Wrong side of the leaf: assigning some Lithocolletinae species (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) to their proper genera
Author
Eiseman, Charles S.
Author
Davis, Donald R.
text
Zootaxa
2020
2020-03-17
4751
2
201
237
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.4751.2.1
6d5c6a73-5675-46cf-98a4-ece6ddc8e121
1175-5326
3712951
7692DE47-FE0C-47CA-BF74-10302592AC5F
Phyllonorycter mariaeella
(Chambers, 1875)
(
Figs. 53–67
)
L.[ithocolletis] Mariaeella
Chambers 1875c: 99
L.[ithocolletis] Affinis
Frey & Boll 1876: 222
;
new synonymy
Cameraria affinis
Davis 1983: 10
Phyllonorycter affinis
Maier & Davis 1989: 9
Leaf mine.
The larva forms an underside tentiform mine in which the frass is collected in a loose mass toward one end, pupating in a flat, oblong, translucent white cocoon. The pupa may be thrust through either the upper or the lower epidermis when the adult emerges (
Figs. 53–55
,
62
).
Generic placement.
Braun (1908)
correctly included
Lithocolletis affinis
in her Group I, but
Davis (1983)
placed it in
Cameraria
and others have followed suit (
Covell 1999
;
Pohl
et al
. 2018
;
De Prins & De Prins 2019
), with the exception of
Maier & Davis (1989)
who listed it as
Phyllonorycter affinis
without comment. The leaf mine (
Figs. 53–55
,
62
) is clearly consistent with
Phyllonorycter
and not
Cameraria
; adult characters are also unambiguous, including the proximally dark-margined white forewing markings (
Figs. 56
,
63–67
) and the absence of setae on the tegumen (
Fig. 57
).
Hosts.
Caprifoliaceae
:
Lonicera
sp.,
L. ×bella
Zabel,
L. japonica
Thunb.
,
L. maackii
(Rupr.) Maxim.
,
L. reticulata
Raf.
,
L. sempervirens
L.,
L. tatarica
L.,
Symphoricarpos
sp.,
S. orbiculatus
Moench
,
Triosteum
sp.,
T. angustifolium
L.
Distribution.
Canada
: NS, ON, QC;
USA
: CT, IL, KY, MI, MO, NC, NY, TX, UT.
Review.
Chambers (1875c)
described
Lithocolletis mariaeella
from three specimens reared by M.E. Murtfeldt from underside tentiform mines on “
Symphoricarpus vulgaris
” (=
S. orbiculatus
) in Kirkwood,
Missouri
. Nothing further has been published about the biology of this species, but it has been reported from
Michigan
(
Nielsen 1998
) and
Ontario
(
Pohl
et al
. 2018
).
FIGURES 53–55.
Phyllonorycter mariaeella
.
53:
Leaf mine on
Lonicera japonica
(upper surface);
54:
Lower surface of the same mine, with pupal exuviae protruding at far right;
55:
Mine on
L. japonica
with lower epidermis torn open to show frass (left) and cocoon (center).
FIGURES 56–59.
Phyllonorycter mariaeella
.
56:
Reared adult;
57:
Male genitalia, ventral view;
58:
Sternite 8;
59:
Phallus.
Frey & Boll (1876)
described
Lithocolletis affinis
from “a
Lonicera
with red fruits” in
Texas
.
Frey & Boll (1878)
recorded
Lonicera albida
(=
L. ×bella
) and
Symphoricarpos
as hosts.
Braun (1925b)
recorded this species from
Symphoricarpos
in
Utah
;
Maier & Davis (1989)
from
S. orbiculatus
in
Connecticut
;
Covell (1999)
from
Triosteum angustifolium
in
Kentucky
; and
Handfield (2002)
from
Lonicera
sp. in
Quebec
.
FIGURES 60–63.
Phyllonorycter mariaeella
.
60:
Female genitalia, lateral view;
61:
Female genitalia, ventral view;
62:
Lower surface of mine on
Lonicera japonica
with exuviae protruding through upper epidermis (far right);
63:
Adult reared from
L. sempervirens
.
FIGURES 64–66.
Phyllonorycter mariaeella
specimens reared by Mary E. Murtfeldt in Kirkwood, Missouri (CMCZ).
64:
MCZ:Ent:682209, with “Symphoracarpus” on label;
65:
MCZ:Ent:682210, labeled “On Honeysuckle”;
66:
smaller specimen (♂) mounted on same pin with previous.
FIGURE 67.
Syntype of
Lithocolletis affinis
(BMNH(E) 1475671), a junior synonym of
Phyllonorycter mariaeella
(photo: David Lees, © 2020 Trustees of NHMUK).
Braun (1908)
distinguished
affinis
and
mariaeella
on the basis of the forewing fasciae being “nearly straight” in the former and “distinctly bent outward near the middle” in the latter. The type material of
mariaeella
is lost, but at the CMCZ are three specimens matching Chambers’ description, collected by M.E. Murtfeldt at the type locality after the species was described. One is labeled “Symphoracarpus + 3/26 98” (
Fig. 64
); the other two are mounted together and labeled “On honeysuckle [6?]/29.99” (
Figs. 65–66
). One of the latter two is a male with its abdomen intact (
Fig. 66
); the others are missing their abdomens. T. Harrison (
in litt.
) has reared a series of specimens in
Illinois
from
Lonicera maackii
,
L. prolifera
[=
reticulata
], and
Triosteum
sp., with wing patterns showing a range of variation—some matching the Murtfeldt material and some matching the
affinis
type material in the BMNH (
Fig. 67
). Male and female genitalia are consistent among all of T. Harrison’s specimens (and with
Figs. 57–61
), and match the genitalia of a dissected male
syntype
of
affinis
. We therefore consider
affinis
a synonym of
mariaeella
. DRD has reared a large series of
P. mariaeella
from
Lonicera tatarica
at the Cornell University campus in Ithaca,
New York
, and D. Ferguson reared it from the same host in Halifax Co.,
Nova Scotia
. CSE and T.S. Feldman have reared it from
L. japonica
and
L. sempervirens
in Durham
and Scotland Cos.,
North Carolina
(
Figs. 56
,
63
).
Maier & Davis (1989)
stated that
Phyllonorycter mariaella
[sic] is probably a junior synonym of the European
P. emberizaepenella
(Bouché)
. The latter species, however, differs in having a prominent white medial streak from the base of the forewing to the first fascia (absent in
mariaeella
), and in having a partially white head tuft (entirely reddish-brown in
mariaeella
). The two also differ markedly in the shape of the valvae and phallus, and in females of
mariaeella
the 7
th
sternite possesses an ostial protrusion that is absent in
emberizaepenella
.
Comments.
The larvae that gave rise to the
type
series of
Phyllonorycter mariaeella
were collected in
Missouri
on 25 October (
Chambers 1875c
).
Frey & Boll (1878)
reported two generations in
Texas
, with larvae occurring from June to July and again in November. Subsequent observations have essentially aligned with these dates: our
North Carolina
specimens were collected as larvae from 29 June to 10 July, with adults emerging from 13 July until sometime between 26 and 31 July; in
Utah
,
Braun (1925b)
collected a mine on 18 July and an adult emerged three days later; and in
Connecticut
,
Maier & Davis (1989)
reared adults from mines collected on 17 and 25 October.