Manitischeria Diškus & Stonis, gen. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: A9956778-8F3A-40C3-905B-D9291FF81237

(Figs. 1–36, 111)

Type species. Manitischeria ptarmica (Meyrick, 1908) .

Diagnosis. External characters and wing venation characters are not informative or are insufficient for generic differentiation in most cases of Tischeriidae, including this new genus. In the male genitalia, species of the new genus are characterized by the presence of a long, lateral process of valva, an elaborate tegumen with thickened margins, a phallus with lateral extensions basally, and the elaborate or twisted joint of the tegumen with the vinculum; in the female genitalia the genus is characterized by a strongly developed antrum.

Description. Adult. Following the terminology provided by Stonis et al. 2021, most species are medium small with a wingspan of 6.1–8.3 mm, although one third of the species are small moths with a wingspan of 5.0–6.0 mm. The only exception is M. ptarmica which belongs to the category of very small moths, with some specimens recorded as small as 4.1 mm in wingspan (Stonis et al., 2021). Head: frons smoothly scaled; frontal tuft overlapping the frons, comprised of long, slender, or relatively wide lamellar scales; collar comprised of slender or relatively wide lamellar scales; pecten present; antenna almost always slightly longer or significantly longer than one half the length of forewing. Forewing without a distinctive pattern, from yellowish ochre to pale grey, irregularly speckled with some darker scales, more abundantly in apical half of the forewing (Figs. 25–36); only occasionally the forewing is entirely dark, covered with dark brown scales; fringe line present, sometimes indistinctive, occasionally absent. Hindwing slender, brown-grey or pale brownish or ochreous cream, usually without androconia, but one species, M. tyrocnistis possesses dark brown androconial scales on apex of the generally pale hindwing of the males. Abdomen usually with distinctive long, or very long, anal tufts of piliform scales (Fig. 32).

Male genitalia. Capsule longer or much longer than wide. Uncus with two large long, or very long, lateral lobes, occasionally lobes are relatively shorter and wider. Socii membranous. Tegumen with a frame-like thickening (see Fig. 3). Valva slender or relatively wide basally, but almost always wider apically than basally, with a distinctive, usually long lateral process (Fig. 1); transtilla absent. Juxta present, strongly developed (usually much longer and wider than phallus) as a set of various large, horn-like processes (Figs. 49, 62, 77); except in M. sparmanniae hornlike processes are small and main body of juxta is almost rounded (Fig. 72). Anellus absent. Vinculum usually small, sometimes relatively large, with a basically triangular but variously modified ventral lobe. The joint of vinculum with tegumen is usually elaborate or twisted (see Fig. 3). Phallus short, slender, rod-like, basally with strongly developed lateral projections (Fig. 1).

Female genitalia. In comparison to other Tischeriidae, ovipositor lobes usually small, occasionally medium large, rounded, with peg-like setae; second pair of ovipositor lobes usually two times smaller. Anterior apophyses usually only slightly shorter than posterior apophyses; prela usually with three pairs of rod-like projections. Antrum strongly developed, long, distinctly thickened, and occasionally elaborate laterally (Fig. 106), sometimes also medially thickened (Fig. 56). Corpus bursae usually wide and short; pectinations indistinctive or as small and slender, weakly chitinized spines. Ductus spermathecae inconspicuous, with a small, plate-like vesicle and very little coils (maximum 3.5–4 in M. kumatai (Sato, Kobayashi & Hirowatari)) or without obvious coils, e.g., M. ptarmica .

Bionomics. Host plants are mostly Malvaceae (seven Manitischeria species), also Rhamnaceae (one species) and Betulaceae (one species). Host-plant relationships of the remaining nine Manitischeria species are unknown. Larvae mine leaves and produce blotch-like leaf mines (Figs. 11, 21–24); occasionally, being very slender and elongated, the leaf mine may look like a gallery (Figs. 15–18). Leaf mines are close to the leaf margin and mining larva bends or rolls a margin of the mined leaf before pupation (Figs. 5–11, 20, 23).

Distribution. Currently known from East, South East and South West Asia, and equatorial and southern Africa (Fig. 111).

Etymology. The genus name is derived from the combination of the Latin manus (an arm) referring to the long, arm-like process of the valva in the male genitalia and Tischeria, the genus from which the new taxon was transferred.

Remarks. Unpublished molecular data provides strong support for this new genus; it will be published separately with a molecular analysis of all Tischeriidae genera (Stonis et al. in prep.).