Ninodes quadratus, Li, Xinxin, Xue, Dayong & Jiang, Nan, 2017

Li, Xinxin, Xue, Dayong & Jiang, Nan, 2017, One new species and one new record for the genus Ninodes Warren from China (Lepidoptera, Geometridae, Ennominae), ZooKeys 679, pp. 55-63 : 57-60

Ninodes quadratus sp. n. Figs 1, 2, 13, 19

Description.

Head. Antenna filiform, ciliate in both sexes (ciliae of males longer), with mixed pale yellow mixed and black scales dorsally. Frons narrow, black, not protruding. Labial palpus narrow, scaled black. Vertex with large and black scales.

Thorax. Patagia, tegulae and dorsal side of thorax black. Hind tibia with two pairs of spurs in both sexes, without hair-pencil in male. Forewing length: 9-10 mm. Apex of forewing rounded; outer margin of forewing only slightly oblique, evenly curved outwards. Ground colour of wings pale yellow. Forewing black from base to antemedial line; discal spot pale grey, indistinct; medial and postmedial line yellow, narrow and wavy; a black quadrate patch present near tornus; terminal line present as a series of short black streaks between veins; fringe pale yellow. Hindwing pale yellow at base, discal spot hardly visible; a broad black band present between medial and postmedial line; submarginal line yellow and wavy, more distinct than that of forewing; terminal line and fringe similar to those of forewing. Underside with discal spot of forewing more distinct than that on upperside; black postmedial bands present on both wings, that of forewing elongate, not quadrate as on upperside, that of hindwing narrower than on upperside, other pattern elements less distinct than those on upperside. Wing venation and fovea of male as mentioned in generic characters.

Abdomen. Abdomen dorsally suffused with black scales. Setal comb absent on male sternite III.

Male genitalia. Uncus almost triangular, strongly sclerotized and shallowly bifurcate at apex. Gnathos with a small median process, rounded terminally. Valva short, elongate-triangular, narrow and rounded terminally, with a sclerotized ridge, evenly curved outwards, costal margin curved outwards, with a row of long and spine-like setae medially. A well-developed dorsal arm present at valva base, strongly curved to S-shape, with a tiny spine apically and a long, curved, rod-like basal process. Juxta short and broad, tapering terminally. Saccus broad and rounded. Aedeagus short and narrow; vesica with a large spatulate lobe and a large dense patch of of tiny spines, laterally extended into a row of short, stout spines.

Female genitalia. Papillae anales not elongate, slightly narrower terminally. Apophyses anteriores about 3/5 length of apophyses posteriores. Antrum well sclerotized, about one half length of corpus bursae. Ductus bursae very short. Ductus seminalis with a small sclerotized base, separated from posterior part of corpus bursae. Corpus bursae sclerotized and with longitudinal ribbing at posterior half; signum on ventral side, rounded, margins and internal surface covered with spines.

Diagnosis.

Concerning wing patterns, the new species can be distinguished from the other congeners by the broad black quadrate patch at medial to postmedial area of the forewing, becoming indistinct above CuA2; the discal spot of the forewing is more distinct on the underside than that on the upperside. In the male genitalia, the new species has a distinctive shape of valva and arrangement of cornuti: the costal margin of the valva is curved outwards medially, while it is almost straight in N. albarius (Fig. 15), slightly curved inwards in N. splendens (Figs 16-18), and forming a semicircular cleft in N. watanabei (Fig. 14); the spatulate lobe of the vesica is similar to that of N. splendens , but larger and the large dense patch of small spines present in N. quadratus is rather arranged in a longitudinal line of much larger spines in N. splendens and a very short row of small spines in N. albarius . The lateral row of short stout spines is absent in N. splendens and N. albarius . The female genitalia of the new species are similar to N. albarius , but the base of the ductus seminalis is almost conic and separated from the corpus bursae in N. albarius (Fig. 21), while this character is absent in the new species. The antrum is similar in length to N. albarius , but much shorter than that of N. splendens (Figs 22, 23), and is much narrower compared to N. watanabei (Fig. 20). The signum of N. quadratus is larger and has more but smaller marginal spines than those of N. splendens and N. albarius .

Material examined.

Holotype, ♂, CHINA: Henan (IZCAS): Baotianman, 623 m, 12.VIII.2008, coll. Xue Dayong. Paratypes: 1♂, same data as holotype. Henan (IZCAS): 1♂, Haoxian, Baiyunshan, 115 m, 7-9.VIII.2013, coll. Jiang Nan. Shaanxi (IZCAS): 5♂2♀, Shangnan, Jinsixia, 777 m, 23-25.VII.2013, coll. Cui Le & Jiang Nan; 3♂, Ningshan, Guanghuojie, Baohuzhan, 1081-1189 m, 26-28.VII.2014, coll. Liu Shuxian & Ban Xiaoshuang. Gansu (IZCAS): 1♂, Wenxian, Qiujiaba, 2200-2300 m, 16-19.VII.2003, coll. Wang Hongjian; 4♂5♀, Wenxian, VI–IX.2002, coll. Wang Hongjian; 1♂, Bikou, Baohuzhan, 645 m, 6-7.VIII.2016, coll. Cheng Rui & Jiang Shan; 5♂1♀, Bikou, Bifenggou, 720 m, 8-10.VIII.2016, coll. Cheng Rui & Jiang Shan. Zhejiang (ZFMK): 1♂, West-Tien-Mu-Shan, 1600 m, 14.IV.1932, coll. H. Höne.

Distribution.

China (Henan, Shaanxi, Gansu, Zhejiang).

Etymology.

The specific name refers to the quadrate (Latin: quadratus ) black patch near the tornus of the forewing.