Gynaephora Hübner, 1819

Choi, Sei-Woong, Heo, Un-Hong & Kim, Sung-Soo, 2021, Four species of Noctuoidea (Lepidoptera), new to Korea, Zootaxa 4999 (6), pp. 582-590 : 585-586

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4999.6.5
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:18EC1EC4-1132-4E7E-A04C-5460E8C0EFED
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03C9B45B-FFF0-FFCC-9ED2-FC8BFBA70994
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Gynaephora Hübner, 1819
status

Treatment

Type species. Phalaena selenitica Esper, 1789

1 * Gynaephora atrata Choi, Heo, and Kim sp. nov.

( Figs. 1B View FIGURE 1 , 2A, 2B View FIGURE 2 , 3C View FIGURE 3 )

Type material. Holotype: male, Korea: JN: Gwangyang , Mt. Baekunsan , 18. May, 2017 (larva), 14. August. 2017 (eclosion), Un-Hong Heo, genital slide no. KSS 3243 ( MNU) ; Paratypes: 1 male, Korea: JN: Gwangyang , Hanje (road), Mt. Baekunsan , 14. August, 2018 (larva), 14. September 2018 (eclosion), Un-Hong Heo, NIBR specimen no. VLYVIN0000009681 ( NIBR); 1 male, Korea: GN: Hamyang , Macheon-myon , Mt. Jirisan National Park, E 127° 38′ 08″, N 35° 21′ 18″, 760 m above sea level, 11. October. 2013, Sei-Woong Choi, genital slide no. KSS 3247 ( MNU) GoogleMaps .

Diagnosis. This new species can be recognized by its dark brown or blackish forewing, showing the broad central fascia with a pale triangular costal marking. The species is externally similar to G. selenitica Esper, 1789 , but G. atrata can be distinguished from G. selenitica by the grayish triangular costal marking on the dark brownish forewing. The male genitalia of G. atrata can be diagnosed by the short uncus, long and tongue-shaped saccus, and stout valva with minute costa and sacculus.

Description. Wingspan 36-41 mm. Antennae bipectinate with long pectination. Frons covered with long dense brown hairs; labial palpi covered with long dark brown hairs, approximately twice as long as eye diameter, 3 rd segment minute. Body hairy with long brown hairs, legs hairy. Forewing dark brown in ground color; basally dark with dark brown transverse line; central fascia costally broad with pale triangular marking, narrowed towards dorsum; postmedial line blackish, costally strongly dentate; subtermen with a pale brownish undulating line; termen dark brown with blackish marginal dots. Hindwing blackish, basally slightly paler, discal dot blackish. Abdomen whitish, dorsum with large black tufts on the 3 rd and 4 th segments.

Male genitalia. Uncus short, nipple-shaped; tegumen large, triangular; transtilla medially fused and with a pair of long arm-shaped processes; juxta strongly sclerotized, V-shaped; saccus long, tongue-shaped. Valva short, lozenge-like; costa basally sclerotized; sacculus with a minute sclerotized process. Aedeagus long, tubular; coecum long, about half of the phallus; vesica densely covered with minute denticles but without large cornutus.

Larvae Body length 35 mm. Head light green; middorsal tufts on A1-A4 light yellow with two black middorsal dots on A1 and A2; body greenish, yellow subdorsal stripe, glands on A6 and A7 gray.

Distribution. Korea.

DNA barcodes. One specimen from Mt. Baekunsan, Gwangyang was barcoded (Genbank Accession number MW405621 View Materials ). The pairwise difference with Gynaephora selenitica Esper (1789) (Genbank accession number GU654856.1) was 9.27%.

Etymology. The new species was named from the ground color of the wings, atrata - blackish

Remarks. The association of this species with the genus Gynaephora was based on the adult’s wing pattern elements. Gynaephora atrata feeds on Quercus serrata Thunberg ex Murray (Fagaceae) and Zelkova serrata (Thunberg) Makino (Ulmaceae) . This species is monovoltine, having a long larval period of approximately two months and flying from September to October. The genus is the firstly recorded from Korea.