Opogona compositarum (E. Wollaston, 1879 )

Karisch, Timm, 2022, On two species of Opogona Zeller, 1853 from St Helena Island (Tineoidea: Tineidae: Hieroxestinae), Metamorphosis 33, pp. 1-5 : 4-5

Opogona compositarum (E. Wollaston, 1879)

and O. apicalis (E. Wollaston, 1879)

Material examined

Opogona compositarum

ST HELENA, Lectotype ♂ (herewith designated): “St. Helena | Wollaston | 79-68”, “ Tinea compositarum ” [handwritten label], “Gen.-Präp. | 3938 | präp. Karisch, 2021”, “LECTOTYPE ♂ | Tinea compositarum | E. Wollaston, 1879 | des. Karisch, 2022”, “ NHMUK 010919270 ”. In NHMUK.

Opogona apicalis

ST HELENA, Lectotype ♀ (herewith designated): “St. Helena | Wollaston | 79-68”, “ Tinea apicalis ” [handwritten label], “LECTOTYPE ♀ | Tinea apicalis | E. Wollaston, 1879 | des. Karisch, 2022”, “ NHMUK 010919210 ”. In NHMUK.

4 ♀ (syntypes) “ St. Helena | Wollaston | 79-68”, “ Tinea apicalis ” [handwritten label], 1 § “B . M . Micr. | 34291”. In NHMUK .

Further material: ST HELENA, Flagstaff Hill , woodland beyond track near summit, 1 ♀ (in copula with ♂ of O. compositarum ), 07.iii.2017 TF, D. Pryce ( MNVD); Peak Dale , Gumwood woodland, 10 ♀♀ (1 ♀ gen. slide 3588, Karisch) 01.iii.2017 LF, T. Karisch (coll. Karisch Demitz-Thumitz [ CKDT]); id., 13 ♀♀ 11.iii.2017 LF, T. Karisch ( CKDT), id., 1 ♀ 12.iii.2017 LF, T. Karisch ( MNVD), 1 ♀ 14.iii.2017 TF, T. Karisch ( MNVD), id., 21 ♀♀ (1 ♀ gen. slide 3587, Karisch, 1 ♀ barcode MNVD-11448-E11 ) 17.iii.2017 LF, T. Karisch ( MNVD); id., 11 ♀♀ 13.iv.2018 LF, T. Karisch, L. Fowler, N. Stevens ( CKDT); Mt. Actaeon , slopes 0.1 km E, 2 ♀♀ 08.iii.2017 LF, T. Karisch ( CKDT); Mt. Actaeon, path on W-slope, 1 ♀ 06.iii.2017 LF, T. Karisch ( CKDT); High Peak, Ginger Patch, 15 ♀♀ (1 ♀ barcode MNVD-11449. F 03 ) 17.iv.2018 LF, T. Karisch , S. Isaac , N. Stevens ( CKDT); Black Gate Nursery , 0.15 km W, 3 ♀♀ (1 ♀ barcode MNVD-11449- E 05 ) 02.iii.2017 LF, T. Karisch ( CKDT); id., 5 ♀♀ 16.IV.2018 LF, T. Karisch ( CKDT); Casons Forest nr. Hardings Spring, 8 ♀♀ (2 ♀♀ barcodes MNVD-11449- F 04 , - F 12 ) 17.iv.2018 LF, T. Karisch , N. Stevens , S. Isaac ( CKDT); Sandy Bay , near Baptist’s Church, 1 ♀ (barcode MNVD-11448- F 02 ) 19.iii.2017 LF, T. Karisch ( MNVD); Burnt Rock, near The Saddle, 3 ♀ 15.iv.2018 LF, T. Karisch, L. Fowler, N. Stevens, A.-J. Dutton ( CKDT); Hooper’s Rock , 2 ♀ 26.iii.2018 LF, T. Karisch ( CKDT); Thompson’s Wood , Gumwood Site, 8 ♀♀ (1 ♀ barcode MNVD-11449-F06) 06.iv.2018 LF, T. Karisch ( CKDT); Napoleon’s Tomb , 10 ♀♀ (1 ♀ barcode MNVD-11449- F05) 11.iv.2018 LF, T. Karisch, A.-J. Dutton ( CKDT); Joan Hill , Man and Horse cliffs, 7 ♀♀ 27.ii.2017 LF, T. Karisch ( CKDT); Mt. Vesey , 1 ♀ (barcode MNVD-11449- E02) 10.iii.2017, H. Mendel (MNVD) .

Based on specimens with uniform brown forewings and hindwings, E. Wollaston described specimens with uniform brown forewings and hindwings as “ Tinea compositarum ” and specimens with pale whitish ochreous forewings with brown suffusions and a distinct black spot in the apex as “ Tinea apicalis ”. Fresh specimens of these both forms have been regarded as easy to identify and therefore no special effort was undertaken in the past to study them. However, Robinson (2009) found that there were only females of O. apicalis in the NHMUK collection, and wondered whether this species could be parthenogenetic.

In March 2017, David Pryce found a male of O. ompositarum copulating with a female of O. apicalis in the wild, providing a first hint that these colour forms may be conspecific.

In 2017 and 2018, the author collected a larger number of specimens of both forms (see “material examined”) and subjected samples from several to DNA-sequencing, which revealed that all these specimens form a homogenous clade ( Fig. 8 ). This confirmed that specimens regarded as O. compositarum and O. apicalis are genetically identical. Therefore one of the names has to be placed into synonymy. To achieve stability in nomenclature I first designate a lectotype from the syntype series to fix each name on a single specimen (see above). The names Tinea compositarum and T. apicalis were published in the same paper ( Wollaston 1879). In accordance with Art. 24.2 ICZN ( Kraus 2000) the name Tinea compositarum E. Wollaston, 1879 is chosen as the valid name for this species (principle of the first reviser), because “ compositarum ” indicates a possible connection of both forms to a plant species whereas “ apicalis ” describes the morphological character of only one of the mentioned forms. Tinea apicalis E. Wollaston, 1879 syn. nov. is therefore a synonym. At present the species is placed in the genus Opogona Zeller, 1853 , as Opogona compositarum (E. Wollaston, 1879) .

The original descriptions of the species by Wollaston (1879) (the males as T. compositarum , the females as T. apicalis ) are comprehensive except for the genitalia and for any illustrations. Therefore both sexes are illustrated here (Figs 2, 3) and the male and female genitalia are described and also illustrated.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 5 ):

Tegumen broad; socii large, ovoid, with some rows of large, stout cornuti at margin, the dorsal ones smaller; valvae broad, with cucullus narrow, long, broadest in the middle, sacculus broad, with a long, strong process, rounded at tip, ventral margin slightly convex; saccus broad, but rather short. Aedeagus slender, rather short, slightly curved, with a few minute teeth laterally on tube near tip.

Female genitalia (Fig. 7):

Papillae anales small; apophyses anteriores long, strong, apophyses posteriores very long and narrow; ostium bursae narrow, antrum small, ovoid; ductus bursae slender, long; corpus bursae ovoid, with small spinose bag and broad, sclerotised signum with narrow wings on each side, broadened anteriorly, with a broad, gently curved central part.

Remarks

Robinson (2009) noted that he had studied females assignable to O. compositarum . However, the author has not found such females either in the collection of the NHMUK, or among the material collected in 2017 and 2018, only females assignable to O. apicalis . Because the females are quite variable, it is assumed that Robinson (2009) had a darker female of that form to hand.

Wollaston (1879) found specimens of O. compositarum mainly at medium altitudes on the trunks of old gumwoods. She also obtained the female form “ apicalis ” from the trunks of gumwoods and considered it to be one of the commonest Tineidae on St. Helena. A considerable number of O. compositarum specimens were also found in places with old gumwoods in 2017 and 2018, and thus it seems that the species may be associated with this tree species. However, the moth was also observed commonly in places with other endemic Asteraceae (e. g. Flagstaff Hill, High Peak, Peak Dale, Mt Actaeon, Diana’s Peak, Black Gate Nursery, Napoleon’s Tomb), as well as at sites without endemic Asteraceae (e. g. Burnt Rock, Casons Forest, Sandy Bay Valley nr. Church), implying that the species does not depend on those native trees and shrubs for its life history.

Figures

Figure 5 – Male genitalia of Opogona compositarum, caudal view.

Figure 8 – Neighbour-joining tree of COI sequences of O. aenea sp. nov., O. brunneomarmorata, O. apicalis syn. nov., O compositarum and O. omoscopa (Meyrick, 1893) (Kimura-2- parameter, composed with BOLD, after Ratnasingham & Hebert (2007).