Philodoria nigrella Walsingham, 1907

Kobayashi, Shigeki, Johns, Chris A. & Kawahara, Akito Y., 2021, Revision of the Hawaiian endemic leaf-mining moth genus Philodoria Walsingham (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae): its conservation status, host plants and descriptions of thirteen new species, Zootaxa 4944 (1), pp. 1-175 : 61

Philodoria nigrella Walsingham, 1907

Figs. 13D, E .

Philodoria nigrella Walsingham, 1907: 721 , pl. 25, fig. 25); Zimmerman 1978a: 690, figs. 444, 451.

Type locality. Mt. Kilauea , Hilo (Big Island) .

Type material. Lectotype ♂, Mt. Kilauea, 2000ft, Hilo, Hawaii (Big Island), xii.1895, Perkins 28604, | B.M. ♂ Genitalia slide no. 4173| PHILODORIA NIGRELLA, ♂ Wlsm. Fn. Hawaii I. TYPE descr. figd.| Walsingham Collection, 1910—427| NHMUK010305337| in NHMUK (here designated). Paralectotype 1 ♂, Same locality, vii.1895, Perkins 27401| Philodoria nigrella, ♂ Wlsm. PARATYPE 1/1| Walsingham Collection, 1910—427| NHMUK010305338| in NHMUK. Described from two specimens, and Walsingham likely considered them as holotype and paratype, as indicated on their specimen labels. However, because a holotype was not specified in the description, the so-labeled types are syntypes under Article 73.2 of the Code ( ICZN 1999), and any one of them is can be designated as lectotype under Article 74 of the Code ( ICZN 1999). The syntype ‘type (28604)’, which Walsingham listed and figured, is here designated as lectotype ( Fig. 13D ) and the other syntype is the paralectotype.

Diagnosis. Blackish forewing with three white dorsal streaks and an outwardly white costal streak at 3/4. The forewing pattern is similar to P. touchardiella , but the latter has brownish forewing ground color and rather broad valva base.

Description: Adult ( Fig. 13D, E ). The following is from Walsingham (1907: 721): “Antennae fuscous, white at the apex. Palpi white, the median joint streaked with fuscous externally, the terrninal joint fuscous beneath. Head fuscous; face yellowish white. Thorax blackish. Forewings black, with a slight brownish gloss, a white spot at the extreme base below the middle and three short, outwardly oblique, white dorsal streaks, one near the base reaching to the fold, the second before the middle, crossing the fold, the third, shorter, at about the end of the fold; a little beyond the third dorsal is an oblique, narrow, spatulate leaden gray costal streak, which is succeeded by three white streaks in the costal cilia before the apex; at the apex is a black spot, separated beyond it by leaden gray and below it by chestnut-brown, from a black curved line around the base of the leaden gray cilia which blend with tawny fuscous about the tornus. Exp. al. 9 mm. Hindwing blackish; cilia tawny fuscous. Abdomen blackish, white beneath. Legs blackish, wllitish beneath; hind tarsi spotted with whitish.”

Male genitalia ( Zimmerman 1978a: fig. 451). Tegumen oblong, 0.8 x length of valva; valva oblong, dorsal margin indistinct and genitalia mounted in a poor condition. Saccus slender. Phallus straight in lateral view; cornuti in vesica indistinct.

Female genitalia Unknown.

Distribution. Hawaii (Big Island) ( Walsingham 1907).

Host plants and Biology. Unknown.

Remarks. This species has not been collected since the original two male specimens in 1895 and we believe it may be extinct.

Figures

FIGURE 13. Adults of Philodoria species. A P. epibathra (Walsingham, 1907) holotype female, B Same, left forewing, host Dubautia sp., CJ492, Molokai, C Same, right forewing, D P. nigrella (Walsingham, 1907) lectotype male, E Paralectotype male. Scale bar 1 mm.