Blastobasis maroccanella ( Amsel, 1952 )

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 : 26-32

15. Blastobasis maroccanella ( Amsel, 1952) ( Blastobasidae : Blastobasinae)

Blastobasis maroccanella Amsel, 1952: 70 . Type locality: Morocco: Meknes .

BOLD:AAC4091

Palearctic distribution. Widely distributed in Macaronesia and Western Mediterranean ( Karsholt & Sinev 2004) .

North American records. USA: California, Berkeley area (series in CNC, USNM, EMEC).

Diagnosis. Like glandulella , this species is variable in size and colouration, with forewings with a peppered appearance of dark brownish grey over a paler ground colour and with a dark transverse band near middle and two short dark transverse streaks in the distal third, one near costa and one chevron-like near termen (Fig. 15a); some specimens lack distinct transverse bands (Fig. 15b). The variable maculation is not diagnostic and genitalia should be examined. In male genitalia, the uncus is recurved and comma-like, the gnathos medial process is protruded and truncate, the cucullar lobe of the valva is medially slightly constricted, the saccular lobe is upcurved, with the apex sharply pointed and slightly exceeding the apex of the cucullus, the base of the dorsal margin of the valva is thin, the proximal flange is narrow and less than half the width of the valva with a narrow, linear mesial zone of microtrichia spinules and posteriorly with a few coarse spinules covering an area proportionally much smaller than in glandulella . In female genitalia, the ovipositor is slightly longer than S1–S7, the S7–S8 intersegmental membrane is slightly longer than S7 and laterally covered with very fine microtrichia, the anterior half of the ductus bursae is finely spinulate and with one loop, and the corpus bursae has a lateral lobe near the inception of the ductus bursae and a thorn-like signum. The configuration of the ductus and corpus bursae is much like in glandulella but proportionally shorter.

Larval host. Reported to feed on widely differing host materials —cultivated grapes and peas, decaying wood ( Karsholt & Sinev 2004). The adults may fly the year around in suitable climate.

Note. This species, cited as Holcocera maroccanella , was first reported as present in Berkeley, California in 2002, without further details ( Brown et al. 2010). Jerry Powell (email of 13 May 2013 to JFL) “first noticed it [in Berkeley] in 2000 (1 record) and 2002 (1 record), before it began to appear frequently —2003 (4 records), 2005 (48 dates) and numerous per date in 2006. Since that time it has been the most frequent moth at his blacklight, present nearly every night year around, sometimes very numerous”. Barcoded specimens are from that locality .