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Journal of The Lepidopterists7 Society
Volume 58
2004
Number 4
Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 58(4), 2004, 187-188
A NEW SPECIES OF CARISTANIUS HEINRICH (LEPIDOPTERA
SOUTHERN MEXICO
PYRALIDAE : PHYCITINAE) FROM
H. H. Neunzig
Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University,Raleigh, N. C. 27695-7613 USA
Heinrich (1956), in his revision of the American Phycitinae, proposed the genus Caristanius to accommodate decoloralis described by Walker in 1863 and pellucidella and guatemalella described by Ragonot (1888a, 1888b). I added two species, minimus and tripartitus, in 1977 and 1996, respectively. The genus is entirely New World with representatives mainly in the Neotropics, but with elements in some of the warmer parts of the Nearctic Region.
In 1986 I reported the presence of Caristanius decoloralis near Veracruz, Estado de Veracruz, Mexico. Recent additional study by me of the five males and two females on which this record was based has shown that the specimens, although quite similar to C. decoloralis, represent an undescribed species. A description of this new species, as well as a key including it and other known members of the genus, are presented here.
Caristanius veracruzensis, new species
(Figs. 1-4)
Diagnosis. - Caristanius veracruzensis has a small, short, fingerlike, only slightly curved, subcostal process on the valva (Fig. 2).
Description. - Forewing length 9.0 - 10.0 mm. Head: vertex pale brown to brown dusted with white; labial palpus pale brown to brown dusted with white and extending obliquely to above vertex in both sexes, robustly scaled and in contact with vertex in male; maxillary palpus ochre, mostly long-scaled in male, pale brown to brown dusted with white, short-scaled in female; antenna of male with sinus and well developed, brown, dusted with white, tuft of scales at base of shaft and with sensilla trichodea (cilia) of shaft abundant and about 1/7 as long as width of shaft just distad of sinus; antenna of female simple. Thorax: dorsum pale brown to brown lightly dusted with white (some specimens with ochre or pale reddish brown scales). Forewing: mostly brown dusted with white; antemedial line very weakly formed, only visible on some specimens on posterior half of wing; brownish red patch shaded by varying amounts of black basad of antemedial line; postmedial line absent or very faint; discal spots dark brown. Hindwing: above chiefly white,
Fig. 1. Caristanius veracruzensis, male (holotype). some brown along anterior margin. Male genitalia (Figs. 2, 3): uncus short, broader than long with pair of sclerotized, glabrous, divergent arms arising basally from ventrolateral angles; gnathos absent; transtilla absent; juxta a narrow, M-shaped band with long, slender setiferous, lateral arms; valva slender (particularly in distal 2/3) with short, fingerlike, slightly curved, subcostal process; sacculus with short, blunt, setiferous distal projection; aedoeagus slender; vesica with strongly formed, slightly hooked, cornutus (cornutus about 1/2 as long as aedoeagus); vinculum longer than greatest width. Female genitalia (Fig. 4): ostium bursae broad, strongly sclerotized; ductus bursae flattened, sclerotized, except near distal extremities of apophysis anterioris, and with many scobinations toward corpus bursae; corpus bursae elongate, scobinate near junction with ductus bursae, and with two longitudinal plates and one transverse plate; plates fused together in posterior half of corpus bursae and bearing large spines; corpus bursae indented where transverse plate extends to lateral margin of corpus bursae; ductus seminalis attached to corpus bursae near junction of ductus bursae and corpus bursae.
Holotype: 6. 5 km. S. of Veracruz, Estado de Veracruz, Mexico, 23-VII-1984, H. H. and K. M. Neunzig, genitalia slide 987 HHN [USMN].
Paratypes: 4 d>, 2 9. Same collection data, genitalia slide 988 HHN [NCSU].
Etymology. - The specific epithet is based on the type locality (Veracruz).
Remarks. - The male and female genitalia of
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4
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Figs. 2-4. Caristanius veracruzensis: 2, male genitalia (aedoeagus omitted). 3, aedoeagus. 4, female genitalia.
KEY TO SPECIES OF MALE CARISTANIUS
1. Uncus with broad, multiridged collar surrounding a slender, setiferous, posteriorly directed protuberance
(Neunzig and Dow 1993, Fig. 273)..................................................guatemalellus (Ragonot)
— Uncus with pair of glabrous arms arising basally from its ventrolateral angles....................................2
2. Subcostal process of valva with distal part folded and contorted (Heinrich 1956, Fig. 297)..................pellucidellus (Ragonot)
Subcostal process of valva not folded and contorted distally..................................................3
3. Occurs in southeastern United States.....................................................................4
— Occurs in Neotropics.................................................................................5
4. Comutus of vesica about as long as aedoeagus (Neunzig 1977, Fig. 4).....................................minimus Neunzig
Cornutus of vesica as long as aedoeagus (Heinrich 1956, Fig. 298a; Neunzig 2003 text Fig.94b)...............decoloralis (Walker)
5. Subcostal process of valva long, about as long as valva (Neunzig 1996, Fig. 59). Distribution: Dominican Republic
.................................................................................................tripartitus Neunzig
Subcostal process of valva short, about 1/5 to 1/4 as long as valva (Fig. 2). Distribution: southern Mexico .................................................................................................veracruzensis n.sp.
Caristanius veracruzensis are most similar to those of Caristanius decoloralis. In C. veracruzensis the
subcostal process of the valva is essentially straight with only a slight curve distally the cornutus of the vesica is about 1/2 x as long as the aedoeagus, and the corpus bursae is significantly indented and strongly spined laterally In C. decoloralis the subcostal process of the valva is sinuate throughout its length, the cornutus of the vesica is as long as the length of the aedoeagus, and the corpus bursae is not significantly indented and not strongly spined laterally
Literature Cited
Heinrich, C. 1956. American Moths of the Subfamily Phycitinae.
U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 207 : 1-581. Neunzig, H. H. 1977. A new species of Caristanius from Florida
(Lepidoptera : Pyralidae : Phycitinae). Proc. Entomol. Soc.
Washington 79 : 555-558. -------. 1986. New records of Phycitinae from Mexico and a descrip-
tion of a new genus and species (Lepidoptera : Pyralidae). Proc.
Entomol. Soc. Washington 88 : 122-126. -------. 1996. New species of Phycitinae (Lepidoptera : Pyralidae)
from the Dominican Republic. Proc. Entomol. Soc. Washington
98 : 744-801. -------. 2003. Pyraloidea, Pyralidae (part), Phycitinae (part). In Do-
minick, R. B., et al., The Moths of America North of Mexico, fascicle 15.5 : 1-338. Neunzig, H. H. and L. C. Dow. 1993. The Phycitinae of Belize
(Lepidoptera : Pyralidae). North Carolina Agr. Res. Serv. Tech.
Bull. 304 : 1-131. Ragonot, E.-L. 1888a. [Les diagnoses de cinq especes nouvelles de
microlepidopteres de Porto Rico]. Bull. Seances et Bull. Biblio-
graph. Soc. Entomol. France (6) 8 : cxxxviii - cxl. -------. 1888b. Nouveaux Genres et Especes de Phycitidae & Galleri-
idae. Paris. 1-52. Walker, F. 1863. List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in
the Collection of the British Museum 27 : 1-286. Received for publication 25 January 2004; revised and accepted 7 July 2004