On the taxonomy of Afrotropical Coleophoridae (II) (Lepidoptera, Coleophoridae)
Author
Baldizzone, Giorgio
Author
Van Der Wolf, Hugo W.
text
Zootaxa
2015
2015-08-17
4000
3
335
362
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.4000.3.2
65594ba6-07b6-498d-b4a7-7bff83070534
1175-5326
254352
E993B6F9-CC6B-457A-B14B-8EDD7E78413F
Coleophora enchitis
Meyrick, 1920
(=
ptilocharis
Meyrick, 1938
)
(
Fig. 11
)
Material examined.
Lectotype
♂, here designated, (GP Bldz 2288), “Afrique or.[ientale] anglaise | M[on]t
Kénya
| Vers[an]t Ouest | zone des forêts | Alluaud & Jeannel”, “Forêts infér[ieu]res | (Podocarpus)
2400 m
| Janv. [ier]— Fév. [rier] 1912 | St. 39”, “Muséum Paris | Ch. Alluaud & R. Jeannel | 1914” “
TYPE
” (red label), coll.
MNHN
[published by Bldz in 1979].
1 ♂
paralectotype
(GP
BMNH
27346) “Mt.
Kenya
, Brit[ish]. Africa, AJ. 8ooo’[19]12”, coll.
BMNH
.
1 ♂
(GP Bldz 10079)
Lectotype
of
Coleophora ptilocharis
Meyrick, 1938
: here designated: “F 208”, “
TYPE
C. ptilocharis
M.”, “Ex–Typis” (red label), “R. Dét. 4080 B.B.”, “Musée du
Congo
|Kibati (1900)
10–20-I -1934
| G.F. de Witte | Parc Nat.[ional] Albert”, “
Congo Belge
: Kivu | Kibati
1900 m
| 10/
20-i-1934
| G.F. de Witte: 160”, “E. Meyrick det. 1937:
Coleophora ptilocharis Meyr.
”, coll.
RMCA
. [Specimen in good condition];
2 ♂
♂ (GP Bldz 10078, 10080), 2 ♀ ♀ (GP Bldz 9971, 10081)
paralectotypes
of
C. ptilocharis
, same locality and date as
lectotype
, coll.
RMCA
.
1 ♀ (GP
BMNH
28410) “
Kenya
, Lake Naivasha, Korongo Farm,
6.I.1983
, P.C. Barnard, B.M.
1982-83
”, coll.
BMNH
;
1 ♀ (GP Bldz 15036) “
Kenya
, Mt.
Kenya
, Headquarter camp,
10.I.
2004
, 2442 m, leg. L. Kühne”, coll. Baldizzone;
1 ♂
(GP Wolf 7738) “
Kenya
Central Pr., L. Naivasha,
600 ft
21.X.1998
D.J.L. Agassiz”;
1 ♂
“
Kenya
, Rift Valley, Gilgil,
2100 m
0° 32’S
,
36° 22”E
27.XI.2005
D.J.L. Agassiz”;
1 ♀ (GP Wolf 7739) “
Kenya
Rift Valley Prov. Turi,
8000 ft
6.XI.1998
D.J.L. Agassiz”;
2 ♀♀ (GP Wolf 7740),
ibidem
,
16.X.1998
;
1 ♂
“
Kenya
Rift Valley Turi,
8000 ft
l[arva]. on
Trifolium semipilosum
em[erged].
31.X.1999
D.J.L. Agassiz”;
1 ♂
(GP Wolf 8485) “
Tanzania
Arusha Ngorogoro
7600 ft
3°14’37” S
,
35°30’41” E
8.V.2001
D.J.L. Agassiz”. Colls.
BMNH
,
NHMU
, Bldz, Wolf.
Diagnosis.
A species with forewing shades of ochreous and a light line along the costa. Judging from the structure of the genitalia it belongs to the Palearctic group of
Coleophora vulnerariae
Zeller, 1849
(23rd speciesgroup of Toll’s system). The male genitalia resemble those of
C. semicinerea
Staudinger, 1859
, and the female genitalia those of
C. christenseni
Baldizzone, 1983
, with obvious differences. This is the only Afrotropical
Coleophora
species of which we know the foodplant and the larval case.
Description.
The original description of the adult as given by Meyrick is correct: “Male and female.
15-16 mm
. Head, palpi and thorax whitish, second joint of palpi with moderate rough apical tuft. Antennae white ringed with fuscous, basal joint with moderate tuft of rough projecting scales along anterior edge. Abdomen pale silverygrey, anal tuft whitish. Forewings very narrowly lanceolate, long-pointed, acute; yellow-ochreous, tinged with brown on costal half; a slender white costal streak from base to 4/5, edged beneath with fuscous suffusion continued to apex; submedian fold suffused with whitish towards base; cilia light grey. Hindwings and cilia grey”. (
Meyrick, 1920b: 91
).
Male genitalia (
Figs. 83–86
): Gnathos knob ovular. Tegumen stretched. Pedunculus rounded. Transtilla small, curved. Valvula large, rounded, indistinct. Cucullus long, slender, slightly wider at apex than at base, apex rounded. Sacculus rounded, with curved fold at inner margin; a small sclerotized turned-down tooth at dorso-caudal angle. Phallotheca conical, tapering into an acute sclerotized apex. Cornuti: some tiny spines.
FIGURES 83–87.
Male genitalia of
C. enchitis
Meyrick.
83
, GP Bldz 10078, “Congo Belge: Kivu Kibati 1900 m, 10/20—i— 1934, G.F. de Witte: 160” [paralectotype of
C. ptilocharis
Meyrick
].
84
, enlarged detail of valva, sacculus and phallotheca, GP Bldz 10079, lectotype of
C. ptilocharis
Meyrick.
85
, much enlarged cornuti, GP Bldz 10079.
86
, much enlarged cornuti, GP Bldz 10078.
87
, abdominal segments 1–4, GP Bldz 10080, paralectotype of
C. ptilocharis
Meyrick.
FIGURES 88–90.
Female genitalia of
C. enchitis
Meyrick.
88
, GP Bldz 9971, paralectotype of
C. ptilocharis
Meyrick.
89
,
Idem
, detail of sterigma and colliculum.
90
, detail of sterigma and colliculum, GP Bldz 10081, paralectotype of
C. ptilocharis
Meyrick.
Female genitalia (
Figs. 88–90
): Papillae anales ovular. Apophysis posterioris about 1.5 times longer than anterioris. Sterigma subtrapezoid, longer than wide, deeply excavated towards ostium bursae. Ostium bursae square. Colliculum cup-shaped, with medial line, gradually narrowing into ductus bursae. First segment of ductus rather straight, with sclerotized medial band enveloped in a sleeve speckled with tiny spikes, about 5 times longer than sterigma; second segment transparent, gradually merging with sack-like corpus bursae. Signum small, leaflike.
Abdominal apodemes (
Fig. 87
): No posterior lateral struts. Transverse strut with convex distal margin, medially thinner, proximal margin convex, medially thickened. Tergal disk about 2.5 times longer than wide, covered with about 30 tiny spikes.
Bionomy.
Several larvae were collected on the seedheads of
Trifolium semipilosum
Fresen.The
plant belongs to the family
Fabaceae
and is widespread in
Eritrea
, Ethiopa,
Kenya
,
Tanzania
,
Malawi
,
Uganda
and
Yemen
. There is no information on how the larva feeds or how the case is constructed, but it is probable that the larva feeds on the seeds and constructs a case out of a flower and silk. The case of the specimen mentioned above was collected on
16.X.1998
and the adult emerged on
31.X.1999
.The larval case (
Figs. 12, 13
):
7 mm
., red-brown, cylindrical, roughly covered with fragments of the foodplant. Anal opening tri-valved. Oral opening at about 30° to 45° to length axis.
Distribution.
Kenya
,
Tanzania
and eastern
Congo
.