Mesophleps catericta (Meyrick, 1927) Li & Sattler, 2012

Li, Houhun & Sattler, Klaus, 2012, A taxonomic revision of the genus Mesophleps Hübner, 1825 (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) 3373, Zootaxa 3373, pp. 1-82 : 49-50

Mesophleps catericta (Meyrick, 1927) comb. nov.

( Figs 21, 58, 59, 83, 111, 142)

Gnosimacha catericta Meyrick, 1927 , Exot. Microlepid. 3: 354. Holotype ♀, SOUTH AFRICA: Limpopo (‘ N Transvaal’), Slypsteendrift, 28.xii.1924 (Janse) (slide no. 5461, TM, Pretoria). [examined.]

Gnosimacha catericta Meyrick ; Janse 1960: 154, pl. 75, fig. f, pl. 77, fig. g, pl. 85, pl. 93, fig. g.

♂, ♀. 16.0–17.0 mm. Labial palpus segment 2 porrect, ventrally with triangular, forward-directed tuft, rough-scaled above, 3 upturned at right angles. Leading edge of antennal scape basally with dense comb of raised scales. Forewing greyish brown, sprinkled with greyish white scales; dark plical, discal and discocellular marks sometimes indistinct. Hind wing in female with two or three frenular acanthae.

Pregenital abdomen ( Fig. 21). In male anterior margin of TIV–VIII with broad and straight transverse band of microtrichia; posterior margin of SVIII without specific processes.

Genitalia ♂ ( Fig. 83). Uncus relatively long, sub-rectangular or medially constricted and distally rounded, laterally setose; gnathos hooks completely fused but with visible suture, gnathos arms broad, robust; tegumen unremarkable; posterior margin of vinculum triangularly protruded medially, sclerotized, anterior margin straight; phallus short, medially angled, ventrally with sclerotized juxta, basal half bulbous, distal half abruptly narrowed, gently tapered towards rounded apex.

Genitalia ♀ ( Figs 111, 142). Papillae anales sub-rectangular, width about three-times length, apophyses posteriores about twice length of short apophyses anteriores. Posterior margin of segment VIII gently convex dorsally, more or less densely set with long sensory setae. Area around ostium bursae weakly sclerotized, delicately wrinkled longitudinally; antrum tubular, straight, very weakly sclerotized, about one-half length of apophyses anteriores; ductus bursae thin, about twice length of apophyses anteriores; corpus bursae large, oval; ductus seminalis arising from unusually large, recurved cervix bursae.

Remarks. M. catericta is somewhat isolated in Mesophleps but shares with M. geodes the presence of microtrichial bands on the abdominal TVIII in the male and the broad, sub-rectangular papillae anales in the female. Unusually the dorso-posterior margin of segment VIII in the female is set with long sensory setae; such sensilla were not observed in any other Mesophleps and are normally found in Gelechiidae only in the subfamily Gelechiinae .

The dense comb of scales on the leading edge of the antennal scape is unique within Mesophleps and differs from the usual pecten of long isolated scales found on the scape of some other Gelechiidae . The frenulum of the catericta female is illustrated by Janse (1960: pl. 85) with only two acanthae, and this is confirmed in a female from Skukuza; however, a female from Homeb has the regular gelechiid complement of three. Occasional individual variation in the number of acanthae, between two and four, is observed in Gelechiidae , and sometimes a reduction to two occurs as a standard feature, for example in the cerostomatella -group of the genus Ornativalva Gozmány, 1955 ( Sattler 1976: 91, text-fig. 12).

It should be noted that the described unusually large and recurved cervix bursae is not visible in the illustrated example in which it is hidden behind the corpus bursae.

The Namibian specimens differ from the Transvaal specimens in several respects. On the pregenital abdomen the dorsal bands of microtrichia are posteriorly straight to weakly concave rather than deeply indented medially ( Fig. 21). In the male genitalia the uncus is distally rounded and medially constricted (sub-rectangular in Transvaal specimen) whilst in the female the corpus bursae appears to be of a different shape. The small number of specimens available does not permit a decision whether these differences indicate two species, subspeciation or merely individual variation.

Biology. Host-plant unknown.

Distribution. Namibia; South Africa (Limpopo, Mpumalanga (‘Transvaal’)).

Material examined (3 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀, including 2 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀ genitalia preparations)

Namibia (‘ S W Africa’): 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀, Homeb, 10 mls ESE of Gobabeb, 23–25.i.1972 ( BMNH Southern African Exped .) . South Africa: 1 ♀, holotype (as above) ; 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Mpumalanga [Eastern Transvaal, Krüger National Park,] Skukuza, 3.iv.1952 ( Vári ) ( TM, Pretoria) .