the foreground (right) is Olea europaea L. (Oleaceae). Picture by Ingo Lehmann, March 2016.