Ethmia cribravia Wang & Li, 2004

Shovkoon, Dmitry F. & Trofimova, Tatiana A., 2014, Description of the female of Ethmia cribravia Wang and Li 2004 (Lepidoptera, Elachistidae, Ethmiinae), Nota Lepidopterologica 37 (1), pp. 63-65 : 64-65

Taxon classification Animalia Lepidoptera Elachistidae

Ethmia cribravia Wang & Li, 2004 Figs 1-4

Material.

2♂, 2♀ China, Yunnan Diqing Tibetan Auf. Pref. Tiger Leaping Gotge, SE Slope at Sean’s Guesthouse, 2000-2500 m N 27°16.113', E 100°10.233' 9-12.vi.2008, leg. B. Benedek. (HNHM).

Description of female.

(Fig. 2) Length of forewing 29.5-30.5 mm. In general coloration and pattern of forewing essentially as male. Hindwing lacking the dark field in the centre and piliform androconial scales on anal margin of hindwing, typical of male.

Female genitalia (Fig. 4). Papillae anales elongated, setose. Eighth tergite medially with membranous incision. Posterior apophyses slender, as long as papillae anales; anterior apophyses wedge-shaped, distally pointed (Fig. 4a). Posterior part of antrum sclerotized with armed sclerotized thorns. Ductus bursae as long as abdomen, with 5-7 coils, bursa copulatrix spherical (Fig. 4b). Signum very large, cruciform, evenly covered with small teeth (Fig. 4c).

Distribution.

The collecting site of the specimens examined by us is only 20 kilometers north-east of the type locality, both sites in Yunnan Province of China.

Taxonomic notes.

The moth habitus and the structure of the male (Fig. 3) and female genitalia (Fig. 4) suggest a close relationship with Ethmia dehiscens Meyrick, 1924, and the species is therefore placed in the dehiscens species-group sensu Sattler (1967).

The similarity in the appearance of the androconial scales of Ethmia cribravia and the African species Ethmia melanocrates is puzzling. The two species do not belong in the same species-group sensu Sattler (1967). Based on the morphology of the genitalia of Ethmia melanocrates ( Mey and Shovkoon in press: figs 17, 18), this species belongs to its own independent species-group, the members of which are known only from Kenya, Namibia, and South Africa and are not present in the Palaearctic region.

Additionally, these two species differ in their external appearance. The costal half of the forewing of Ethmia melanocrates is suffused with yellow scales, and the basal half with a complex pattern formed by dark and light fields; tiny black marginal dots are present; the cilia are pale grey, with black scales at the tip of the forewing; the hindwing is yellow with yellow cilia; and the abdomen and thorax are grey-yellow ( Mey and Shovkoon in press: figs 14, 15).

It is very interesting that, in spite of such differences in morphology and distribution, the androconial scales of these two species are similar to such an extent. In both species the piliform androconial scales are located on the anal margin of the hindwing starting from the An1 vein and they are as long as the width of the hindwing.