Ptilocephala moncaunella (Chapman, 1903)

Marabuto, Eduardo, 2022, Spialia rosae Hernández-Roldán, DApporto, Dincă, Vicente & VilA, 2016, and 17 moth species new for the fauna of Portugal (Insecta: Lepidoptera), Arquivos Entomolóxicos 25, pp. 305-322 : 306

1. Ptilocephala moncaunella (Chapman, 1903)

— Lama Grande, P.N. Montesinho , BraganÇa. 1350 m a.s.l. MGRS: 29TPG8250. 19.VI.2004. Eduardo Marabuto, Paulo Simões & Ernestino Maravalhas leg. Daytime spotting. ( Fig. 1a ). Gen. det.

Field-work aiming at comprehending better the Lepidoptera fauna of the NE corner of Portugal gave rise to a publication reporting on the new finds ( Marabuto & Maravalhas, 2008). However, not all was published there, and the only collected specimen of P. moncaunella remained unidentified, because of minor habitus mismatch from Ptilocephala monteiroi (Bourgogne, 1953) ( Fig. 1b ), the most likely identity of this specimen.

The publication by Arnscheid & Weidlich (2017), prompted its final assignment to P. moncaunella (conf. W. Arnscheid) after the more yellow thorax and proximal area of abdomen, male genitalia and wider wings. The species had previously been listed for Portugal without justification ( Sobczyk, 2011), based on Sauter & Hättenschwiler in Karsholt & Razowski (1996) ( Corley, 2015). The closely related P. monteiroi inhabits a different ecological niche in Mediterranean-type environments and is widespread in Portugal, at least from the Lisbon area to the extreme north of the country (Marabuto, pers. obs.; Corley, 2015).

YPONOMEUTIDAE

Figures

Fig. 1.- Habitus of new Portuguese species. a.- Ptilocephala moncaunella. b.- Ptilocephala monteiroi. c.- Pseudoswammerdamia combinella. d.- Digitivalva occidentella. e.- Prays peregrina, adult. f.- Prays peregrina on host-plant. g.- Prays peregrina, pupae. h.- Epicallima mikkolai. i.- Eretmocera medinella. Photos: Eduardo Marabuto (a, b, d & h); Tita Frazão Lopes (c); Ernesto GonÇalves (e, f & g); Pedro Henriques (i).