Bombyciella Draudt, 1950

Saldaitis, Aidas, Benedek, Balázs, Behounek, Gottfried & Stüning, Dieter, 2014, A revision of the genus Bombyciella Draudt, 1950, with description of a new species and a new genus (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae: Xyleninae), Zootaxa 3893 (4), pp. 551-561 : 552

Bombyciella Draudt, 1950

Type-species: Bombyciella talpa Draudt, 1950: 63 , pl. 4, fig. 19 (by original designation)

Redescription. Small moths, wingspan 24-35mm, forewing length 11-17mm. Ground colour of wings grey and black, with a purple hue in the non-type species. Black wing pattern markings consisting of obliquely upright scales; male antennae bipectinate until broadening roundly (club-like) towards tip, distal part of antenna slightly dentate and ciliate; antennae of female simple, shortly ciliate, with one or few strong setae laterally; palps short, terminal joint very small, covered with small, oval, lamellar scales and scarce, long, black, stiff, upright scales ventrally; proboscis well developed; frons densely covered with thin, upright hair-scales, vertex with a tuft of stiff, elongate scales pointing obliquely foreword; compound eyes at posterior half surrounded by very long, dark hairscales (“lashes”) ( Fig. 9 ); thorax dorsally almost completely covered with velvety-grey, very fine hair-scales with white tips having up to two incisions, one tuft near center and a second one terminally composed of somewhat coarser hair-scales; similar coarse hair-scale tufts found dorsally on the abdomen, on tergites 1, 3 and 4, the latter being the largest; thorax ventrally and first three sternites of abdomen densely covered with long, fine hair-scales; abdomen ( Fig. 11 ) light brown, covered by a mixture of lamellar scales and long whitish hair-scales.

Male genitalia. Uncus broad, dorso-ventrally flattened, rhombic or laterally rounded, weakly setose dorsally, apex acute; gnathus reduced; tegumen ventro-caudally with large, rounded peniculus lobes; vinculum large; saccus u-shaped; valvae broader at base, gradually tapering towards apex, or of even width, apex rounded with distinct corona; cucullus weak; sacculus sclerotized, harpe strong, S-curved or rather angled and apically rounded and a thorn-like, rather large and strong digitus present at ¾ of ventral margin of valvae ( talpa ) or absent ( antra sp. n.). Juxta small and weak, rhomboidal in shape, the medial process is strong, grinder-like on B. talpa , but it is completely reduced on B. antra sp. n. Aedeagus arched or strongly bent; carina present as a bar or a group of spines; vesica basally with a coarse or densely dentate surface and a large group of spiniform, long cornuti at middle.

Female genitalia. Ovipositor with elongated papillae anales; apophyses posteriores very long; apophyses anteriores short but thick, ostium bursae wide, antrum strongly sclerotized, elongated and funnel-shaped; ductus rather long and curved, anteriorly tapering, cervix bursae small, conical in shape corpus bursae membranous, the latter elongated and narrow or sack-like, without signum.

Figures

FIGURES 7 – 12. Maxiana gen. n., Euplexia spp., Bombyciella spp., adults, head and abdomen. 7. M. sericea, male, lectotype, China, Zhejiang (coll. ZFMK); 7 a. E. chloerythra, male, N. Vietnam, Lang Son (coll. NRCV); 8. M. sericea, males, lectotype and paralectotypes, China, Chekiang (coll. ZFMK); 9. B. talpa, male, lectotype, China, Shaanxi (coll. ZFMK); 10. M. sericea, male, China, Hunan (coll. ZFMK); 11. B. talpa, male, lectotype, China, Shaanxi (coll. ZFMK); 12. M. sericea, male, China, Hunan (coll. ZFMK).