Lyonetia (Lyonetia) ledi Wocke, 1859

Liu, Shiyu, Liu, Tengteng, Yu, Jiazhi, Xu, Jiasheng & Teng, Kaijian, 2023, The leaf-mining genus Lyonetia Hübner from China, with descriptions of two new species (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutoidea: Lyonetiidae), Zootaxa 5357 (1), pp. 100-120 : 112-113

Lyonetia (Lyonetia) ledi Wocke, 1859

( Figs 9 , 21, 21a )

ṻDzdzḋ [Chinese name]

Lyonetia ledi Wocke, 1859: 101 .

Lyonetia candida Braun, 1916: 140 .

Diagnosis. This species is similar to Lyonetia (Lyonetiola) euryella , the latter feeding on Eurya emarginata and E. japonica (Pentaphylacaceae) , and Lyonetia (Lyonetia) eriobotryae , which feeds on Eriobotrya japonica (Rosaceae) , but can be distinguished by the following characters. In L. (Lyonetia) ledi , the forewing has only the 2 nd costal and dorsal streaks; in the male genitalia, the sclerotized ridge on 8 th tergite is in fusiform-shape, the superuncus is pincershaped, the gnathos is hook-shaped ( Kuroko 1964: pl. 8, fig. 43); in the female genitalia, posterior 3/4 of the ductus bursae is slightly sclerotized and reticulated, the corpus bursae is rounded and without signum. In L. (Lyonetiola) euryella , the forewing has 2 nd and 3 rd costal and dorsal streaks ( Kuroko 1964: pl. 1, figs 8a & 8b); the sclerotized ridge is in ‘H’-shape, the superuncus is semicircular, the gnathos is rectangle and inset at apex ( Kuroko 1964: pl. 6, fig. 40); the ductus bursae is membranous, the corpus bursae is ovate and has two slender triangular signums ( Kuroko 1964: pl. 12, fig. 60). In L. (Lyonetia) eriobotryae , the forewing has no costal streak and has three dorsal streaks ( Wu et al. 2006: figs 1 & 2); the sclerotized ridge is slender and furcated at the anterior end, the superuncus is rectangle and slender, the gnathos has two pairs of apical projections ( Wu et al. 2006: figs 7a & 7b); the ductus bursae is membranous, the corpus bursae is oval with a long thorn-like signum ( Wu et al. 2006: fig. 8).

Material examined. 1♀, CHINA, Jiangsu, Yixing, Bamboo Sea Scenic Area , 31.168°N, 119.660°E, el. 550 m, 20.vi.2018, mine in leaf of Rhododendron sp. , emerged 3.vii.2018, leg. Tengteng Liu, field no. LTT00216 , SDNU. Ent001388 (genitalia slide no. LSY0059 ) .

Redescription ( Fig. 9 ). Forewing 3.2 mm long. Head, tuft, face, thorax and labial palpus shining white.Antennae about 1.3 times length of forewing, eye-cap shining white, base of flagellum pale brown, turning taupe toward distal. Forewing narrow-lanceolate, shining white; 1 st costal and dorsal streak absent, 2 nd costal streak obliquely from basal 2/3, 2 nd dorsal streak obliquely from basal 3/4, two streaks converging at apical blotch; apical blotch golden brown, irregular quadrilateral and occupying distal l/4 of wing; costal cilia white, three equally spaced fuscous strigulae at distal 1/5, these three strigulae elongated successively; apical cilia white, a black apical dot at apex; an outwardly apical transverse line fuscous beyond apical dot; dorso-apical line fuscous, point out from mid of apical transverse line; terminal cilia brown, with a fuscous strigula on termen from end of apical blotch; fringe on termen dark fuscous, oblique along termen; dorsal cilia brown. Hindwing and cilia pale brown. Foreleg gray dorsally, shining white ventrally; mid and hind legs shining white, base of tibiae brown dorsally, distal with three equidistant dark-fuscous spots, tarsus dark fuscous. Abdomen pale fuscous dorsally, shining white ventrally.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 21, 21a ). Ovipositor specialized and tapered distally adapted for piercing; apophyses posteriores thick and strongly sclerotized, base fused with ovipositor, 1.1 mm long; apophyses anteriores 610 μm long; ostium bursae cup-shaped; ductus bursae broad, about 3/5 of width of ostium bursae, slightly sclerotized and reticulated at posterior 3/4, anterior 1/4 membranous; ductus seminalis from junction of ductus and corpus bursae; corpus bursae rounded, without signum.

Biology. The mine is located on the upper surface of the leaf. The early mine is thin, close to the veins and gradually extend to the base of the leaf, then extend alongside the edge towards the leaf tip. Frass is firstly deposited in continuous line which later accumulate of irregular plaques in the mine ( Huemer & Schmid 2021). In addition, the larvae also may create several semicircular lateral slits at underside side of the mine to expel frass ( Kuroko 1964). Based on one mine, we observed that in the later stage, the mine expands into larger irregular and brown patches, the larva will leave its mine and cocoon on the underside of the leaf. Larvae can be collected in June.

Host plants. Rhododendron sp. (Ericaceae) in China. Hosts recorded in other parts of the world: Rhododendron tomentosum Harmaja , R. japonicum (Blume) Schneid. , R. kaempferi Planch. , R. dauricum L., R. mucronulatum Turcz. , R. ferrugineum L., R. indicum (L.) Sweet, R. occidentale (Torr. & A. Gray) A. Gray , R. pentandrum (Maxim.) Craven , R. albiflorum Hook. (Ericaceae) ; Myrica gale L. ( Myricaceae ) ( Kuroko 1964, Huemer & Schmid 2021, Fazekas 2022).

Distribution. China (Jiangsu), new country record. Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, United States ( Baryshnikova 2007, Fazekas 2022).

Figures

FIGURES 7–11. Adults of Lyonetia spp. 7–8, L. (Lyonetia) clerkella: 7, female, autumnal form, Xizang, SDNU.Ent005012; 8, autumnal form, Xizang, SDNU.Ent005177; 9, L. (Lyonetia) ledi, female, SDNU.Ent001388; 10–11, L. (Lyonetia) prunifoliella: 10, female, aestival form, SDNU.Ent001251; 11, male, autumnal form, SDNU.Ent028198. Scales = 1 mm.

FIGURES 20–21. Female genitalia of Lyonetia spp. 20, L. (Lyonetia) clerkella, slide no. LSY0056; 20a, thorn-shaped signum on corpus bursae; 21, L. (Lyonetia) ledi, slide no. LSY0059; 21a, weakly and reticulated sclerotization at ductus bursae.