Felderiola Naumann, 1971

Bartsch, Daniel, 2013, Revisionary checklist of the Southern African Sesiini (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae) with description of new species, Zootaxa 3741 (1), pp. 1-54 : 18-19

Felderiola Naumann, 1971 rev. stat.

Replacement name for Trochilina Felder & Felder, 1874 , preoccupied by Gray 1868 (Mollusca). Type species: Trochilina candescens Felder & Felder, 1874 , by monotypy.

Literature. Felder & Felder 1874: 9, pl. 82; Boisduval 1875 [imprint “1874”]: 462 ( Trochilina , a synonym of Sesia ); Hampson 1919: 58 (as Trachilina [sic], placed as synonym of Monopetalotaxis ); Dalla Torre & Strand 1925: 7 ( Trochilina , as synonym of Monopetalotaxis ); Naumann 1971: 17, 30 (synonym of Monopetalotaxis ); Heppner & Duckworth 1981: 42 (synonym of Monopetalotaxis ); Fletcher & Nye 1982: 67, 166 (synonym of Monopetalotaxis ); Vári, Kroon & Krüger 2002: 67 (synonym of Monopetalotaxis ); Pühringer & Kallies 2004: 44 (synonym of Monopetalotaxis ).

Description. Species of Felderiola are strongly sexual dimorphic with greyish black males and brilliantly coloured females. Head with width of frons 1.5–1.7× the diameter of the eye; haustellum completely reduced; labial palpus slightly upturned, second palpomere more than twice as long as first one, third palpomere short; frons slightly rough; scales of vertex and pericephalic scales rather short, hair-like, a small whitish patch between antenna and ocellus; antenna slender, reaching nearly to the forewing discal spot or beyond, clavate, in male unilaterally pectinate, only the anterior row of rami present, rami ventrally with macroscopic ciliae, rami distally tapering, extending to tip ( Fig. 96 ), in female without pectination and ciliae. Thorax and abdomen strong, abdomen in male spindle-shaped, in female long and cylindrical, anal tuft well developed. Legs relatively short; mid- and hind tibia with tufted scales. Wings with well developed transparent areas and apical area; wing venation ( Fig. 88 ) with forewing veins R1–R3 approximated, R4/R5 long stalked, median veins arise equally spaced from cross vein, hindwing with short common stalk of M3/CuA1.

Male genitalia ( Figs 117–118 ). Tegumen rather broad, well sclerotized; gnathos forming a simple, transverse ridge, laterally with or without pointed projections; uncus dorsally fused with tegumen, dorso-distally with sparse, hairs, ventro-lateral margins distally with dense rows of strong, thorn-like setae; valva rather narrow, more or less upturned; inner surface distally and at distal margin sparsely covered with bristle- or thorn-like setae, a dense field of thorn-like setae extends from centre of valva to distal part of ventral margin; juxta rather broad, well sclerotized, medially weak; manica densely covered with fine spines; saccus long and narrow, apically pointed; phallus slender, ventrad curved with long and narrow coecum penis; vesica proximally with a narrow ring of short teeth.

Female genitalia ( Figs 127–129 ). Papillae anales and segment eight broad, lamella postvaginalis well sclerotized, forming a triangular plate; anterior and posterior apophyses of the same length; ostium wide; antrum funnel-shaped, ductus bursae without sclerotized antrum; bursa copulatrix slightly oval, without signum.

Diagnosis. The following characters of the male are considered putative synapomorphies: (1) antenna unilaterally pectinate, only anterior row of rami present, rami distad tapering, extending to tip; (2) gnathos present, symmetrical, short and very broad; (3) setae of valva and uncus thorn-like, setae of valva located from central to ventro-distal part; (4) valva narrow and slightly upturned; (4) saccus long and pointed.

For differentiation of Felderiola from Anaudia , Austrosetia and Monopetalotaxis see diagnosis of Anaudia . Also species of Alonina are somewhat similar by external appearance. However, they are easy to distinguish by their well developed haustellum and by the ciliate, not pectinate male antennae. The male genitalia of Alonina differ from that of Felderiola by the twin-hook shape of the gnathos, the bristle-like or bifurcate setae of the valva, and their flame-like arrangement (gnathos very broad, simple or with lateral points, setae thorn-like, centrally to ventro-distally located in Felderiola ).

Distribution and life history. Species of Felderiola occur in the western half of South Africa and southern Namibia. The larvae are root borers in different species of Fabaceae .

Figures

FIGURES 92–98. Male antennae: (92) Alonina pyrocraspis (Hampson, 1910); (93) Alonina rygchiiformis Walker, 1856; (94) Anaudia felderi Wallengren, 1863; (95) Austrosetia semirufa Felder & Felder, 1874; (96) Felderiola candescens (Felder & Felder, 1874); (97) Monopetalotaxis doleriformis (Walker, 1856); (98) Hagnogyna bartschi (Freina, 2011).

FIGURES 84–91. Wing venations: (84) Cicinnoscelis longipes Holland, 1893; (85) Alonina rygchiiformis Walker, 1856; (86) Anaudia felderi Wallengren, 1863, syntype; (87) Austrosetia semirufa Felder & Felder, 1874; (88) Felderiola candescens (Felder & Felder, 1874); (89) Monopetalotaxis doleriformis (Walker, 1856); (90) Hagnogyna sanguicosta (Hampson, 1919); (91) Vespanthedon cerceris Le Cerf, 1917, holotype.

FIGURES 117–118. Male genitalia of Felderiola Naumann, 1971: (117) F. candescens (Felder & Felder, 1874); (118) F. karooensis new sp., paratype.

FIGURES 127–128. Female genitalia of Felderiola Naumann, 1971: (127) F. candescens (Felder & Felder, 1874); (128) F. karooensis new sp.

FIGURE 129. Female genitalia of Felderiola xanthogaster, paratype.