Xyrosaris melanopsamma Meyrick, 1931

Ponomarenko, Margarita G., 2024, Taxonomic status of Xyrosaris melanopsamma Meyrick, 1931 (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae) with notes on congeneric species in East Asia, Zootaxa 5486 (3), pp. 338-350 : 346-348

Xyrosaris melanopsamma Meyrick, 1931 , stat. rev.

Xyrosaris melanopsamma Meyrick, 1931 , Exotic Microlepidoptera, 4: 171. Type locality: Ikeno [Gifu Prefecture], Honshu , Japan.

Xyrosaris melanopsamma : Clarke 1965: 404, pl. 201, figs 4, 4a–c; Moriuti 1969: 132, 212, fig. 67, pl. 61, fig. 244; 1977: 224, fig. 440; Issiki 1970: 23, pl. 3, fig. 79; Ponomarenko 2016: 61.

Zelleria melanopsamma : Friese 1962: 320, figs 15, 16.

Xyrosaris sp. 1 : Komatsu 2020: 64, figs 1–3; Yagi 2022: 47, figs 3, 4.

Xyrosaris vaginata Bae et Na , In: Na & Bae 2024: 423 , syn. n.

Xyrosaris vaginata : Na & Bae 2024: 422 , Figs 3C, G (male genitalia), misidentification.

Xyrosaris lichneuta : Na & Bae 2024: 424 , Fig. 4A (female genitalia), misidentification.

Material examined. Russia, Primorskii Krai: 4♂, 1♀, Ussurijskii distr., 20 km SE Ussurijsk, Gornotajezhnoe vill., 23.08.1994; 20, 23.09.1995, gen. slide 243 (f) MP (leg. M. Ponomarenko) ; 1♀, 20 km SW Krounovka, Medveditsa riv., 02.09.1998 (leg. M. Ponomarenko) ; 3♂, 3♀, Chernigovskii distr., 10 km SE Chernigovka, Gribnoe vill. vicinity, 44°15′30″ N 132°40′41″ E, 25.08.1998, gen. slides 175 (m), 176, 234 (♀♀) MP (leg. M. Ponomarenko) ; 1♀, 30.5 km NW Arsen’ev, Sinii ridge, 600 m a.s.l., 44°21’45”N 133°00’34”E, 02.09.1999 (leg. M. Ponomarenko) ; 1♂, Shkotovskii distr. , 6 km W Novaya Moskva, 43°21’19”N 132°39’57”E, 20.04.2002 (leg. M. Ponomarenko) ; 2♀, Olginskii distr., upper course of Milogradovka riv., 31.5 km NEE Lazo settl., 24.05.2012 (leg. М. Ponomarenko) ; 9♀, Rikord Island , 15.06.2012 (leg. М. Ponomarenko, Yu. Zinchenko) ; 3♂, 3♀, Khasanskii district, Gamov Peninsula, Vityaz’ Bay , 8– 10.10.2021, gen. slides 233 (♀), 241 (♂) MP (leg. V. Dubatolov) ; 43♂, 55♀, Rikord Island , reared from Euonymus maximoviczianus , 25– 26.07.2022 (E. Beljaev leg.) ; 11.08.– 06.09.2022, vouchers Nos./ DNA Nos 770 (♂) / gen. slide 247 MP, 771 (♀) / gen. slide 238 MP, 773 (♂), 775 (♂) / gen. slide 240 MP, 776 (♂) / gen. slide 245 MP, 787 (♂) / gen. slide 246 MP, gen. slides 183, 184 (♂♂), 185, 244 (♀♀) MP (leg. М. Ponomarenko and E. Beljaev); Sakhalin: 5♂, 9♀, Nevelskii distr., Yasnomorskoe vill. 18– 20.08.2020, gen. slides 177, 235, 242 (♂♂), 178, 237 (♀♀) MP (leg. М. Ponomarenko ), all in FSCB .

Primorskii Krai: 3♂, Ussuriiskii distr., 20 km SE Ussurijsk, Gornotajezhnoe vill., 22– 30.08.1978 (leg. V. Kuznetzov) ; 5♂, 6♀, Ussuriiskii distr., 20 km SE Ussurijsk, Gornotajezhnoe vill., 43°42’ N 132°09’E, 135 м, 8.07.1982, 28.04.1983, 3.09.1983, 11.07.1988 , 11– 15.07.1996, 11.07.2018 (leg. S. Sinev); 1♀, Spasskii distr., 18 km SE Spassk-Dal’nii settl., Kalinovka recreation center, 44°28’ N 132°58’E, 170 m, 6.07.2018 (leg. S. Sinev) ; 1♀, Anuchinskii distr., Vinogradovka vill., 19.05.1929 (leg. A. Djakonov and N. Filipjev); Khabarovskii Krai : Khabarovsk env., Bol’shekhekhtsyrskii Nature Reserve : 1♂, Bychikha vill., 48°18′ N 134°49′ E, 29.04.2006 (leg. V. Dubatolov) ; 1♂, 1♀, Sosnenskii kordon, 48°14′ N 134°47′ E, 100 m, 6– 7.06.2006 , 30.09– 1.10.2011 (leg. V. Dubatolov) ; 1♂, Chirki kordon, 48°11′ N 134°41′ E, 29.05.2006 (leg. V. Dubatolov) , all in ZIN.

Distribution. Russian Far East (Khabarovskii Krai, Primorskii Krai and Sakhalin), South Korea, Japan (Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu).

Host plant. Euonymus oxyphyllus Miq. , E. sieboldianus Blume , E. alata (Thunb.) Sieb. ,? Celastrus orbiculatus Thunb. (after Issiki 1957, 1970; Friese, 1962; Moriuti 1969, 1977); Euonymus maximoviczianus Prokh. (first record) ( Celastraceae ).

Bionomics. Larvae of different instars were collected on E. maximoviczianus Prokh. two times in July, 6 and August, 1 on Rikord Island (south of the Russian Far East). They were feeding on the upper and lower surfaces of leaves, skeletonizing them in younger instars and gnawing holes in older instars. The head of larvae is wider than the thorax, with a distinct epicranial suture dividing it into two slightly inflated halves. Almost throughout the entire period of development, the larvae had a light brownish grey head and a dark grey prothoracic shield, whereas the colour of their body was variable ( Figs 23 A–F ). In younger instars they were pale green and greyish green with two longitudinal bands on the dorsum—dark grey on thoracic segments and greyish green on abdominal ones. In older instars they became predominantly greyish brown with two bands on the dorsum—dark grey on thoracic segments and dark brown on abdominal ones. In the laboratory, larvae collected in July soon began to pupate starting on 10.07.2022. Pupation took place in a loose silken cocoon ( Fig. 24 ). The duration of pupal development in the laboratory was 7–10 days. Imagoes emerged starting on 18.07.2022. The larvae collected in August began to pupate from 4.08.2022 onwards. Imagoes emerged between 16.08 to 6.09.2022.

Remarks. The species was described based on two specimens collected in two different localities. According to ICZN, Art. 73.2.3. after the designation of lectotype by Clarke (1965) the type locality of this species is the place of its origin, what is fixed by Art 76.2 ( ICZN, 1999), as it is indicated above. The other specimen, paralectotype, was collected on Mt. Iwawakisan, Kii [Wakayama Prefecture], and currently lacks its abdomen.

The recently described species X. vaginata Bae et Na, 2024 from South Korea turned out conspecific with X. melanopsamma Meyrick, 1931 in the male genitalia, and should be considered as a junior subjective synonym of the latter. As to the female of X. vaginata , non-conspecific males and females were associated in the original species description and the genitalia of X. lichneuta were illustrated ( Na & Bae 2024: 424, Fig. 4A ).

Issiki (1957), Friese (1962, after Issiki 1957) and Moriuti (1969) indicated Celastrus orbiculatus Thunb. among host plants for X. melanopsamma . Later, when X. melanopsamma was treated as a junior synonym of X. lichneuta , all recorded host plants of the first species were ascribed to the second one in subsequent publications. Moreover, Celastrus orbiculatus was often listed first, as the main host plant for X. lichneuta ( Moriuti 1977; Gershenson & Ulenberg 1998; Lewis & Sohn 2015; Ponomarenko 2016; Na & Bae 2024). According to Moriuti (1977), of the 132 specimens reared from larvae, only 5 specimens were fed on Celastrus orbiculatus and the rest 127 specimens fed on different species of Euonymus spp. Since there are two independent species ( X. lichneuta and X. melanopsamma ), that do not reliably differ in general appearance, there is a high probability that the specimens reared on Celastrus orbiculatus were not conspecific with those reared from Euonymus spp. The morphology of their genitalia are unknown and there is currently no data confirming the feeding of X. melanopsamma on Celastrus orbiculatus .

Figures

FIGURES 1–6. Xyrosaris spp., female genitalia. 1, X. lichneuta, re-drawn photo of lectotype from Clarke, 1965, 5: pl. 201, photo 2 a–b; 2, ditto, gen. slide 231; 3, ditto, gen. slide 232; 4, X. melanopsamma, re-drawn photo of lectotype from Clarke, 1965, 5: pl. 201, photo 4 a–c; 5, ditto, gen. slide 233; 6, ditto, gen. slide 234. a—distance between posterior edge of segment 7 and anterior edge of sterigma, ant—antrum, p.lob—lobes of postvaginal plate, ster—sterigma, 7–scl—sclerotisation of 7th sternite; black arrow shows posterior edge of 7th sternite.

FIGURES 23, 24. Preimaginal stages of Xyrosaris melanopsamma. 23 A–F, larvae of different instars on leaf of Euonymus maximoviczianus Prokh.; 24, cocoon with pupa.