Thubana xanthoteles (Meyrick, 1923)

Yang, Linlin, Zhu, Yanmei & Li, Houhun, 2010, Review of the genus Thubana Walker (Lepidoptera, Lecithoceridae) from China, with description of one new species, ZooKeys 53, pp. 33-44 : 37

Thubana xanthoteles (Meyrick, 1923) Figs 3-69, 10

Lecithocera xanthoteles Meyrick, 1923: 38.

Lecithocera melitopyga Meyrick, 1923: 41; Clarke, 1965: 232, as synonym of Thubana xanthoteles.

Thubana xanthoteles (Meyrick, 1923): Clarke, 1965: 232.

Thubana stenosis Park, 2003: 147, syn. n.

Material examined.

1 ♂, 7 ♀, China, Yunnan Province: Mengla (21°29'N; 101°33'E), 650 m, 23-25.VIII.2005, coll. Yingdang Ren; 2 ♂, 1 ♀, Jinghong (22°01'N; 100°48'E), 585 m, 17-18.IV.1995, coll. Hongjian Wang & Guangyun Yan.

Diagnosis.

This species can easily be separated from its allies by the elongate narrow forewing without patch (Figs 3, 4), or with an orange-yellow cuneate (Fig. 5) or bandlike costal patch (Fig. 6); in male genitalia (Fig. 9), the juxta with digitate, setose posterolateral lobes and a large triangular median projection, the aedeagus as long as and broader than valva, and the cornuti consisting of two sclerotized bars: the distal one needlelike, about 1/2 length of aedeagus, the median one stouter, somewhat acinaciform; in female genitalia (Fig. 10), the caudal margin of 8th sternite deeply emarginate at middle, the ostium broad, the antrum fan-shaped and weakly sclerotized, the ductus bursae narrowed basally, with many short spines medially, and the signum strawberry-shaped.

Distribution.

China (Yunnan), Thailand, India, Sri Lanka.

Discussion.

Meyrick (1923) described Thubana xanthoteles on the basis of two female specimens and described Thubana melitopyga from one female specimen. Clarke (1965) regarded Thubana melitopyga as a junior synonymof Thubana xanthoteles . Thus previously only three female specimens of Thubana xanthoteles have been known and none of these has the costal patch on the forewing. Park (2003) described Thubana stenosis on the basis of the specimens collected from north Thailand, which bears the "golden yellow bandlike costal patch" on the forewing. He also noticed that the "female genitalia" of Thubana stenosis "are hardly distinguishable from those of Thubana xanthoteles ". In this study, we found that the male genitalia of the three specimens collected in south Yunnan undoubtedly match with those of Thubana stenosis described by Park, and the female genitalia match with those of Thubana stenosis and of Thubana xanthoteles . We also found deciduous needlelike cornuti in the ductus bursae of female genitalia. Superficially, the males have no costal patch, but the females usually have a bandlike or cuneate costal patch. Thus we treat Thubana stenosis as a junior synonymof Thubana xanthoteles , and regard the presence or absence of the costal patch as intraspecific variation.

Notes.

This species is recorded for the first time in China.