Phyllocnistis verae Kirichenko, Triberti & Lopez-Vaamonde

Kirichenko, Natalia, Triberti, Paolo, Kobayashi, Shigeki, Hirowatari, Toshiya, Doorenweerd, Camiel, Ohshima, Issei, Huang, Guo-Hua, Wang, Min, Magnoux, Emmanuelle & Lopez-Vaamonde, Carlos, 2018, Systematics of Phyllocnistis leaf-mining moths (Lepidoptera, Gracillariidae) feeding on dogwood (Cornus spp.) in Northeast Asia, with the description of three new species, ZooKeys 736, pp. 79-118 : 93-98

Phyllocnistis verae Kirichenko, Triberti & Lopez-Vaamonde sp. n. Figs 7, 10A, B, 15 A–C, 17 A–C

Etymology.

The species name, verae is a patronym in commemoration of Mrs. Vera Kirichenko, the mother of the first author.

Diagnosis.

Forewing lustrous-white with a complete lf, three costal and four apical ciliary strigulae, tf interrupted; male genitalia with phallus shorter than phallobase; female corpus bursae with two signa, similar in size and shape.

Forewing pattern of P. verae is distinguished from P. saepta and P. cornella by the interrupted tf. In male genitalia, length of the phallus and the phallobase is similar to P. indistincta , but with a higher number of ventral setae (42-50). In the female genitalia, the two signa are very similar in shape and size, while they are different in the other Cornus -feeding species.

Type material.

Holotype (♂): Russia, Krasnoyarsk, near village Borovoe, along the river Yenisei (left bank), rock (skala) Berkut, 55.97N, 92.55E, 144 m, ex Cornus alba , 7.VII.2016 (larva), 14.VII.2016 em., No. 6-3, TRB4200, N. Kirichenko leg. (deposited in SIF SB RAS).

Paratypes.

(5): 4♂, TRB4116, TRB4152, TRB4199, TRB4225; 1♀, Russia, Krasnoyarsk, near village Borovoe, along the river Yenisei, rock (skala) Berkut, ex Cornus alba , 28.VI.2015, TRB4116, N. Kirichenko leg. (deposited in MSNV).

Additional material examined.

Larvae (11): Russia, Krasnoyarsk, near village Borovoe, along the river Yenisei, rock (skala) Berkut, Cornus alba , 3 larvae, 28.VI.2015, 4 larvae, 5.VII.2016, 4 larvae, 7.VII.2016, N. Kirichenko leg. (deposited in SIF SB RAS).

Description of adult.

(Figs 10A and B). Wing span 6.0-6.1 mm (6.1 mm in holotype).

Head, thorax, legs and hindwing do not differ from the other Cornus -feeding species. Forewing lustrous white, subapical area orange with a small dark spot; lf well-defined on both sides; cilia white with tf always interrupted in the middle, three dark brown costal and four apical strigulae.

Abdomen. Like in cornella .

Male genitalia (Fig. 15 A–C). Tegumen elongate, slightly passing the apex of valvae, ventro-basally with 42-50 setae of variable length; valva not differing from the other species; phallus slender, membranous, finely wrinkled, shorter than phallobase, cornuti absent.

Female genitalia (Fig. 17 A–C). The whole structure is similar to the other species. Bursa copulatrix with two flattened signa bearing usually a short median projection, both very similar in shape and size.

Pupa.

Not studied.

Biology.

(Fig. 7). The mine is similar to that of other Phyllocnistis species: a very long serpentine subepidermal tunnel, slightly widening to the end, not intersecting itself (Fig. 7B, C, I). Black grains of frass form a rather wide central line (Fig. 7F). The mine is on the lower side of the leaf, often following secondary veins, crossing them closer to the leaf margin where veins are thinner (Fig. 7 B–G). Young and late instar larvae are yellow (Fig. 7 D–H). The tunnel ends upon the leaf margin or 10-15 mm away from it, where the mine slightly widens (Fig. 7I, J). Here, silk is deposited across the tunnel that causes contraction of this part of the mine, where pupation takes place (Fig. 7 K–L).

Phenology.

In 2015, by the 5th of July, when insect mines were found in nature, most larvae were at their final stage and some already had pupated. It suggests that larval development of the first generation may have started in late May. Thus, adults of the first generation can be on the wing in mid July. There are no records of the second generation. The overwintering stage remains unknown.

Ecology and host plants.

(Fig. 7A). In Central Siberia, the moth inhabits the forested areas. In Krasnoyarsk, mines were found on bushes growing along the river (Fig. 7A). The host plant is Cornus alba , the only native Cornus species in Siberia ( Koropachinskiy and Vstovskaya 2012).

Distribution.

Russia, Siberia. Occurs in the southern part of Krasnoyarsk Kray, in the suburb of Krasnoyarsk. In 2015-2017, no mines were found on Cornus spp. in other regions of Asian Russia (Tyumen, Omsk, Novosibirsk Oblasts, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Tomsk, Kemerovo, Irkutsk Oblasts, Altai Kray, the Republic of Buryatia and Transbaikalia), nor in the Russian Far East (Amur Oblast, Primorskiy Kray, the Island Sakhalin).