Parornix betulae ( Stainton, 1854 )

Landry, Jean-François, Nazari, Vazrick, Dewaard, Jeremy R., Mutanen, Marko, Lopez-Vaamonde, Carlos, Huemer, Peter & Hebert, Paul D. N., 2013, Shared but overlooked: 30 species of Holarctic Microlepidoptera revealed by DNA barcodes and morphology, Zootaxa 3749 (1), pp. 1-93 : 18-19

7. Parornix betulae ( Stainton, 1854) ( Gracillaridae : Gracillariinae )

Ornix betulae Stainton, 1854: 205 . Type locality: England.

BOLD:AAE3418

Palearctic distribution. Europe to Korea. Barcoded specimens from Finland, Austria, UK, and Germany.

New North American records. Canada: Québec, Saint-Hyacinthe , 9 May 2006, 1 ♀ ( CNC) ; Ontario, Puslinch Township , 17 Jul 2010, 6 exx. ( BIOUG) ; 29 May 2010, 1 ♀ ( CNC) ; British Columbia, Mount Revelstoke National Park , 25 Jul 2005, 1 ♂ ( CNC) .

Diagnosis. Species of Parornix are very difficult to distinguish on external morphology, particularly if specimens are worn, but they do have distinctive genitalia. In male betulae , the vinculum is transverse with the anterior margin extending to the saccus broadly concave, the vincular processes are sickle-shaped and extended slightly beyond the dorsal edge of the valva, the saccus is narrow and slightly longer than the vinculum, the valvae are securiform without spiniform ornamentation, and the phallus has the basal two-thirds straight and is distally attenuate and slightly curved; the other three North American birch-feeding species have either a reduced (vicinella (Dietz)) or wide saccus (conspicuella (Dietz), obliterella (Dietz)), thick vincular processes, rounded, spoon-shaped valvae, and a basally arched phallus. In female betulae , the ductus bursae is slightly longer than the bursa and finely spiculose, the signa are a pair of elongate, spinulate patches at the posterior end of the bursa, there is a digitiform lobe projecting out of the ductus bursae near the inception of the bursa, and both pairs of apophyses are vestigial.

Larval host. Birch, Betula spp. (Betulaceae) .

Note. This species of Parornix is undoubtedly undercollected and likely more widely distributed than the few records indicate. The North American species of Parornix have never been the subject of a modern taxonomic treatment. Several of the existing names remain unrecognized or undiagnosed and undescribed species are known. More synonymies may exist; for example, the birch-feeding Palearctic loganella, which is a taiga species, may occur in northern Canada. Three Nearctic species reportedly feed on birch, conspicuella ( Dietz, 1907), obliterella ( Dietz, 1907), and vicinella ( Dietz, 1907), and all differ in genitalia from betulae .