Revision of the Hawaiian endemic leaf-mining moth genus Philodoria Walsingham (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae): its conservation status, host plants and descriptions of thirteen new species
Author
Kobayashi, Shigeki
0000-0002-1336-4730
crossroad1994@hotmail.co.jp
Author
Johns, Chris A.
0000-0002-1749-3847
Author
Kawahara, Akito Y.
0000-0002-1749-3847
text
Zootaxa
2021
2021-03-17
4944
1
1
175
journal article
7393
10.11646/zootaxa.4944.1.1
8adfa0f6-06a7-44b5-a3be-351d0bdc7a62
1175-5326
4681813
380D2F75-D4F9-4974-97E2-25E0C62CB3B0
Philodoria hauicola
(Swezey, 1910)
Figs. 20C
,
34F
,
37D
,
50F
,
51D
,
52D
,
59L
,
77A
,
92
,
93F
.
Gracilaria hauicola
Swezey, 1910: 106
; pl. 3, fig. 5;
Swezey 1913b: 224
.
Parectopa hauicola
(Swezey, 1910)
;
Swezey 1928: 190
.
Philodoria hauicola
(Swezey, 1910)
;
Zimmerman 1978a: 680
, figs. 437, 438, 442, 448, 454.
Type
locality.
Mt. Tantalus
(Oahu)
Type material.
Lectotype
♂, Tantalus, Oahu, [summer.1909], Coll. O.H.S [O.H. Swezey], ex
Hibiscus
[
tiliaceus
], |TYPE OF 212
Gracilaria hauicola
Swezey
| in
BPBM
(here designated).
Paralectotype
4♂, 4 (sex unknown); all specimens are same data and locality as
lectotype
; 2 (sex unknown), No. 34168, 34168 in
BPBM
; 4♂, ex “hau” (=
Hibiscus tiliaceus
) in
USNM
. Described from an unspecified number of specimens from Mt. Tantalus, Oahu. In the original description, Swezey mentioned that “My specimens were reared from cocoons collected this summer on Tantalus”. We identified nine specimens, one labeled ‘TYPE’, and eight others. Given the manner in which the descriptions were written, Swezey likely considered the ‘TYPE’ specimen as the
holotype
and the remaining eight as
paratypes
, as noted in a caption by
Zimmerman (1978a: 669)
. But because a
holotype
was not specified explicitly in the description, the so-labeled types and
paratypes
are can all be considered
syntypes
under Article 73.2 of the Code (
ICZN
1999
), and any of them can be designated as
lectotype
under Article 74 of the Code (
ICZN
1999
). The
syntype
specimen bearing the label ‘TYPE’ is here designated as
lectotype
(
Fig. 20C
) and the remaining
syntypes
are
paralectotypes
.
Additional material.
27 (9♂,
10♀
, 8 sex unknown).
Oahu
: 4♂,
3♀
,
Waikiki
,
Coll. O.H.S
, ‘
Hau
tree’ (=
Hibiscus tiliaceus
), 3♂,
2♀
in
USNM
,
1♂,
1♀
, SK694♂|
BPBM34167
;
5♂,
4♀
, 6 (sex unknown), Kaneohe T.H., ‘ISS.’ (= adult emrged)
27.vii.1915
, Aug. Busck Collector, “Leaf mines on Hau”, SK
695♀
in
USNM
;
3♀
, 1 (sex unknown),
Nuuanu Pali
,
16–21.v.2016
em.,
S. Kobayashi
leg., host:
H. tiliaceus
,
3.v.2016
(larva), SK
618♀
, SK
619♀
/ SK750(head) in
BPBM
;
Maui
:
1♀
, 1 (sex unknown),
Iao Valley
, 26&
29.iv.2013
(stored),
C.A. Johns
leg., host:
H. tiliaceus
,
14.iv.2013
, CJ065 (sex unknown) /
KT982405
, CJ087
♀
in
BPBM
.
Hawaii
(
Big Island
): 1♂,
Hawaii
, 0-50’,
Volcanoes Natn.
[National]
Park
,
Poupou Kauka
,
20.vii.1976
,
K. & E. Sattler
, B.M.1976-605,
Philodoria
sp. 17 (
Hawaii
),
D. C. Lees
Sep. 2016
, BMNH(E)
1621255 in
NHMUK
.
Diagnosis.
Distinguished from other congeners by having a lemon-yellow streak from costal fold to 2/5, then obliquely, at 3/5 to middle the forewing (
Fig. 20C
); the male genitalia having a rather short and broad phallus (
Fig. 52D
); the female genitalia having two small pod-like signa with a series of minute spines (
Fig. 59L
).
Redescription: Adult
(
Figs. 20C
,
34F
,
37D
). Wingspan
7–8 mm
in type series; forewing length
3.25 mm
in
lectotype
,
2.8–3.2 mm
in
paralectotypes
. Head dirty white; frons white; maxillary palpus brown; labial palpus white ocherous, apex of median segment and apical half of terminal segment brown (
Figs. 34F
,
37D
). Antenna white ringed with brown, basal segment white, a little longer than forewing. Thorax and abdomen pale brown above, white below. Forewing brown with a lemon-yellow streak from costal fold to 2/5, then obliquely, at 3/5 to middle to connect with oblique white
ds
1, 2
:
ds
1
at 2/5,
ds
2
at 1/4 almost reaches the yellow streak; a short outwardly oblique white
cs
3
at 3/5, almost meeting
ds
3
; apical portion lemon yellow with two or three costal white lines (
a, b, c
); cilia pale brown. Hindwing and cilia dark fuscous. Legs brown, tarsi ringed with white.
Male genitalia
(
Figs. 50F
,
51D
,
52D
) (n=1). Capsule
650 µm
. Tegumen 0.8–0.9 x length of valva; valva
460 µm
long, digitiform and slightly narrowing at middle and rounded at apex and slightly curved toward dorsal side (
Fig. 50F
). Saccus very slender and needle-shaped in ventral view (
Fig. 51D
). Phallus
430 µm
long and straight with rather small coecum; two series of minute cornuti in vesica (
Fig. 52D
).
Female genitalia
(
Fig. 59L
) (n=3).
1210 µm
long. Ostium bursae large; antrum broad, cup-shaped with a pair of lateral lobes; lamella antevaginalis
180–190 µm
, weakly sclerotized, widening toward anterior margin of A7. Ductus bursae broad, middle part weakly sclerotized, round and flat; terminal region of the ductus bursae tubular, biforked. Corpus bursae
680 µm
, pyriform; anterior end of corpus bursae weakly sclerotized; paired rows of longitudinal, partly sclerotized wrinkles; two small podlike signa with a series of minute spines.
Distribution.
Kauai, Oahu, Maui and
Hawaii
(Big island) (
Swezey 1910b
).
Host plants.
Malvaceae
:
Hibiscus tiliaceus
L. (
Swezey 1910b
).
Biology.
(
Figs. 92
,
93F
).
Swezey (1913b: 224)
reported that “this species very abundantly mines the leaves of the "hau" tree,
Partitium tiliaceum
(=
Hibiscus tiliaceus
), in the mountains, and the lowlands as well, of all the Islands. There are often many mines per leaf. The larvae emerge to pupate in white oval cocoons on the surface of leaves and other objects”. We observed larvae forming a linear-blotch mine beginning with a very slender, linear shape (
Fig. 92D, E
) that gradually expanded as they fed and grew (
Fig. 92H, I
). In early instars, linear mine is
2.5–3.5 cm
in length and
1–2 mm
in width; frass is brown and
0.1–0.2 mm
in width. Later blotch mine is
5–10 mm
diameter (
Fig. 92J
). Usually 5–15 mines per leaf (
Fig. 92A–C
). Larva pale yellow, first to second instars are
1.5–2.5 mm
long (
Fig. 92G
) and late instar is 4.0–6.0 mm long (
Fig. 92I, J
). Pupation in the white cocoon outside of mine, on the adaxial leaf (
Fig. 92K, L
);
5.5 mm
in length and 2.5–3.0 mm in width. At Iao Valley, Maui, we observed
P. hibiscella
and
P. hauicola
co-occuring on the same host plant,
H. tiliaceus
.
Parasitoids.
(
Fig. 106A–F
).
Eulophidae
:
Pholetesor bedelliae
(Viereck, 1911)
,
Braconidae
;
Closterocerus
sp.,
Euderus metallicus
(Ashmead, 1901)
,
Pnigalio externa
(Timberlake, 1927)
,
Sympiesis vagans
(Timberlake, 1926) (
Zimmerman 1978a
)
.
Remarks.
Swezey (1910b: 106
;
1954: 88
) reported larval mines and similar mines on
Hibiscus
: “This moth I have named from the ‘hau’ tree (
Paritium tiliaceum
) whose leaves its larvae mine quite extensively. Some times one finds practically all of the leaves mined and often a dozen or more per leaf. It probably occurs on all the islands where the ‘hau’ tree occurs. I have observed it at Koloa, Kauai; Wailuku, Maui; Waikiki and Tantalus, Oahu. The white rounded-oval cocoons were found quite abundant on the surface of leaves, and also on fence-posts situated beneath ‘hau’ trees.” Based on his records, these mines could be from a number of currently recognized different
Philodoria
species: Kauai:
P
.
limahuliensis
and/or undiscovered species, Oahu, Maui and
Hawaii
(Big island):
P
.
hauicola
and/or
P. hibiscella
.
The host plant,
H. tiliaceus
was probably introduced by early Polynesians, about a thousand years ago (
Zimmerman 1960
;
1978a
). Interestingly, larvae of
P
.
hauicola
have not been observed on Hawaiian endemic
Hibiscus
plants.