Acrapex kavumba Le Ru, 2017

Bruno Le Ru, Claire Capdevielle-Dulac, Boaz K. Musyoka, Beatrice Pallangyo, Mohamedi Njaku & Onésime Mubenga, 2017, Phylogenetic analysis and systematics of the Acrapex unicolora Hampson species complex (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Noctuinae, Apameini), with the description of Fve new species from the Afrotropics, European Journal of Taxonomy 270, pp. 1-36 : 13-16

Acrapex kavumba Le Ru sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:17B55911-C7C0-4733-B131-D9C0C59FE72A

Figs 2C, K , 6A–B

Diagnosis

Males easily separated from males of other species of the group by the spoon-shaped cucullus and the turn of the hand-shaped vesica being adorned with a large tuft of needle-shaped cornutus ( Fig. 2C, K ).

Etymology

Named after the village of Kavumba in Zambia.

Type material

Holotype

ZAMBIA: ♂, Luapula Province, Kavumba, 11°29.074' S, 29°25.757' E, 1193 m a.s.l., 22 Mar. 2012, ex light trap, B. Le Ru leg. (MNHN, gen. prep. LERU Bruno/G161).

Paratypes

ZAMBIA: 2 ♂♂, North-Western Province, Rwanko Azi, 12°13.212' S, 25°39.064' E, 1413 m a.s.l., 20 Mar. 2012, ex light trap (MNHN, gen. prep. LERU Bruno/G169-G377).

TANZANIA: 1 ♂, Iringa region, Sao Hill, 08°27.421' S, 35°10.036' E, 1845 m a.s.l., 22 Jan. 2012, ex larva (in stem of Hyparrhenia sp.), B. Le Ru leg. (MNHN); 3 ♂♂, same locality, Nov. 2015, ex light trap, B. Le Ru leg. (MNHN, gen. prep. LERU Bruno/G937).

Description

Only the male is known ( Fig. 6A–B ); antennae cupreous brown dorsally and ochreous ventrally, slightly ciliate; fagellum adorned dorsally with white scales, palpus cupreous brown, adorned with white scales, eyes fuscous. Head and base of thorax brown, thorax becoming gradually ochreous; legs brown-ringed with white; abdomen brown irrorated with fuscous scales, extremity of abdomen densely suffused with buff scales.

FORE WING. Ground colour dark ochreous, suffused with fuscous and brown scales, more heavily along veins and in costal area; reniform indicated by few white scales, preceded by some brown scales; longitudinal brown median fascia along lower external margin of cell, ending obliquely at apex; veins below cell adorned with white, fuscous and brown scales; postmedial row of white spots on veins; row of black elongated spots between veins on margin; fringe whitish externally, ochreous suffused with brown internally. Underside of fore wing with ground colour brown, suffused with fuscous scales on costa.

HIND WING. Uniformly brown; fringe white suffused with fuscous and adorned with narrow fuscous line. Underside of hind wing brown, suffused with fuscous scales.

WINGSPAN. 21–23 mm (4 ♂♂).

MALE GENITALIA ( Fig. 2C, K ). Uncus long, widening in distal third, truncated at apex, tufted with long hairs on upper side. Tegumen with medium-sized rounded penniculi, vinculum pointed, with mediumsized triangular saccus, valves short and broad, cucullus spoon-shaped and tufted with medium size hairs, coastal margin slightly broadened on inner side and produced into narrow, straight, long lobe, roundly pointed; juxta oblong, pear-shaped, with long and wide neck, elongate bifd. Aedeagus short, slightly curved, with two lateral areas adorned with short setae; turn of hand-shaped vesica with large tuft of needle-shaped cornutus.

Bionomics

One larva was collected at the bottom of a stem of a Hyparrhenia sp. growing in grasslands near marshes ( Table 3 ); like many species of Acrapex , A. kavumba sp. nov. is a markedly hygrophilous species. Unfortunately, no pictures were taken before pupation. All the moths were caught in a light trap in grasslands near marshes.

Distribution

Tanzania and Zambia. The records are from a mosaic of Zambezian dry evergreen forest and wetter miombo woodland (Mosaic #21) ( White 1983) ( Fig. 4 ), belonging to the Zambezian bioregion ( Linder et al. 2012) ( Fig. 5 ).

Figures

Fig. 2. Male genitalia of species of Acrapex. – A, I. A. cuprescens (Hampson, 1910). – B, J. A. kafula le Ru sp. nov. – C, K. A. kavumba le Ru sp. nov. – D, L. A. kiakouama le Ru sp. nov. – E, M. A. malagasy Viette, 1967. – F, N. A. mediopuncta (Bowden, 1956). – G, O. A. parvaclara Berio, 1973. – H, P. A. unicolora (Hampson, 1910). Scale bars = 0.5 mm.

Fig. 4. Distribution map of sampled specimens of Acrapex Hampson, 1891.

Fig. 5. Major bioregions, modifed after Linder et al. (2012).

Fig. 6. Adults of species of Acrapex. – A – B. A. kavumba le Ru sp. nov. A. ♂, upper side. B. ♂, under side. – C – F. A. kiakouama le Ru sp. nov. C. ♂, upper side. D. ♂, under side. E. ♀, upper side. F. ♀, under side. – G – I. A. malagasy Viette, 1967. G. ♂, upper side. H. ♂, under side. I. ♂, original labels from MNHH. Scale bars = 10 mm.

Tables

Table 3. Host plants on which larvae of the Acrapex unicolora group were collected.

Acrapex species	Host plant species
A. kavumba sp. nov.	Hyparrhenia sp.
A. mediopuncta	Pennisetum purpureum Schumach.
	Rottboellia compressa L.
	Setaria megaphylla (Steud) Dur. & Schinz.
	Sorghum arundinaceum (Desv.) Stapf
A. miscantha sp. nov.	Miscanthus violaceus (K. Schum.) Pilg.
A. simillima sp. nov.	Setaria megaphylla (Steud) Dur. & Schinz.
A. unicolora	Andropogon gayanus Kunth
	Chrysopogon zizanoides (L.) Roberty
	Cymbopogon giganteus Chiov.
	Cymbopogon nardus (L.) Rendle
	Hyparrhenia diplandra (Hack.) Stapf
	Setaria sphacelata (Schumach.) Moss