Identities and provenance of the gelechioid moths originally described by Francis Walker from 'unknown countries'

Abstract. The taxonomic placement and possible type-localities of twelve species and one genus of Gelechioidea described by Francis Walker from 'unknown countries' are discussed. Opisina arenosella Walker is the senior synonym of Nephantis serinopa Meyrick and Opisina Walker is the senior synonym of Nephantis serinopa Meyrick and Opisina Walker the senior synonym of Nephantis Meyrick; Aroga compositella (Walker), new combination, is the senior synonym of A.coloradensis (Busck); Cryptolechia metaphaeella Walker is a junior synonym of Antaeotricha schlaegeri (Zeller); A.albulella (Walker), new combination, is the senior synonym of A.vestalis (Zeller), and A.spurcatella (Walker), new combination, is the senior synonym of A.chloromis (Meyrick). A lectotype for C.metaphaeella Walker is designated.     

Revision of the Australian species of Hyalobathra Meyrick (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea: Crambidae: Pyraustinae) based on adult morphology and with description of a new species

Abstract The genus Hyalobathra Meyrick is redefined based on five Australian species including the type  species. The four named Australian species, H. archeleuca Meyrick, H. unicolor (Warren) , H. miniosalis (Guenée) and H. minialis (Warren), are redescribed and a new species, H. crenulata sp. n., is described . Hyalobathra unicolor is removed from synonymy with H. illectalis (Walker), and lectotypes are designated for H. archeleuca , H. minialis and for H. rhodoplecta Turner, a synonym of H. miniosalis . The presence of H. paupellalis (Lederer) in Australia could not be confirmed, but its genitalia are figured. Two previously included species, ' Hyalobathra ' aequalis (Lederer) and ' H .'  brevialis (Walker), are excluded from Hyalobathra, as they lack its generic apomorphies, but cannot at present be assigned to any other genus.     

Review of the genus Thubana Walker (Lepidoptera, Lecithoceridae) from China, with description of one new species

The genus Thubana Walker is reviewed for China. Nine species are recognized, of which Thubana felinaurita Li, sp. n. is described as new; Thubana dialeukos Park, 2003 and Thubana xanthoteles (Meyrick, 1923) are newly recorded for this country; Thubana stenosis (Park, 2003), syn. n. is synonymised with Thubana xanthoteles, and Thubana microcera (Gozmány, 1978), syn. n. with Thubana leucosphena Meyrick, 1931. Images of adults and genitalia are provided. A checklist of Thubana species in China is included, along with a key to these species.     

A taxonomic revision of the genera Polemograptis Meyrick, and Archigraptis Razowski (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

Polemograptis Meyrick is here restricted to three species, with five species being transferred elsewhere. Archigraptis Razowski, previously a monobasic genus, is expanded to include three new species and A.stauroma (Diakonoff), n.comb. A hindwing cubital pecten is reported for two species of Polemograptis. The sexually dimorphic hind-wing anal tuft of two species of Archigraptis is discussed. It is suggested that the bright colours of one species of Archigraptis may indicate a mimetic association with a gelechiid moth.     

Genus Thubana Walker in Indonesia, with descriptions of four new species (Lepidoptera: Lecithoceridae) and a world catalog of the genus

The genus Thubana Walker (Lepidoptera: Lecithoceridae: Torodorinae) in Indonesia is reviewed, with three known species from Java and four additional new species: Th. raphidodea sp. nov. from Sulawesi, Indonesia and Malaysia; and Th. erycinae sp. nov., Th. apiculalis sp. nov. and Th. sellarius sp. nov. from Sumatra, Indonesia. The previously known species from Java, Th. costimaculella (Snellen), is redescribed for the wing venation and genitalia of both sexes; however, the syntype of Th. heylaertsi (Snellen) is observed only by its photograph. No specimens of Th. heylaertsi and Th. xylogramma Meyrick were found during this study. Photos of all known species, except Th. xylogramma Meyrick, and a key to species are provided. A catalog for the genus with all 46 known species in the world is given.     

Satellite-DNA evolutionary patterns under a complex evolutionary scenario: the case of Acrolophus subgroup (Centaurea L., Compositae) from the western Mediterranean

Within the genus Centaurea (subtribe Centaureinae, tribe Cardueae, Compositae) hybridizations and reticulate-evolution phenomena have widely been recognized. This is especially true in the taxa included in the subgroup Acrolophus from the western Mediterranean area, in which recurrent hybridizations of parapatric ("microallopatric") lineages within the geographical range of a primary radiation have been suggested. The subgroup Acrolophus includes taxa from three sections (i.e. Acrolophus, Phalolepis and Willkommia), and, together with other subgroups, forms the named Jacea group (one of the three main groups into which Centaurea is divided). In this paper, we have studied the influence that the complex evolutionary scenario described for the Acrolophus subgroup from the western Mediterranean exerts on the evolutionary pattern of a satellite-DNA family, the HinfI family, which exists within the genomes of these taxa. To this end, we have analyzed the evolution of this satellite-DNA family in taxa from different taxonomic comparative levels: i) seven subspecies of the C. boissieri complex (one of which with two varieties) of the sect. Willkommia; ii) species of the sections Willkommia (10 species, 19 taxa), Acrolophus (two species), and Phalolepis (two species), all in the Acrolophus subgroup; iii) one external species to the Jacea group, C. granatensis from the group Acrocentron; iv) and species from other related genera from the Centaureinae subtribe (Phonus and Carthamus, both belonging to the Carthamus group). The influence of the suggested model for the origin and diversification of the Acrolophus subgroup is evidenced by the existence of three different HinfI satellite-DNA subfamilies coexisting in some genomes, and by the analysis that we have made by comparing site-by-site the transition stages in the process of concerted evolution between the sequences of the each subfamily. From this analysis, we can deduce that the HinfI repeated subfamilies evolved in a gradual manner, and that the different stages of concerted evolution fit quite well with the combined nuclear-chloroplast-DNA-deduced divergences and phylogeny of the subtribe Centaureinae. The HinfI satellite-DNA from the Carthamus species group (genera Carthamus and Phonus) and from the Acrocentron group (Centaurea granatensis) shows a high intraspecific conservation of the repeats, suggesting that the mechanisms producing concerted evolution have been efficient in these taxa. In addition, the comparison of individual nucleotide positions between related species shows a paucity in the spreading of variants in each subfamily with satellite-DNA divergence, an indication of a constant rate of homogenization of the repeated cluster. On the contrary, this trend is absent in the comparisons of the HinfI sequences from taxa of the subgroup Acrolophus. In this subgroup, we have found in this repetitive family similar representative average sequences for each taxon analyzed, polymorphic sites in each taxon being scant, most of them autapomorphic, representing early stages of genetic differentiation between taxa in the process of concerted evolution. The absence of concerted evolution was visualized by similar levels of intraspecific variation and interspecific divergence and by the lack of fixed species-diagnostic nucleotide sites. These facts might reflect the reticulate mode of evolution of Acrolophus.     

Review of the genus Ctenopseustis Meyrick (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), with reinstatement of two species

Abstract

The genus Ctenopseustis Meyrick (Tortricinae: Archipini) is reviewed. The species C. fraterna Philpot, 1930 and C. servana Walker, 1863 are reinstated, and the concept of C. obliquana (Walker, 1863) is redefined. Synonymies are given for each species, and characteristics are described and illustrated.     

Revision of the genus Helastia sensu stricto with description of a new genus (Lepidoptera: Geometridae: Larentiinae)

Abstract

Helastia Guenée, 1868 is redefined and redescribed. New Zealand species previously placed in that genus but not congeneric with the type species are reassigned to either the available genera Epyaxa Meyrick, 1883, Asaphodes Meyrick, 1885 and Xanthorhoe Hübner, [1825] or placed in a newly described genus, Gingidiobora. Six Australian species placed in Xanthorhoe are shown to be congeneric with three New Zealand species, previously placed in Helastia and here transferred to Epyaxa.

Eight new species are described in Helastia: Helastia alba n. sp.; H. angusta n. sp.; H. christinae n. sp.; H. cryptica n. sp.; H. mutabilis n. sp.; H. ohauensis n. sp.; H. salmoni n. sp.; H. scissa n. sp. The following new combinations and synonymies are proposed: Asaphodes chlorocapna (Meyrick, 1925) n. comb.; A. citroena (Clark, 1934) n. comb.; A. glaciata (Hudson, 1925) n. comb.; A. ida (Clark, 1926) n. comb; Epyaxa agelasta (Turner, 1904) n. comb.; E. centroneura (Meyrick, 1890) n. comb.;

E. epia (Turner, 1922) n. comb.; E. hyperythra (Lower, 1892) n. comb.; E. lucidata (Walker, 1862) n. comb.; E. sodaliata (Walker, 1862) n. comb.; E. subidaria (Guenée, 1857) n. comb.; E. venipunctata (Walker, 1863) n. comb.; Gingidiobora nebulosa (Philpott, 1917) n. comb.; G. subobscurata (Walker, 1862) n. comb.; Helastia clandestina (Philpott, 1921) n. comb.; H. corcularia (Guenée, 1868) n. comb. (= Larentia infantaria Guenée, 1868 n. syn.); H. expolita (Philpott, 1917) n. comb.; H. siris (Hawthorne, 1897) n. comb.; H. triphragma (Meyrick, 1883) n. comb.     

A taxonomic Review of the Subfamily Torodorinae (Lepidoptera,Lecithoceridae) of Vietnam,with Descriptions of Five New Species

As the first part of the taxonomic review for the Lecithoceridae in the northern part of Vietnam, 14 species belonging to the subfamily Torodorinae are recognized, including five new species. We describe three species of the genus Torodora Meyrick (T. phamae sp. nov., T. bachmaensis sp. nov., T. nabiella sp. nov.), two species of Antiochtha Meyrick and Thubana Walker (A. angustivalva sp. nov. and T. circularis sp. nov.) respectively. A taxonomic review for all known species of the subfamily in Vietnam is provided, with illustrations of the imago and genitalia for the species.     

A new genus of broad-winged moths of the family Cryptolechiidae (Acryptolechia,Lepidoptera, Gelechioidea) from southeastern Asia

The new genus, Acryptolechia (Lepidoptera, Cryptolechiidae), with the type species Cryptolechia malacobyrsa Meyrick, 1921 is described. The differences between this species and the type species of the genus Cryptolechia, Zeller 1852 (C. straminella Zeller, 1852) are shown. The genus Meleonoma Meyrick, 1914 is the closest to the new one. In addition to the type species, the new genus includes Acryptolechia facunda (Meyrick, 1910) comb. n. from India and A. torophanes (Meyrick, 1935) comb. n. from China.     

Taxonomic review of the tribe Oxyptilini (Lepidoptera: Pterophoridae) from Korea

The tribe Oxyptilini of the family Pterophoridae in Korea is reviewed. Four species, Capperia trichodactyla (Denis & Schiffermüller 1775), Oxyptilus chrysodactylus ([Denis & Schiffermüller] 1775), Procapperia pelecyntes (Meyrick 1908), and Tomotilus celebrates (Meyrick 1932) comb. nov., are newly reported from Korea. All recognized species are described with taxonomic notes and illustrations including male and female genitalia. Keys to the species are also presented.     

Genus Autosticha Meyrick (Lepidoptera: Autostichidae) from Taiwan,China

Fourteen species of the genus Autosticha Meyrick,1886 are recorded from Taiwan,China.The genus Cynicocrates Meyrick,1935 is proposed as a new synonym of Autosticha,and its type species A.tachytoma (Meyrick,1935) comb.nov.is transferred to Autosticha.Autosticha cordiformis sp.nov.is described as new,and A.tachytoma is redescribed with male for the first time.A checklist of all the described species in Taiwan is given.Photographs of the new species and the newly combined species are provided.     

Adaptation of indigenous larval parasitoids to Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) in Italy

Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) is a serious threat to tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) crops in South America. In Europe, after its first detection in Spain in 2006, it rapidly spread through the Mediterranean basin, reaching Italy 2 yr later. The aim of our work was to find indigenous effective biological control agents and to evaluate their potential role in the control of larval populations of T. absoluta in controlled conditions. Nine species of larval parasitoids emerged from field-collected tomato leaves infested by T. absoluta. The most abundant, Necremnus near artynes (Walker) and Necremnus near tidius (Walker) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), were tested in laboratory parasitism trials. Furthermore, because the species N. artynes and N. tidius are each reported in literature as an ectoparasitoid of Cosmopterix pulchrimella Chambers (Lepidoptera: Cosmopterigidae) on upright pellitory plants, olfactometer bioassays were performed to assess the response of our parasitoids to the odors of tomato and pellitory leaves infested by T absoluta and C. pulchrimella, respectively, compared with healthy ones. Both Necremnus species showed good adaptation to the invasive pest, and we observed a high larval mortality of T. absoluta because of host feeding and parasitism. Even olfactory responses highlighted a preference of both wasps for tomato plants infested by the exotic pest. These preliminary results demonstrated a high suitability of these indigenous natural enemies for controlling T. absoluta. Further investigations are needed to confirm their role as potential biological agents in commercial tomato plantations.     

Reticulate evolution in the Acrolophus subgroup (Centaurea L., Compositae) from the western Mediterranean: origin and diversification of section Willkommia Blanca

Section Willkommia (Centaurea, Compositae) is endemic to the east-central portion of the Iberian Peninsula and northwestern Africa. The section has been included with sections Acrolophus and Phalolepis in the informal subgroup Acrolophus. We have used a molecular phylogenetic approach to test the hypothesis proposed by earlier authors that the diversification of section Willkommia involved a schizoendemic process from an ancestral syngameon. Comparative analysis of the transcribed spacer sequences of the nuclear ribosomal DNA (ITS and 3'ETS) regions reveals the presence of three different types of ribosomal sequences in the Acrolophus subgroup (referred to here as the Willkommia, Acrolophus-Phalolepis and Simulans ribotypes) which show a sectional-independent geographic structure. This evidence, together with the presence of additive polymorphic sites in the Willkommia sequences which agree with the geographic distribution of the taxa, suggests that members of section Willkommia and the western Mediterranean taxa of sections Acrolophus and Phalolepis fit a reticulate evolution model.     

Biology and occurrence of Inga Busk species (Lepidoptera: Oecophoridae) on Cerrado host plants

We sampled Inga Busk species caterpillars weekly in the cerrado on 15 plants of Diospyros burchellii Hern. (Ebenaceae) from January 2002 to December 2003, on 30 plants of Caryocar brasiliense (Caryocaraceae) from July 2003 to June 2004, and since 1991 on several other plant species. In total we found 15 species of Inga on cerrado host plants. Nine species were very rare, with only one to five adults reared. The other six species occurred throughout the year, with higher abundance during the dry season, from May to July, coinciding with overall peaks of caterpillar abundance in the cerrado. Caterpillars of the genus Inga build shelters by tying and lining two mature or old leaves with silk and frass, where they rest and develop (a common habit found in Oecophorinae). The final instar builds a special envelope inside the leaf shelter, where it will complete the larval stage and pupate. The species are very difficult to distinguish in the immature stages. External features were useful in identifying only four species: I. haemataula (Meyrick), I. phaecrossa (Meyrick), I. ancorata (Walsingham), and I. corystes (Meyrick). These four species are polyphagous and have wide geographical distributions. In this paper we provide information on the natural history and host plants of six Inga species common on cerrado host plants, for which there are no reports in the literature.     

中国蛀果蛾科分类学整理及新种记述(鳞翅目：粪蛾总科)

记载中国蛀果蛾科昆虫8属23种（亚种）,其中有中国2新纪录：断斑洁蛀果蛾Meridarchis excisa Walsingham和日本拟蛀果蛾Alexotypa japonica (Walsingham）及2新种：天目坚蛀果蛾Archostola tianmushana sp.nov.和五峰洁蛀果蛾Meridarchis wufengensis sp.nov.。文中给出了中国蛀果蛾科分种检索表和中国新纪录及新种的特征图。     

Native parasitoids associated with Tuta absoluta in the tomato production areas of the Spanish Mediterranean Coast

The tomato borer Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) is an invasive pest that produces significant damage to tomato crops in the Mediterranean area. Although several species of predatory bugs are successfully being used for biological control of the pest, little is known about the parasitoids that are able to exploit T. absoluta as a host. With the aim of better understanding parasitoid species richness of T. absoluta along the Mediterranean Spanish Coast, we conducted an extensive survey to determine distribution, host plants and habitats where parasitoids are present. Our results indicated that egg parasitoids are naturally scarce but that the species richness of larval/pupal parasitoids is high and includes 20 different species. Seven of these had not been previously reported as T. absoluta parasitoids. The most frequent parasitoid species recovered were Necremnus sp. nr. artynes (Walker), Stenomesius cf. japonicus (Ashmead) and Neochrysocharis formosa (Westwood) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae).     

中国绿小卷蛾属Eucoenogenes分类研究(鳞翅目:卷蛾科:新小卷蛾亚科)

本文报道了中国绿小卷蛾属6种,包括2新种和1新记录种：长绿小卷蛾Eucoenogenes elongata,sp．nov．,武夷绿小卷蛾Eucoenogenes wuyiensis,sp．nov．和叉绿小卷蛾Eucoenogenes cyanopsis(Meyrick)。文中给出中国已知6个种的检索表。模式标本保存在南开大学生物系。1．长绿小卷蛾Eucoenogenes elongata,新种(图1～2)翅展13．5mm。正模：♂,云南巍山县巍宝山,海拔2200m,2001-Ⅶ-20,李后魂,玻片号ZAH03725。本种与同属其它种的区别在于：雄性爪形突下垂,抱器瓣狭长,左侧颈部具5根粗刺,右侧具四根。2．武夷绿小卷蛾Eucoenogenes wuyiensis,新种(图3～4)翅展13．0mm。正模：♂,福建武夷山仙峰岭,海拔1000m,2004-Ⅴ-26,于海丽采,玻片号ZAH04215副模：1♂,同正模。本种与其余种明显不同,区别在于：雄性爪形突细长,尾突侧生,三角形,抱器瓣颈部具一根粗刺。