Ekboarmia Wehrli, 1943

Skou, Peder, Stuening, Dieter & Sihvonen, Pasi, 2017, Revision of the West-Mediterranean geometrid genus Ekboarmia, with description of a new species from Portugal (Lepidoptera, Geometridae, Ennominae), Nota Lepidopterologica 40 (1), pp. 39-63 : 42-44

Ekboarmia Wehrli, 1943

Ekboarmia Wehrli, 1943, Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde 4 (Supplement.): 517. Type species: Boarmia atlanticaria Staudinger, 1859 [replacement name].

Rhoptria Gumppenberg, 1892, Nova acta Academiae Caesareae Leopoldino- Carolinae Germanicae Naturae Curiosorum 58: 299. Type species: Boarmia atlanticaria Staudinger, 1859. [Junior homonym of Rhoptria Guenée, 1857 ( Geometridae : Ennominae)].

Diversity and distribution.

Four species in the West-Mediterranean area, including the French Alps, Iberian Peninsula, the Balearic Islands, Sardinia in Italy, and Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia in North Africa (Fig. 17).

External characters and abdomen.

Medium-sized, wingspan 18-29 mm. Wings grey-brown or different shades of brown, markings blackish. Postmedial line prominent, on forewing it is rather smooth, dentate or even zigzag-shaped, turning inwards near costa, outer margin bordered with whitish. Fovea absent. Venation (Figs 1-2); Sc free, R1 and R2 in forewing completely coincident, often approaching the stem of R3+R4 near its base, rarely anastomosing with it. Common stalk (stem) of R3-R5 remote from upper corner of cell (= origin of M1). R3 and R5 branching off rather basally (proximally). Hindwing with large frenulum. Veins Rs and CuA1 arising remote from upper and lower corner of cell. Space between M1 and M3 large. 3A present, weak, reaching posterior margin just behind middle. Male antennae bipectinate almost to the tip (5-8 apical segments unpectinated), rami narrow, dorsally unscaled, arising proximally on ventral side from rather long flagellomeres. Female antennae filiform. Frons flat, rather broad, smooth-scaled, palps porrect or slightly curved upwards, rough-scaled, reaching well beyond frons. Haustellum moderately developed. Chaetosemata round type, near eye margin, well developed. Male hindtibia with weak hair pencil (if not everted, a weak groove visible only), hindtibia of both sexes with 2+2 spurs (index of spurs 0-2-4). Setal comb (oval field) of minute setae present on abdominal sternite 3 (Figs 3-5), weak sterno-tympanal process laterally on sternite 1+2, with short, free, distally rounded end. Male with tergites 1 and 2 more strongly sclerotised, 8th tergite weakly triangular, posterior margin narrower, other abdominal segments membranous and without modifications. Tympanal cavities without lacinia, medium-sized.

Male genitalia.

Uncus triangular, with slightly elongated tip, apex rounded. Socii absent. Gnathos arms fused ventrally, upturned, plate-shaped. Valva evenly narrowing towards apex, costa sclerotised, apical part of valva with narrow, setose ridge. Juxta sclerotised, with two large arms, inner and/or distal margins serrate or dentate. Saccus elongated, upturned medially. Phallus deeply cleft distally, with dorsal and ventral sclerotised process, latter shorter, gradually narrowing to pointed tip, dorsal one longer, spatulate, with narrow base which is bent by everted vesica. Cae cum with sclerotised band on ventral side only, dorsal side membranous. Vesica slightly enlarged at base, without cornuti.

Female genitalia.

Papillae anales rather short, oval, setose. Lamella antevaginalis sclerotised, loosely V-shaped transverse band. Lamella postvaginalis weakly sclerotised, rounded plate. Ductus bursae short, fluted, membranous. Colliculum elongate, sclerotised. Corpus bursae elongated, oval, membranous, without sclerotisations. Signum stellate, of medium size, small or absent.

Biology.

Probably all species feed on Juniper needles. Larva of Ekboarmia atlanticaria has been recorded on ( Culot 1919) and found on Juniperus phoenicea ( Zangheri 1968; Corley 2004) and that of Ekboarmia sagnesi has been reared on Juniperus communis ( Colomb 2005). Moths are found in a variety of habitat types from coastal dunes to open pine forests to mountain slopes with scattered trees and bushes, from sea-level to 1400 metres.

Immature stages.

Larvae of Ekboarmia sagnesi (see Colomb 2005) and Ekboarmia atlanticaria (see Fig. 6 and Spuler 1904) are green needle-mimics that closely match the needles of their Juniperus foodplants. Larvae of both species have a row of red dots dorsally, interspersed with yellow and white markings both dorsally and laterally. Pupa typical (Fig. 7), with D2 setae in the cremaster fused and elongated.

Remarks.

Ekboarmia has recently been classified in Ennominae tribe Boarmiini ( Vives Moreno 1994; Leraut 1997; Hausmann et al. 2011). Pupal cremaster with setae D2 fused and elongated supports this placement.