Taxonomic confusion around the Peach Twig Borer, Anarsialineatella Zeller, 1839, with description of a new species (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae)
Author
Gregersen, Keld
Author
Karsholt, Ole
text
Nota Lepidopterologica
2017
40
1
65
85
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/nl.40.11184
journal article
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/nl.40.11184
2367-5365-1-65
B06525D190F4469FB156F33933FD7889
Anarsia
lineatella Zeller, 1839
Anarsia lineatella
Zeller, 1839: 190 (nomen protectum)
Tinea pullatella
Huebner
, 1796: 63, pl. 17, fig. 118 (nomen oblitum)
Anarsia? pruniella
Clemens, 1860: 169.
Anarsia lineatella heratella
Amsel, 1967: 20. Subspecies.
Anarsia lineatella tauricella
Amsel, 1967: 20. Subspecies.
Type material.
A. lineatella
, holotype, ♀, with 9 labels (Fig. 1).
A. lineatella heratella
, holotype, ♂: "AFGHANISTAN Herat 970 m 5.5.1956 H. G. Amsel leg." "Holotypus ♂ leg H. Amsel
Anarsia lineatella heratella
" | "Gen.
praep
. nr. 5296♂, O. Karsholt". Paratypes. 3♀, same data as holotype but genitalia slide 5295, 5297 (LNK).
A. lineatella tauricella
, holotype, ♂: "Syr. sept. Taurus D Marasch VI 29" | "Holotypus ♂ leg. H. Amsel
Anarsia lineatella tauricella
" | "Gen.
praep
. nr. 5300♂, O. Karsholt" | "Coll. Osthelder" (ZSM). Paratypes. 1♀, "Syria sept. Taurus Marasch 1200 m 19.V.1928 L. Osthelder leg." | "AlloTypus ♀ leg. H. Amsel
Anarsia lineatella tauricella
" | "Gen.
praep
. nr. 5301♀, O. Karsholt" |
"561"
(ZSM); 1♂, same data as holotype, but genitalia slide 3868 (LNK).
Other material studied. Bulgaria (3♂, 7♀), Cyprus (1♂, 1♀), Denmark (4♀) (introduced), Germany (4♂, 10♀), Greece (4♂, 7♀), Hungary (5♂, 1♀), Israel (1♂), Libya (2♂, 1♀), Morocco (3♂, 4♀), Romania (1♂), Spain (7♂, 2♀), Spain, Canary Islands (1♀), Turkey (2♂, 1♀), Ukraine (1♂).
Diagnosis.
Anarsia lineatella
is characterized by its fuscous grey forewing with only a little white and with indistinct black streaks; it appears darker than
A. innoxiella
and has a less fractured pattern of the forewings. For separation from
A. innoxiella
see under that species.
The male genitalia are characterized by 1) the flatly rounded shape of the sub-apical lobe of the left valva, 2) the rather slender shape of the uncus, and 3) the comparatively broad tegumen with its distinctly sinuous margins. These characters separate
A. lineatella
from
A. innoxiella
. The female genitalia differ from those of
A. innoxiella
by having two or three distinct ridges articulating distad from the middle of a sclerotised arch of the tergum.
Description.
Adult (Fig. 5e, f). Male. Wingspan 11-15 mm. Segment 2 of labial palpus with sub-rectangular scale tuft, black, mottled with whitish grey on upper and inner surface; segment 3 reduced. Antenna light grey, indistinctly ringed with blackish grey. Head light grey mottled with dark grey; frons lighter; thorax and tegula dark grey. Forewing fuscous grey, mottled with some light grey; costa with five small blackish spots separated by whitish grey, the spot at 1/2 most distinct; a broadly elongate black spot in middle of wing followed by white; veins with interrupted black scales; fringe whitish grey at base, darker grey beyond black fringe line. Hindwing grey with grey fringe. Female. Segment 2 of labial palpus with a distinct ventral brush; segment 3 longer than segment 2, thin, whitish grey with broad, black ring in middle and some black at base and tip. Otherwise similar to male.
Variation. The nominotypical subspecies is rather uniform, showing only slight variation. Segment 3 of the labial palpi in females can have more or less black. The wingspan of a series of specimens of both sexes from Morocco is smaller than average (11-12 mm), but otherwise similar to European specimens. Specimens from Afghanistan (
A. lineatella subsp. heratella
) are characterized by having head, thorax, and basal half of the antennae whitish. The wing markings are similar to those of typical
A. lineatella
, but the forewings are somewhat bi-coloured, having a
lighter
costal third and a darker dorsal two-thirds. Specimens from southern Turkey are relatively small (about 11 mm) and generally paler grey compared with typical
A. lineatella
. Such specimens have been described as
A. lineatella subsp. tauricella
. See also under
'Remarks'
below for these two subspecies.
Male genitalia (Figs 11a, b, 12a). Tergum IX-X truncate, rather broad, lateral margin distinctly sinuous; uncus conical, comparatively slender, with tiny distal tip; gnathos and culcitula absent; parategminal sclerites almost round, without coremata; sternum IX strongly asymmetrical, left valva truncate, sub-apical lobe flatly rounded, bearing long, slender, pointed tubular process; right valva large, broadly sub-triangular, bearing very long, pointed, moderately curved, tubular process; single small, sub-triangular, slightly setose lobe near vinculum on left side, juxta lobes small, setose; phallus ankylosed to juxta, without coecum, phallic trunk flat, bent dorsally, apex rounded.
Figure 10-11. 10.
A. innoxiella
sp. n.; variation of male genitalia (HH6266, HH6303, OK5040). a. tegumen; b. left valva. 11.
A. lineatella
; variation of male genitalia (KG935, KG3349, KG3365). a. tegumen; b. left valva.
Female genitalia (Figs 7b, 9c, d). Papillae anales elongate, apophyses posteriores moderate in length; apophyses anteriores very short; segment VIII cylindrical, evenly sclerotised, laterally slightly elevated; strongly sclerotised concave arch at anterior margin of tergum medially notched; two or three distinct ridges articulate distad from middle of arch at tergum, extended to middle of segment; antrum tilted, funnel-shaped; ostium bursae with ventral part crescent-shaped, sharply defined, dorsal part wrinkled, widely extended caudad; ductus bursae slender, straight; colliculum absent; ductus seminalis arising from transition between ductus and corpus bursae; signum sub-rectangular plate with strongly serrate margins; sac-like formation in segment IX anteriad of papillae anales - and similar formation distad of segment VII.
Bionomics.
The larva has (the rather small) head and prothoracic plate glistening black; the body is honey-brown or chestnut brown, with intersegmental divisions whitish; pinacula small, black, each with one whitish hair; anal plate glistening black; prolegs concolorous with body (Fischer von
Roeslerstamm
1842;
Heckford 1992
).
The species feeds on a number of
Rosaceae
, especially
Prunus
L. species.
CABI (2016)
lists
Prunus armeniaca
L.,
P. domestica
L.,
P. dulcis
(Mill.) D.A. Webb,
P. persica
(L.) Batsch and
P. salicina
Lind. as main host plants, and additionally
Malus domestica
Borkh. and
Pyrus communis
L.
Piskunov (1990
: 974) adds
Prunus cerasus
L. and
P. spinosa
L. He also lists
Diospyros
(
Ebenaceae
), which is an unlikely host plant of
A. lineatella
, and
Acer tataricum
L., which is probably a host plant of
A. innoxiella
. According to
Piskunov (1990
: 974, 899, fig. 611.3) the larvae of
A. lineatella
have also been reported to consume galls of the plum gall mite (
Eriophyes phloecoptes
Nal.).
In early spring the young larva of the first brood bores into a shoot from below the pith and hollows it out causing exudation of some sap; the shoot withers and the larva moves to a new one. Larvae of the second brood bore into the pulp of the fruit, causing serious damage; the entrance hole is inconspicuous, but the fruit becomes discoloured and matures too early. The larva pupates in a light web on the ground or between leaves; from the latter most often hymenopterous parasitoids emerge (Fischer von
Roeslerstamm
1842: 283).
A. lineatella
is a serious pest on cultivated
Prunus
in subtropical areas of western Eurasia and North America. In Central Europe the adults fly in two generations a year, from May to July and again during August and September (
Kocourek et al. 1996
). Further to the south and in the western USA there are 3-4 generations a year (Damos and Savopoulou-Soultani 2008: 467).
Distribution.
Widespread in Central and southern Europe and North Africa, eastwards through the Middle East and Turkey to Central Asia and China (Li and Zheng 1997: 122).
A. lineatella
has been introduced with its host plants to North America where it was present already in the
middle
of the 19th century (
Clemens 1860
). It now occurs all over the USA and southern Canada. Records from other areas need confirmation because of confusion with similar looking species. In Europe the northernmost occurrence seems to be in northern central Germany (Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, and Brandenburg). Records from further north in Europe - and from other parts of the world - are either the result of introductions of fruits or - in most cases - misidentifications of
A. innoxiella
.
Remarks.
Anarsia lineatella
was described from one male from Austria, Wien, in the collection of Fischer von
Roeslerstamm
("
Lineatella
FR"). Whereas the original description by Zeller was very short, Fischer von
Roeslerstamm
(1842: 282-284, pls 95-96) gave a detailed and for that time very good illustrated description of adult, larva, pupa, and life history. It leaves no doubt that he was dealing with the species which is injurious to
Prunus
spp.
Tinea pullatella
was described from an unstated number of specimens from Austria. The type material is probably lost.
Huebner's
colour painting of
pullatella
is small, dark, and schematic, and not clearly associated with any species.
Huebner
(1825: 415) placed
pullatella
in his genus
Gelechia
, together with notatella, rhombella, proximella, and mulinella. The first author to deal with
pullatella
was Treitschke (1833: 95), who gave a re-description which matches
A. lineatella
. Additionally, he wrote that
Geyer (1831
: pl. 491) - in the continuation of
Huebner's
works - figured "eine kleine, haarige, braunschwarze Raupe aus
Spartium
" (a small, hairy, blackish brown
larva
on broom) (Treitschke 1835: 199, 299). The larva figured by Geyer (who misspelled its name
"pulatella"
) probably belongs to
Anarsia spartiella
(Schrank, 1802) and is a misidentification as figure 188 in the above mentioned work by
Huebner
does not fit
A. spartiella
or any other
Anarsia
species.
Treitschke's
interpretation of
Tinea pullatella
Huebner
was not followed by his contemporaries Zeller and Fischer von
Roeslerstamm
, who did not even discuss that species in connection with their description of
Anarsia lineatella
.
Later
Herrich-Schaeffer
(1855
: 153) wrote under
Anarsia lineatella
: "
Pullatella
H. 118 stellt diese Art ziemlich kenntlich dar" (
Pullatella
H.[
uebner
, fig.] 188 depicts this species quite recognizably rather well"). After that time
Anarsia pullatella
was to our knowledge only used as a valid name by
Mann (1861
: 190,
1862
: 400), who later (e.g.,
Mann 1866
: 355) used
A. lineatella
for this species.
Tinea pullatella
has been out of use for over 150 years (nomen oblitum), and therefore we herewith propose to conserve the name
Anarsia lineatella
(nomen protectum) and suppress
T. pullatella
according to the provisions of Article 23.9 (
ICZN 1999
). Appendix 1 lists 28 references by more than ten different authors that have used
A. lineatella
in the last 50 years.
Anarsia pruniella
was described from an unstated number of specimens bred from larvae found 16th June 1860 on
Prunus
(
"plum"
) at Philadelphia, USA (
Clemens 1860
: 170).
Anarsia lineatella heratella
was described from a series of 9 males and 21 females from Herat in Afghanistan, plus one further female from the Paghman Mts (also in Afghanistan), and two worn specimens from the Muk Pass in Iran. Herat is situated at an altitude of 923 m, but the two other localities are at about 3000 m altitude, and
Amsel (1967
: 20) referred the specimens from Iran to his
subsp. heratella
with some reservation.
We have examined the holotype and three female paratypes from Herat (see Figs 5g, h, 12b) and compared them with material from south-east Europe and the Middle East. They look admittedly different from other specimens of
Anarsia
from that region, but it has not been possible to observe any clear difference in the genitalia between the type material of
subsp. heratella
and
A. lineatella
sensu stricto. As we have no sufficient basis for changing the taxonomic status of
subsp. heratella
we retain it as a subspecies of
A. lineatella
.
In his description of
A. lineatella heratella
, Amsel (op cit.) refers to figures of its male and female genitalia ("Taf. 7 Fig. 9" and "Taf. 10 Fig. 26"). That reference has been copied into later literature, e.g.,
Ponomarenko (2009
: 341), but the figures are based on German specimens and not of the Afghan subspecies.
Anarsia lineatella tauricella
was described from three males and one female from Marasch (now
Kahramanmaras
) in Turkey. The country of origin was given as Syria by
Amsel (1967
: 20), apparently because Marasch was part of Syria when the specimens were collected. We have examined the holotype and two paratypes. The three specimens are similar in external appearance (Fig. 5i, j), with the head and thorax whitish grey, mottled with dark grey, and the ground colour of the forewing light grey overlaid with darker grey. Whereas the genitalia of the allotype are similar to those of other females studied by us, the male genitalia of the two studied specimens (Fig. 12c,d) show some variation. In the holotype the lobe of the left valva is evenly convex (as in typical
A. lineatella
) whilst the paratype has a larger, somewhat rectangular lobe. A similarly shaped lobe is present in
Anarsia
specimens examined from Israel and south-easternmost Europe examined by us. We find it possible that it represents a further, undescribed species, but due to insufficient material we refrain from describing it here.
Figure 12. a.
Anarsia lineatella
, male genitalia, Morocco (KG3365); b.
Anarsia lineatella ssp. heratella
, male genitalia, holotype (OK5296); c.
Anarsia lineatella ssp. tauricella
, male genitalia, holotype (OK5300); d.
Anarsia lineatella ssp. tauricella
, male genitalia, paratype (Amsel 3868).
Leraut
(1980
: 80) listed
Lampros (Eupleuris) albilineella
Bruand
d'Uzelle
, 1859 as a synonym of
Anarsia lineatella
. It is, however, an unnecessary replacement name of
Isophrictis lineatellus
(Zeller, 1850).