Spilomelinae Guenée, 1854

Maes, Koen V. N., 2024, Studies on Crambidae V: Chalcibotys, a new genus of Spilomelinae from Africa (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea: Crambidae: Spilomelinae), Metamorphosis 35 (1), pp. 7-10 : 7-106

Spilomelinae Guenée, 1854

Descriptions:

Chalcibotys gen.nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:4D438EA0-05B9-48B8-91E8-15A8A937A176

gender: male

type species: Chalcibotys alboreniformis sp.nov.

Diagnosis: male genitalia with a simple very short, broadbased uncus on a short triangular tegumen. Valva simple, elongated triangular without any extensions (sella, editum, fibula.). Aedeagus tubular with spine shaped cornutus. Female genitalia with a bulbous structure on the ductus bursae shortly beneath the antrum; ductus bursae and corpus bursae very long.

Description:

Head: frons rounded; antennae filiform; labial palps slender, upturned with a clear small, third segment; maxillary palps at base of scaled proboscis, small.

Wings: forewings triangular; R1and R2 originating before the upper angle of the cell; R3+4 originating from the upper angle of the cell; R2 parallel with base of R3+4, curbing away at about one third of the length of R3+4 from the base of the upper cell; R3 and R4 bifurcating at about two thirds of the length of R4; R3 ending in termen, R4 just beneath; R5 and M1 parallel over their whole length; M2 near base from M3 but clearly separated, M3 from lower angle of the cell: Cu1 near M3but separated. CuA1 and CuA2 parallel over their whole length. A vein well developed. Hindwings with CuA1, M2 and M3 originating from the lower angle of the cell; CuA2 parallel with CuA1 over its whole length; three anal veins present.

Tympanal organs: praecinctorium terminally enlarged, bilobed; fornix tympani large, above the venula secunda; bulla tympani bean-shaped; pons tympani broad; zona glabra tympani without venulae secundae; sternite II with two pointed extensions towards the bulla tympani.

Male genitalia: uncus short and wide, broadly attached to the tegumen; the latter wide; vinculum V-shaped, saccus small; valva long and slender, terminally pointed with some elongated setae in the middle part of the valva; sella, editum or fibula lacking; aedeagus tubular with spine-shaped cornuti, number and form of specific value.

Female genitalia: papillae anales membranous with long and short setae; sinus vaginalis membranous continuing in a tubular ostium and terminating in a sclerotized base; first part of ductus bursae tubular, membranous then forming an enlarged pouch then continuing in a tubular ductus bursae, which has the first part with some minute sclerotizations and forming an enlarged area at one side then tubular and continuing in an oval or round corpus bursae, signum or appendix bursae lacking.

Foodplant: unknown.

Distribution: Cameroon, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique.

Etymology: the name refers to the external resemblance with Chalcidoptera appensalis var. aethiops and Botys , a name used by the older authors (Walker, Fabricius) for Pyraloidea.

Systematic placement: The genus is placed in the Crambidae , Spilomelinae on account of the basic structure of the male and female genitalia. The tribe is not determined at this point.