Nemophora chionites ( Meyrick, 1907 )

Liao, Cheng-Qing, Hirowatari, Toshiya, Yagi, Sadahisa, Wang, Min, Wang, Xing & Huang, Guo-Hua, 2023, The fauna of the family Adelidae (Insecta, Lepidoptera, Adeloidea) from China, Zootaxa 5348 (1), pp. 1-152 : 22-23

(16) Nemophora chionites ( Meyrick, 1907)

(Plates II-3, XIII-3, XXI-3)

Nemotois chionites Meyrick, 1907: 990 (TL: India, Assam, Khasi Hills; BMNH); Meyrick 1912a: 9; Meyrick 1912b: 7; Clarke 1955: 84.

Nemophora chionites: Kozlov 1995: 471 , figs. 9–10, 13, 19, 40–44 (review); Das & Singh 2022: 264 ; Kozlov 2023c: 21 , figs. 19, 20, 80 ( India).

Diagnosis. Compared to other species of the askoldella group, this species can be distinguished by its longer labial palpus (ca. twice of vertical eye diameter) covered with long dense hairs; the forewing transverse central fascia is twice as wide at costa than at termen; the relatively long vinculum (ca. 2.6 × as long as valva); lateral margins (viewed ventrally) posteriorly forming a near 30-degree acute angle with the central axis; and the long suspensorium which far beyond the posterior margin of vinculum.

Specimens examined. [Hunan] 1♀, Mt. Tianpingshan, Badagongshan National Nature Reserve, Sangzhi County, Zhangjiajie City, 2014.VII.12–14, T. Hirowatari & G.H. Huang leg.; 7♀, Mt. Tianpingshan, Badagongshan National Nature Reserve , Sangzhi County, Zhangjiajie City , 2019.VII.27–VIII.13, C.Q. Liao, M. Deng, B. Chen & S.J. Yi leg. ; 1♀, Mt. Tianpingshan, Badagongshan National Nature Reserve , Sangzhi County, Zhangjiajie City , 2020.VII.17, C.Q. Liao & M. Deng leg. ; [Sichuan] 4♂ 3♀, Longcanggou (1,400 –1,500 m), Yingjing County, 2016. VI.18–19, G.H. Huang leg. ; 2♂ 1♀, Longcanggou (1,500 m), Yingjing County, 2016.VI.23, G.H. Huang leg. ; 1♂, Longcanggou (1,500 m), Yingjing County, 2017.VII.17–18, M. Wang leg. ; 1♀, Nibashan , Yingjing County, 2009. VIII.28, G.H. Huang leg. ( HUNAU) .

Distribution. China (new record: Hunan, Sichuan); India, Thailand.

Remarks. This species has been newly recorded in China, and usually occurs from June to October. On Mt. Tianpingshan, Hunan, the female adults were observed flying or resting in low grasses near Hydrangea plants, but we could not observe its flower-visiting and oviposition behavior.

One DNA barcode of N. chionites is generated and this sequence is closest to N. askoldella (pairwise distances: 0.043).