Alucita aarviki Ustjuzhanin & Kovtunovich

Ustjuzhanin, Petr & Kovtunovich, Vasily, 2016, The Alucitidae (Lepidoptera) of Malawi with descriptions of five new species, Zootaxa 4126 (4), pp. 533-547 : 540-542

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4126.4.5
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:C49319B0-B2E9-44A8-A337-452546C963C8
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6087763
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/672C87BE-E359-207F-FF21-C615FC2FD6AD
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Alucita aarviki Ustjuzhanin & Kovtunovich
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Alucita aarviki Ustjuzhanin & Kovtunovich View in CoL sp. nov.

Figs. 25–26 View FIGURES 25 – 26

Type material: Holotype, male, ( BMNH 22774), 20 km N Thazima Gate, 07.i.2009, Kovtunovich V. & Ustjuzhanin P. Paratypes: 3 ♂, (MFN 201608, CUK), Mugesse Forest, 11–12.i.2009, 1 ♂, (CUK), Mugesse Forest, 28–29.xii.2010, Kovtunovich V. & Ustjuzhanin P.; 1 ♂, ( NHMO 2898), Mt. Mulanje, 7.ii.2004; 1 ♂, ( NHMO 2899), Dzalanyama, 14.ii.2004, L. Aarvik.

Description. External characters. Head with pale yellow scales. Antenna pale brown. Thorax and tegulae brown. Labial palpus two times as long as longitudinal eye diameter, directed forward and up; colour white, with brown scales only at first segment base. Third segment tapered towards tip. Wingspan 15–17 mm. Wings ochreous yellow with four distinct narrow transverse bands. Fore wing base darkened with brown scales. Hind wing slightly paler than fore wings Small white spot of scales at apex of each lobe.

Male genitalia. Uncus long, widened in distal part, with flat smooth apex. Gnathos narrow, long, tapered at apex, equal to uncus in length. Gnathos arms slightly sinuous. Medial process between gnathos arms well developed. Valva short, wide, pterygoid. Anellus arms short, rather wide, bent and tapered in distal part. Saccus elongated, wide. Phallus rather wide, almost straight, without cornuti.

Female unknown.

Diagnosis. The wing colour of A. aarviki in similar to A. compsoxantha , but differs from it by its more blurred pattern and lacking dark borders of the yellow spots. In male genitalia, the new species is similar to A. flaviserta , as characterized by the widened uncus and short anellus arms, but differs from it by the long phallus, the wide pterygoid valvae and the elongate saccus.

Distribution. Malawi.

Flight period: December–February.

Etymology. The species is named after the prominent Norwegian entomologist, Leif Aarvik, specialist in Tortricidae , who has also collected the specimens of the new species.