Stenoptilodes taprobanes (Felder & Rogenhofer, 1875)

Ustjuzhanin, Petr Ya., Kovtunovich, Vasily N., Müller, Günter C., Prozorov, Alexey M. & Streltzov, Alexander N., 2022, Plume Moths (Lepidoptera: Pterophoridae) of Ethiopia. Part 2., Ecologica Montenegrina 53, pp. 45-55 : 51-52

Stenoptilodes taprobanes (Felder & Rogenhofer, 1875)

Amblyptilia taprobanes Felder & Rogenhofer, 1875 : Pl. 140, fig. 54. (Type locality: [ Sri Lanca ], Ceylon) Platyptilia legrandi Bigot, 1962b: 86 . (Type locality: Mahé, Beau Vallon, Seychelles)

Stenoptilodes vittata Service, 1966: 11 . (Type locality: Nigeria)

Material examined. 1 female, ( ZSM), S. Ethiopia, Southern Nation , Kaffa Bonga Guesth, 1765m , N

External characters. Head with dark-brown clinging scales. Narrow bright white brow-like border along outer margin above eyes. Thorax and tegulae dark-grey. Labial palpi wide, brush-like, 1.5 times longer than longitudinal eye diameter. Forehead with small conical visor. Antennae dark-brown, interspersed with small white scales. Wingspan 20 mm. Fore wings brown-grey with spattered tiny elongated white scales along costal margin and medially on wing. Hind margin of fore wing noticeably lightened, light-brown. Outer margin of first lobe wide, with two dark-brown spots on fringe. First lobe apically acute. Fringe inside cleft dark-grey. Hind wings unicolorous, brown-grey, noticeably lighter than fore wings. Legs brown-grey.

Male genitalia. Valves symmetric, tegumen with smooth outer margin. Uncus straight, short, slightly narrowing to apex, extending beyond outer margin of tegumen by half of its length. Sacculus wide, its apex detached as bent fold. Cucullus arched, bluntly rounded apically. Anellus arms relatively short, wide, apices slightly bent. Saccus arched. Aedeagus arched, twice shorter than valve in length, with clearly expressed long needle-like cornutus. Basal process of aedeagus directed to coecum.

Diagnosis. In the general color of the wings, the new species resembles Stenoptilia amharae Gielis, 2011 , but differs well from it in the brown-grey color of the wings with the light rear margin of the fore wings, in the tiny white scales along the costal margin and in the acute apex of the first lobe. S. amharae was described on a female, therefore it is possible that the new species may turn out to be its male. Their identity can be proved in case of getting new specimens from there locations. In the male genitalia, in the shape of the uncus and sacculus and in the arched, apically rounded cucullus, the species is close to Stenoptilia ionata Meyrick, 1920 , from which it clearly differs in the strongly curved aedeagus with a cornutus and in the short anellus arms bent distally.

Flight period. March, October.

Distribution. Ethiopia.

Etymology. The species is named after Monica Beck (Munich, Germany), a precious wife and a courageous companion of Robert Beck in about 20 expeditions into remote areas of Ethiopia.