Antennal sensilla in adult Agathiphaga vitiensis dumbl. and A. queenslandensis dumbl. (Lepidoptera : Agathiphagidae)

The antennae of both sexes of Agathiphaga vitiensis and the antenna of the female of A. queenslandensis (Lepidoptera : Agathiphagidae) were studied with a scanning electron microscope. In both sexes, 10 types of sensilla were observed on the antennae of A. vitiensis: Böhm's bristles, chaetica (types I and II), squamiformia, trichodea, biforked basiconica, short basiconica and coeloconica (types I, II and III). The female of A. queenslandensis possesses the same types of sensilla, except that the biforked basiconica are flattened. Biforked sensillum basiconicum is being reported in Lepidoptera for the first time. Their presence supports Kristensen's hypothesis on the phylogeny of Lepidoptera (1984). The female of A. vitiensis possesses more sensilla than that of A. queenslandensis. The male of A. vitiensis has a greater number of s. trichodea than the female, but the biforked sensilla basiconica are more numerous on the female antenna than on the male one.