Nemophora polychorda ( Meyrick, 1914 )

Liao, Cheng-Qing, Hirowatari, Toshiya, Yagi, Sadahisa, Wang, Min, Wang, Xing & Huang, Guo-Hua, 2023, The fauna of the family Adelidae (Insecta, Lepidoptera, Adeloidea) from China, Zootaxa 5348 (1), pp. 1-152 : 66-67

(79) Nemophora polychorda ( Meyrick, 1914)

(Plates VIII-3, IX-3, XIX-1, XXVIII-1, XXX-1-4, XXXI-1, 6, 7)

Nemotois polychorda Meyrick, 1914: 61 (TL: Formosa, Kankau [ Taiwan, Pingdong]; BMNH); Matsumura 1931: 1112, fig. 2338 (Taiwan); Matsumura 1932: 126, pl. 4, fig. 19 (Formosa [ Taiwan]).

Nemotois polychroda [sic!]: Hua 2005: 2 (list of China).

Nemophora polychorda: Heppner 1992: 63 (Checklist of Taiwan); Wang et al. 2000: 13–14 ( China, Taiwan); Hirowatari 2005a: 323, figs. 1I–J, 8, 14A–C (Ryukyus, Japan); Shao et al. 2008: 550 (Checklist of Taiwan); Hirowatari 2013: 110; Sun et al. 2022: 319 (review).

Diagnosis. This species differs from other species of the degeerella group by the following characters: the abdominal tergites are uniformly dark brown but sternites are dark brown in the anterior half and yellow posterior half; the middle and hind tarsi have yellow rings basally; the vinculum is relatively narrow and slender, about 2.3 × length of valva; and the whole length of aedeagus is nearly straight, with long and pointed apical sclerite.

Specimens examined. [Hunan] 1♁ 1♀, Xianchijie, Wuyunjie National Nature Reserve, Taoyuan County, Changde City , 2020.VI.10–16, C.Q. Liao leg. ; 6♁ 7♀, Shuangjiangkou, Jintongshan National Nature Reserve, Chengbu Miao Autonomous County, Shaoyang City , 2021.VI.5–6, C.Q. Liao leg. ; 4♁ 2♀, Shuangjiangkou, Jintongshan National Nature Reserve, Chengbu Miao Autonomous County, Shaoyang City , 2020.V.7, C.Q. Liao leg. ; [Chongqing] 24♁, North slope of Jinfoshan, Nanchuan District (1,000 m), 2016.V.28, J.Y. Qiu leg. ; [ Taiwan] 2♁, Wugongshan (1,000 m), Maolin country, Gaoxiong City , 2002.III.23, B. Tanaka & T. Mano leg. ; 2♁, Gaofeng , 2004. VI.10, M. Wang leg. ( HUNAU) ; 10♁, Kenting Park, Pingdong County , 1982.III.14, S. Hashimoto leg. ( ELKU) .

Distribution. China (Hunan, Chongqing, Taiwan); Japan.

Remarks. Meyrick (1914) described this species based on Taiwanese specimens, and we report it from mainland China for the first time in this paper. The examined specimens were very large, with wing expanse rangeing from 25 to 30 mm in males, the same as that from Taiwan ( Wang et al. 2000), while only 20–22 mm in representatives from the Ryukyus ( Hirowatari 2005a). Male adults have been observed swarming over or around trees ( Hirowatari 2005a). We also found that adults of the species usually rest on plant leaves or nectar on the flowers around the habitat (Plates XXX-1–4). In addition, we can also collect this species by insect net in the day time (Plates XXXI-6, 7) and by light trap at midnight (Plate XXXI-1).

A DNA barcode of N. polychorda from Japan is generated, and the closest sequence is N. staudingerella from Japan (pairwise distance: 0.044).