Cryptolectica Vári, 1961

Sruoga, Virginijus & Prins, Jurate De, 2023, New species, new country distribution records, and a new generic combination of Afrotropical Acrocercopinae (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae), Zootaxa 5285 (1), pp. 75-115 : 81

Cryptolectica Vári, 1961

Cryptolectica Vári, 1961: 177 . Type species: Acrocercops monodecta Meyrick, 1912 .

This is a small genus comprising 11 species currently assigned to it, and distributed in Sub-Saharan Africa (most species), Asia, and South America. In the original description of the genus Vári (1961) emphasized wing venation as means to diagnose genera. However, in the most comprehensive redescription of the genus, Kumata et al. (1988a) pointed out that wing venation of the Japanese species can be different from the ones provided by Vári (1961). As more reliable generic traits Kumata et al. (1988a) regarded the combination of the characters of genitalia, male abdomen and last instar larva. Here we used the following characters as diagnostic for the Cryptolectica : (1) antennal scape simple or with a small flap of scales; (2) valva simple, without any comb on inner surface or costal process; (3) median sclerotization of the dorsocephalic apodeme of male abdominal segment VIII not extending onto tergum.