Tridentaforma browncopper Monckton & Levesque-Beaudin, 2025

Monckton, Spencer K., Levesque-Beaudin, Valerie, Thompson, Ken A., Barnes, Aidan, French, Kami, Hampton, Hunter & Hebert, Paul D. N., 2025, The brown copper moth, Tridentaforma browncopper: DNA barcoding reveals a second species in the family Tridentaformidae (Lepidoptera, Adeloidea), ZooKeys 1257, pp. 25-38 : 25-38

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1257.158827
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:DED94611-D050-4FEC-B69C-C0AE17E72FA6
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17435418
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/24742B6C-B00D-5A9C-91A5-2FC1BC0BCE08
treatment provided by	ZooKeys by Pensoft
scientific name	Tridentaforma browncopper Monckton & Levesque-Beaudin
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Tridentaforma browncopper Monckton & Levesque-Beaudin sp. nov.

Fig. 2 View Figure 2 ( male habitus); Fig. 3 View Figure 3 ( male genitalia); Fig. 4 View Figure 4 ( female habitus); Fig. 5 View Figure 5 ( female genitalia); Fig. 6 ( holotype specimen View Figure 6 )

Material examined.

Holotype: Canada • ♂; British Columbia, Undisturbed Reference R 33 ; 50.506 °, - 121.032 °; 11–25. ix. 2023; Malaise trap; CNCLEP 00324919 ; CBG -A 18330-D 04 . Allotype: Canada • ♀; same data as holotype; CNCLEP 00324920 ; CBG -A 18330-H 08 . Paratypes: Canada • 2 ♂; same data as holotype; CBG -A 18330-D 06 , CBG -A 18330-D 10 • 1 ♂ 1 ♀; same locality as holotype; 29 Jul. – 11 Sep. 2023; CBG -A 17481-D 01 , CBG -A 17481-D 08 • 2 ♂ 2 ♀; British Columbia, Undisturbed Reference R 20 ; 50.505 °, - 121.015 °; 29 Aug. – 11 Sep. 2023; CBG -A 17480-E 06 , CBG -A 17480-F 11 , CBG -A 17480-H 03 , CBG -A 17480-H 11 • 4 ♂; same locality as preceding; 11–25 Sep. 2023; CBG -A 18321-C 01 , CBG -A 18321-E 07 , CBG -A 18321-E 08 , CBG -A 18321-F 09 • 2 ♂ 1 ♀; same locality as preceding; 16–29 Aug. 2023; CBG -A 16640-F 01 , CBG -A 16640-G 05 , CBG -A 16640-G 12 • 4 ♂ 1 ♀; Undisturbed Reference R 54 , 50.53 °, - 121.059 °; 28 Aug. – 11 Sep. 2023; CBG -A 17479-B 07 , CBG -A 17479-B 10 , CBG -A 17479-D 02 , CBG -A 17479-D 12 , CBG -A 17479-F 07 • 2 ♀; same locality as preceding; 11–25 Sep. 2023; CBG -A 18334-C 11 , CBG -A 18334-F 11 . Other material: see Suppl. material 1.

Diagnosis.

Females can be distinguished by the structure of their ovipositor (Fig. 5 View Figure 5 ) with T 8 slightly widened and broadly truncate apically (in T. fuscoleuca it is narrower and subacute apically), anterior and posterior apophyses approximately equal in length (in T. fuscoleuca the anterior apophysis is distinctly shorter than the posterior apophysis), although the latter character requires dissection to assess. Males are easily distinguished by the presence of four pectens along the ventral margin of the valva (Fig. 3 View Figure 3 ), while T. fuscoleuca has three. The species can be identified by COI DNA barcoding as it possesses diagnostic substitutions at three nucleotide positions (118 - C; 250 - C; 277 - A), which differentiate it from the other seven Tridentaforma BINs.

Description.

Small, slender-bodied moths; primarily brown with silvery, pale-brown scales; wing expanse 8.5–10.5 mm. Head: antenna 40–44 segmented, simple, approximately 0.7–0.8 × length of forewing. Compound eye moderately large, eye index approximately 1.1–1.2. Labial palp three-segmented with apical segment shorter (approximately 0.8 × length of second). Thorax: foretibia with pectinate epiphysis from middle, extending approximately halfway to apex. Forewing somewhat narrow, greatest width about 3.3 × length. Abdomen: female seventh sternite 2.0–2.4 × length of sixth. Male genitalia: uncus reduced, consisting of two small lobes. Vinculum and saccus well developed, saccus elongate and approximately Y-shaped, gradually tapering basally to about ¼ of its maximum apical width; total length 1.3 × length of valva (Fig. 3 B View Figure 3 ). Valva somewhat helical, relatively narrow in dorsal and ventral view, broad in lateral view; a series of four pectens spaced along its ventral margin, each of the apical three consisting of a short transverse row of 4–7 stout, spatulate spines, longer medially, the last 2–3 spines noticeably less-sclerotized and anteriorly directed; the ventral pecten consisting of 2 relatively long, less-sclerotized spines. Juxta (Fig. 3 C View Figure 3 ) reduced in size, about 1 / 3 as long as median branch of phallus, and slender, produced anteriorly to a sharp point. Phallus (Fig. 3 A View Figure 3 ) three-branched, median branch more than twice as long as lateral branches. Female genitalia: apex of ovipositor slender, slightly flattened dorsoventrally, truncate, with smooth margins (Fig. 5 View Figure 5 ). Anterior and posterior apophyses extremely slender and elongate, approximately equal in length to one another and about twice as long as T 8. Proximal margin of T 8 dorsally produced to an acute angle; apex of T 8 broadly truncate and slightly widened relative to subapical constriction.

Etymology.

nłeʔképmx Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and people of the Citxw Nlaka’pamux Assembly chose skʷu ́ nkʷl ̓ itkax ̣ n ̓ I as the name for this species, which means “ brown copper moth ”. Translation was required because the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature ( International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature 1999) prohibits non-Latin characters. As a result, the CNA selected the species epithet “ browncopper ”, a compound noun in apposition formed from its English name.

Distribution.

This species is only known from the Thompson Plateau in south-central British Columbia, Canada.

Genetic data.

All members of this species belong to a single BIN ( BOLD: AFK 8960) with a maximum within species p - distance of 1.14 %. The most closely related BIN ( BOLD: AFN 9384), an undescribed species from California (Fig. 7 View Figure 7 ), is 2.72 % divergent. DNA barcode records for specimens of Tridentaforma on BOLD are assigned to eight BINs ( BOLD: AAW 8088, BOLD: AED 1619, BOLD: AFK 8960, BOLD: AFN 9384, BOLD: AFR 9704, BOLD: ACL 2023, BOLD: ADT 2118, BOLD: AAU 7622). Based on dissections and genetic data, we believe that five more species await description (Fig. 7 View Figure 7 ). van Nieukerken and Davis (2023) noted five barcode clusters within Tridentaformidae which presumably correspond to the five BINs that were publicly accessible on BOLD at that time.

Biology.

Moths in the superfamily Adeloidea have various life histories, including leaf miners, skeletonizers, ground feeders, gallers, and borers in seeds, fruits, or stems ( Regier et al. 2015). In California, adults of Tridentaforma fly around manzanita ( Arctostaphylos spp. , Ericaceae ) in the early spring ( van Nieukerken and Davis 2023) and have been observed ovipositing on the leaves of Arctostaphylos tomentosa Pursh ( Detka et al. 2019). Detka et al. (2019) hypothesized that Tridentaforma larvae feed inside blister mines on A. tomentosa , but the organism that causes those mines has apparently not been determined. The species they observed appears to be crepuscular and active primarily at sundown, with at least two generations per year ( Detka et al. 2019). Manzanita does not co-occur with T. browncopper ; instead, the caterpillars may be concealed feeders on another ericaceous plant prevalent at the HVC reference site. All presently known adults of T. browncopper were collected in late August and September, which may represent a second or third generation of adults for the season.

Comments.

Davis (1978) noted “ considerable variation ” among specimens of Tridentaforma and suggested that a second species might occur among western populations of T. fuscoleuca . It is unclear if any of his specimens were from British Columbia, but two BINs ( BOLD: AFN 9384, BOLD: AAW 8088) from California have several genitalia characters in common with T. browncopper .