Evergestis radagastalis Korb, P. Gorbunov & Melyakh, 2024

Korb, Stanislav K., Gorbunov, Pavel Yu. & Melyakh, Sergey F., 2024, New data on the systematics and distribution of snout moths of the genus Evergestis Hübner, [1825] in Kyrgyzstan (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), Zootaxa 5477 (1), pp. 66-72 : 67-70

Evergestis radagastalis Korb, P. Gorbunov & Melyakh , sp. n.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:10287C72-2765-4A94-BDCE-16D5DFD54

Material. Holotype ♂, 23– 24.04.2023 Kyrgyzstan, Moldo-Too Mts. , 7 km E of Kyzyl-Korgon, 41°43'43.08"N, 74°16'38.54"E, 1491 m, leg. S.K. Korb, P.Y. Gorbunov, S.F. Melyakh. Paratypes: 6 ♂, 16 ♀, 23– 24.04.2023, same locality, leg. S.K. Korb, P.Y. Gorbunov, S.F. Melyakh. 3 ♂, 21– 22.04.2023 Kyrgyzstan, Fergansky Mts. , 15 km NE Kazarman, Naryn river , left bank, 41°30'46.55"N, 73°55'36.91"E, 1223 m, leg. S.K. Korb, P.Y. Gorbunov ; 2 ♂, 3 ♀, 23.04.2023, Kyrgyzstan, Fergansky Mts. , 12 km NE of Tash-Kumyr (center), Sary-Bel river, 41º25'16''N, 72º18'59''E, 892 m, leg. S.F. Melyakh. Holotype deposited in ZIN; paratypes are in CSK and CSM.

Description (figs 1, 2, 10). Forewing length 12–15 mm (13 mm in holotype). Head, thorax, abdomen, legs and antennae brown. Eyes gold-brown. Forewing brown, with illegible olive-grey submarginal belt and randomly located illegible dark and light spots, mostly located in the middle part of the wing; submarginal line poorly visible, dark, incomplete; marginal pattern dark, presented by three small lunules in the apical part of wing. Forewing fringe brownish with light strokes at the vein terminations. Hindwing lighter than forewing, light-brown, with grey margin (about 20% of the wing width) and yellow stroke in the anal angle. Hindwing fringe two-colored, brown in basal part and white in outer part. Underside of wings the same color as upper side, but a bit lighter, with no pattern. Male is slightly smaller than female, its olive-grey submarginal belt narrower and in general not so well visible.

Male genitalia (figs 3–5). Uncus elongated, arrow-shaped with pointed apex. Gnathos of approximately the same thickness along the entire length, with thin process at the apex; denticles on its dorsal surface quite big, well visible. Valva lobe-shaped, 1.25 mm long, a bit expanded in its apical part; clasper small, ear-shaped but well visible, located in the central part of valva. Anellus wide, in preparation is together with phallus, bearing a field of densely packed small spines in apical half. Phallus slender, distinctly longer than valva, with a single long spikeshaped cornutus in apical part.

Female genitalia (figs 6–8). Length about 5 mm. Anal papillae flat lunule-shaped, about 3.9 times wider than their length. Posterior apophyses almost the same length as the anterior ones, straight and thin. Anterior apophyses two-branched. Antrum funnel-shaped, sclerotized just a bit stronger than other parts of genitalia. Colliculum almost as long as antrum, elongated-oval. Ductus bursae long and narrow; bursa copulatrix rounded, with two large equalsized signa bearing tiny spikes on almost their entire length.

Diagnosis. This new species belongs to the group of Evergestis caesialis (Herrich-Schäffer, [1849]) ; it has two closely related species: E. caesialis and E. impervialis Sinev & Korb, 2021 , but differs from both by the wing pattern and genitalia structures. Differences in the wing pattern from E. impervialis are: no black spots or lines in forewing upperside (present in E. impervialis ), and forewing upperside with olive-grey submarginal belt (belt in E. impervialis light-brown). Differences in wing pattern from E. caesialis are: olive-grey submarginal belt in forewing upperside (belt in E. caesialis light-brown), and absence of dark discal spot in forewing upperside (present in E. caesialis ). Another clear difference is in the eye color: in E. caesialis and E. impervialis , the eyes are dark-brown, whereas E. radagastalis sp. n. has gold-brown eyes. The female genitalia differ very clearly in the apophyses posterior, which are one-branched in E. caesialis , two-branched in E. radagastalis sp. n., and three-branched in E. impervialis . In the male genitalia all three species differ in the aedeagus structure: in E. caesialis and E. impervialis , it is expanded basally, while in E. radagastalis sp. n. it is the same width throughout the entire length; They also differ in the number of cornuti in the apical aedeagus, with 2–3 in E. caesialis , 8–12 in E. impervialis , and only one cornutus in E. radagastalis sp. n.. E. radagastalis sp. n. also has a very characteristic arrow-shaped uncus, whereas in the closely related species it is straight, and without a pointed apex.

Etymology. The species is named after the wizard in the books of J.R.R. Tolkien, Radagast, who had the nickname Radagast the Brown, referring to the brown color of the forewings.

Biology. We discovered this new species in mid-spring (second decade of April) in low-mountainous regions at altitudes of 1200–1500 meters. The specimens were primarily collected in the basin of the Dyungereme River near its confluence with the Kekemeren River, within the valley and on the lower parts of the steep red sandstone slopes (fig. 9). The valley forest in this area is composed of Betula tianschanica , Populus talassica , Fraxinus sogdiana , and Salix wilhelmsiana , with an undergrowth featuring Berberis and Cotoneaster species. In the lower parts of the slopes, there are patches of shrubs such as Spiraea hypericifolia, Rosa sp., Prunus prostrata , Zygophyllum atriplicoides , and others. The herbaceous layer is dominated by wormwood ( Artemisia spp. ), Krascheninnikovia ceratoides , and various Poaceae species.

In the Naryn valley, the new species was collected at an altitude of 1220 meters, on the border between a floodplain and an eastern-facing slope. The area featured Populus talassica trees and patches of undergrowth including Berberis nummularia and Crataegus sp. The river floodplain here is approximately 160 meters wide, with the river itself occupying about half of this width. The dry part of the floodplain consists of sandy pebbles covered with Salix sp. (willow) and vegetation such as Pseudosaphora alopecuroides , Glycyrrhiza shiheziensis , Xanthium strumarium , and Artemisia sp. , which are prominent in summer and autumn. The lower part of the slope is treeless and features dense or sparse shrubbery, including Spiraea hypericifolia, Rosa sp., Prunus prostrata , Ephedra sp. , Krascheninnikovia ceratoides , and Artemisia sp.

Distribution. The species is known from only two localities separated by 40 km (in a straight line): the valley of the middle course of the Naryn River and the basin of the lower reaches of the Kekemeren River (fig. 13). It is likely endemic to the region’s dry steppes and semi-deserts of the Inner Tien Shan.