Stenoloba herbacea Saldaitis & Volynkin, 2020

Saldaitis, Aidas & Volynkin, Anton V., 2020, Two new Stenoloba Staudinger, 1892 from Yunnan, southwestern China (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Bryophilinae), Zootaxa 4755 (3), pp. 545-552 : 546-547

Stenoloba herbacea Saldaitis & Volynkin , sp. n.

( Figs 1, 2 , 6 , 9 )

Type material. Holotype ( Figs 1 , 6 ): male, C[h]ina W. Yunnan, Salween Valley, 15 km Nord [North of] Gongshan, H- 1750m, 27°50’18’’N, 98°40’21’’E, 19. luglio [July] 2017, A. Floriani leg., slide AV 5584m Volynkin (Coll. WIGJ).

Paratypes: 17 males, 16 females, same data as in the holotype, slide AV5585f Volynkin (Colls AFM, ASV); 1 male, C[h]ina W. Yunnan, Salween Valley, 5 km Nord [North of] Fugong , H- 1200m, 26°56’10”N 98°52’00”E, 15. luglio [July] 2017, A. Floriani leg. (Coll. AFM); 1 female, C[h]ina W. Yunnan, Salween Valley , 5 km Sud [South of] Gongshan, H- 1700m, 27°42’43’’N, 98°43’42’’E, 16. luglio [July] 2017, A. Floriani leg. (Coll. MDS); 4 males, 1 female, C[h]ina W. Yunnan, Salween Valley , 5 km West Fugong, H- 1500m, 26°54’59”N 98°51’44”E, 21. luglio [July] 2017, A. Floriani leg. (Coll. AFM).

Etymology. ‘Herbacea’ means ‘grass green’ in Latin. The specific epithet refers to the new species’ grass green coloration.

Remark. Stenoloba herbacea sp. n. belongs to the nigrabasalis species-group due to its characteristic forewing pattern and the presence of the sclerotized scaphium, that is absent in other species-groups ( Kononenko & Ronkay 2001).

Diagnosis. Stenoloba herbacea is a closest relative of S. ochribasis described from Laos ( Kononenko & Ronkay 2001). Externally, the new species ( Figs 1, 2 ) can be easily distinguished from S. ochribasis (illustrated by Kononenko & Ronkay (2001): p. 116, fig. 16) by its larger size (the holotype male wingspan of S. ochribasis is 21 mm), grass green head, tegula, collar and forewing ground color (those are ochreous green in S. ochribasis ), dark brown forewing basal area with a slight irroration of ochreous and green scales (whereas in S. ochribasis the basal area is orange rufous), and slightly more elongated reniform stigma. The male genitalia of S. herbacea ( Fig. 6 ) differ clearly from those of S. ochribasis (illustrated by Kononenko & Ronkay (2001): p. 119, figs 35 and 35a) by the more elongated, narrower and curved cucullus with shorter distal processes, broader and trapezoidal sacculus (that is narrower, trigonal with a rounded tip in S. ochribasis ), and slightly more elongated basal section of aedeagus vesica without a subbasal row of spinules, which is present in S. ochribasis . Female of S. ochribasis is unknown therefore here we can compare the female genitalia of S. herbacea with those of another related species, S. nigrabasalis only. In the female genitalia ( Fig. 9 ), the antrum of S. herbacea differs from that of S. nigrabasalis (illustrated by Kononenko & Ronkay (2001): p. 121, fig. 49) by its not broadened posterior half and has longer trapezoidal postero-lateral extensions and a deeper medial subostial incision, while in S. nigrabasalis the posterior half of antrum is broadly lyriform with shorter trigonal postero-lateral extensions and a shallower medial subostial incision. The ductus bursae of S. herbacea is conspicuously longer than that of S. nigrabasalis , and the posterior end of corpus bursae is rugose, whereas that of S. nigrabasalis is membranous.

Description. External morphology of adult ( Figs 1, 2 ) Forewing length 11-12 mm in males (11 mm in the holotype) and 12-13 mm in females; wingspan 23-24 mm in males (24 mm in the holotype) and 25-26 mm in females. Antennae of both sexes filiform. Head grass green. Thorax brown with slight admixture of green scales; collar grass green; tegula grass green with admixture of brown scales.Abdomen brown. Forewing moderately broad, costal margin slightly convex subbasally. Forewing ground color grass green. Subbasal area dark brown with strong ochreous suffusion medially and at costa. Basal line strongly wavy, indistinct. Antemedial line thin, blackish brown, indistinct, arcuate and irregularly wavy. Medial area with broad oblique dark brown shade along fore side of antemedial line, and whitish suffusion between the shade and R vein. Postmedial line dark brown, loop-like curved in cell, thin and indistinct medially and posteriorly and spot-like broadened at costa. Subterminal line white, diffuse, irregularly dentate. Terminal line brown, interrupted into spots on veins. Costal margin with four various sized brown spots in postmedial area. Subterminal area with small indistinct brown spot at tornus. Cilia pale brown with admixture of green scales. Hindwing dark brown, edged with creamy suffusion. Discal spot diffuse, narrow, comma-shaped. Cilia pale brown with admixture creamy scales. Male genitalia ( Fig. 6 ). Uncus short, narrow, laterally flattened, apically pointed. Scaphium strongly broadened and sclerotised subbasally. Tegumen narrow, shorter than valva. Juxta deltoidal, with short basal concavity and elongated and narrow apical extension. Vinculum robust, V-shaped with rounded tip. Transtilla long and narrow, broadened distally. Valva moderately broad, its distal third (cucullus) strongly narrowed, curved dorso-inward, bifurcated into two narrow, short and apically blunted processes. Costa convex, with one finger-like medial process directed dorsally, right process slightly longer than left one. Sacculus robust, its distal half broadened, trapezoidal with rounded corners. Aedeagus narrow, nearly straight; coecum well developed, with rounded tip. Carina elongated and narrow, weakly sclerotised, its distal half weakly granulated. Aedeagus vesica narrow and elongated, hook-like curved ventrally, its basal half membranous; distal half of vesica slightly broadened, strongly granulated. Female genitalia ( Fig. 9 ). Papilla analis rectanular with rounded posterior corners, setose. Apophyes elongated, thin; apophyses anteriores slightly shorter than apophyses posteriores. Ostium bursae broad. Antrum large, elongated and slightly swollen, with elongated trapezoidal postero-lateral extensions and rounded medial subostial incision. Ductus bursae elongated, narrow, slightly broadened anteriorly with concave right margin; lateral areas of ductus bursae weakly sclerotised; medial area heavily sclerotised, band-like, slightly Slike curved, with rough margins. Corpus bursae pear-shaped, its posterior section narrow, sclerotised and wrinkled anterior (larger) section of corpus bursae membranous, weakly wrinkled. Appendix bursae small, globular, wrinkled situated postero-laterally at left side.

Distribution and bionomics. China (North West part of Yunnan Province). The new species was collected at ultraviolet light during several nights at middle July at altitudes of approximately 1200–1700 meters in primary mountains mixed forest, dominated by various deciduous trees, bamboo and bushes ( Fig. 11 ).

Figures

FIGURE 11. China, Northwest Yunnan, Salween Valley, 15 km North of Gongshan, 1750m, the habitat of Stenoloba herbacea sp. n. and S. pontezi sp. n. (photo by A. Saldaitis).

FIGURES 1–5. Stenoloba spp., adults. 1, S. herbacea, holotype male, China, Yunnan (WIGJ); 2, S. herbacea, paratype female, China, Yunnan (ASV); 3, S. pontezi, holotype male, China, Yunnan (WIGJ); 4, S. pontezi, paratype female, China, Yunnan (ASV); 5, S. viridibasis, holotype male, China, Yunnan (NEFU, after Han & Kononenko 2009).

FIGURES 6–8. Stenoloba spp., male genitalia. 6, S. herbacea, holotype, China, Yunnan, slide AV5584 Volynkin; 7, S. pontezi, holotype, China, Yunnan, slide AV5586 Volynkin; 8, S. viridibasis, holotype, China, Yunnan, slide HHL-1335-1 Han (after Han & Kononenko 2009).

FIGURES 9–10. Stenoloba spp., female genitalia. 9, S. herbacea, paratype, China, Yunnan, slide AV5585 Volynkin; 10, S. pontezi, paratype, China, Yunnan, slide AV5587 Volynkin.