Pachyrhabda benearena Kim, 2024

Jeong, In-Won & Kim, Sora, 2024, A new species of Pachyrhabda Meyrick (Lepidoptera: Stathmopodidae) from the Korean Peninsula, Zootaxa 5507 (1), pp. 179-186 : 182-184

Pachyrhabda benearena Kim sp. nov.

Type material. Holotype: ♂, Republic of Korea, Gangwan Province , Yangyang, Ganghyeon, 10 July 2011, leg. Sora Kim, gen. slide no. 9157; [deposited in JBNU].

Diagnosis

The new species is superficially similar to Pachyrhabda argyrocosmos Terada, 2016 but can be easily distinguished by the ground colour and markings of the forewing. The latter species has paler forewings with large two darker blotches and hind tibia with dense tufts, while in the new species Pachyrhabda benearena Kim sp. nov. many irregular dark brown spots are dispersed in a disordered manner on the forewing; hairs on the hind tibia are almost absent.

Male genitalia of the new species are close to P. fuscimaculata Terada, 2016 but differ in the shape of uncus and aedeagus. Uncus of the new species is tapering towards the apex with a swollen part at the middle and mainly has few setae at the middle, aedeagus has a sclerotized plate and a tooth-shaped cornutus at vesical. While uncus of P. fuscimaculata is bell-shaped and densely setose; aedeagus has only a sclerotized plated at vesica.

Description

Male ( Fig. 1 ). Head. Vertex and frons yellowish ochreous, covered with white scales shaped rounded at the base and tapering toward the apex. Occiput of the same colour as vertex and covered with scales of the same shape as on vertex. Antennal flagellomeres are dark ochreous without cilia. Flagellum up to 54 th flagellomere, ochreous interchanging with dark ochreous flagellomere one by one, but from 55 th flagellomere, one ochreous flagellomere is followed by three dark ochreous flagellomeres and such interchangeable pattern of flagellomere colour is repeated up to the apex. Antenna ca. 4/5 the length of forewing; scape pale ochreous. Labial palpus pale ochreous, slightly upcurved with acute apex; terminal palpomere partially brownish ochreous.

Thorax. Mostly yellowish ochreous Wing span ca. 10.5 mm. Forewing with irregular dark brownish spots on a pale ochreous background; pale yellowish cilia along termen. The ground colour of the hindwing is pale ochreous with darker shading towards the apex; cilia pale yellowish. Fore tibia dark ochreous. Mid tibia is mostly ochreous; a pair of brownish long and thick spurs present at the apical part of the mid tibia. Hind tibia is dorsally dark brown and pale ochreous ventrally with two pairs of ochreous long and thick spurs at the basis and at the apex of the tibia. Each tarsus is dark brown dorsally with a pair of short brownish erect scales.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 2 ). Uncus straight, tapering apically, with a swollen part at the middle and some sparsely distributed setae laterally. Gnathos consists of two parts: posterior round-shaped part, and the anterior part that is broadly tongue-shaped, as long as uncus; with short dense setae at the caudal anterior part. Tegumen is as long as half of valval length. Valva broad, slightly arched with gently rounded cucullus; dorsal margin of cucullus smoothly arched; sacculus convex caudally, sclerotized at the base which is covered by short setae, gently concave near the dorsal margin, the inner surface of sacculus with numerous setae. Vinculum short, broad, and irregularly shaped. Aedeagus as long as a genital capsule, narrow tubular shaped and long sclerotized cornutus on vesica, a tooth-shaped sclerotized structure present near the base of vesica, long, narrow, lineal cornutus stretches along almost the entire length of aedeagus dorsally.

Female genitalia. Unknown.

Distribution

Palaearctic: Korea: known only from the type locality in Gangwon Province, Korean Peninsula ( Fig. 3 ).

Etymology

The species name is a composite word derived from the Latin, “bene” and “arena”, meaning “well” and “sand”. The species-group name indicates the ground colour of the forewing with darker spots, a pattern reminiscent of sand in a desert.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Pachyrhabda benearena sp. nov. A, adult; B, wing; C, head; D, antenna.

FIGURE 2. Genitalia of Pachyrhabda benearena sp. nov. A, male genitalia; B, aedeagus. Scale bar, 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 3. Collection site (in yellow circle) of Pachyrhabda benearena sp. nov. A, type locality of new species in Korean Peninsula by QGIS 3.30.0 using an EPSG:4326-WGS 84 coordinate system; B, the topography of the collecting site using QGIS 3.30.0 and data from the National Geographic Information and National Spatial Information Portal.