Epermenia paramalawica GAEDIKE, 2013

Gaedike, Reinhard, 2020, New taxa and new records of Afrotropical Epermeniidae (Lepidoptera) with a distributional checklist, Beiträge Zur Entomologie = Contributions to Entomology 70 (2), pp. 359-364 : 360

Epermenia paramalawica GAEDIKE, 2013

Kenya: 2 , Central Castle Forest lodge, 2050 m, 0°22'51"S, 37°18'35"E, 22., 23.x.2013, [leg.] Agassiz, Beavan, Heckford & Larsen: coll. Agassiz

Epermenia (Calotripis) larseni spec. nov. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:FD37A601-032A-472B-9599-9E6DBCE52738

Holotype: , „ Zimbabwe: Manicaland, Upper Bvumba , 1680 m, 19°07'15"S, 32°46'10"E, 5.xi.2016, [leg.] A. Agassiz & K. Larsen “; „Gen.präp. [genitalia slide] Gaedike 9682“; „ Holotypus , Epermenia larseni sp. n. det. R. Gaedike 2020“ BMNH.

Derivatio nominis: Named after my colleague Knud

Larsen, one of the collectors of the new species.

Diagnosis ( Fig. 1 ): Wingspan 12 mm; head pale yellowish, laterally around eyes with some darker scales, labial palpus on inside with same coloration, on outside with dark brown scales, scape of antenna pale yellowish, with pecten, flagellum ringed; thorax and tegulae pale yellowish, basally overlaid with darker brown scales; forewing on dorsum with three tufts of raised scales at 1/3, 1/2 and 2/3, at ¾ an indication of a fourth tuft, the largest at 1/3; in the middle at 1/3, ½ and ¾ each a minute black dot, surrounded by white; ground coloration white, the apical half covered by light and darker brown pattern; brown in the area between half and 2/3 from costa to the second and third tuft; light and darker brown in the area surrounding the second black dot and from third dot to apex; hindwing grey.

Male genitalia ( Figs 5-7 ): Uncus slender, with pointed tip; tegumen with more strongly sclerotized edges; valva as long as uncus-tegumen, ampulla stout, nearly straight, with pointed tip, ventral edge more strongly sclerotized; border to valva strongly sclerotized, sacculus with apically rounded sclerotized tip below border; cucullus clearly longer than ampulla; phallus about two thirds of the length of valva, with a long thin cornutus.

Female genitalia: Unknown.

Remarks: Superficially similar to E. malawica , but the forewing with white ground colour, clearly visible on basal third, while in malawica the ground colour is pale ochreous. In the male genitalia the uncus slender, phallus clearly shorter than valva, while in malawica the uncus is stout and phallus as long as valva.

Figures

Figs 1–2: 1 – Epermenia (Calotripis) larseni; 2 – Epermenia (Calotripis) albofasciata.

Figs 3–14: Epermenia minuta (female: 3 – segment VIII, 4 – signum); Epermenia larseni (male: 5 – uncus-tegumen, 6 – valva, 7 – phallus); Epermenia albofasciata (male: 8 – uncus-tegumen, 9 – valva, 10 – phallus); Ochromolopis xeropa (male: 11 – uncustegumen, 12 – valva, 13 – phallus); Ochromolopis namibica (female: 14 – segment VIII).