Argyresthia ( Blastotere ) argentilucens Kim & Byun, 2025

Kim, Sang-Yoon, Lee, Ji-Young, Oh, Jae-In, Jeong, June-Hyeok, Song, Young-Gwang & Byun, Bong-Kyu, 2025, Three new species of the genus Argyresthia Hübner, [1825] (Lepidoptera: Argyresthiidae) from Korea, Zootaxa 5693 (4), pp. 565-574 : 569

Argyresthia ( Blastotere) argentilucens Kim & Byun , sp. nov.

( Figures 3A , 4A )

LSID urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:

Type material. Holotype. [ KOREA] ♀, Daegwangryeong, Pyeongchang , GW. 9 vi 2012. (leg. BK Byun) gen. slide no. HNUSEL-1804 -coll. HNUSEL . Paratypes. [ KOREA] 1♀, Sabuk-eup, Jeongseon , GW. 16 vi 2024 (leg. BK Byun) gen. slide no. HNUSEL-1877 , DNA accession no. PV452805-coll. NIBR ; 2♀, Mt. Gitdaebong , Nogokmyeon, Samcheok, GW. 18 vi 2009. (leg. SY Park, JS Lim, KM Kim) gen. slide no. HNUSEL-1845 , 1846-coll. HNUSEL ; 1♀, Mt. Odae , Jinbu-myeon, Pyeonchang , GW. 20 vi 2012 (leg. SY Park, JO Lim, JS Lim) gen. slide no. HNUSEL-1835 -coll. KNAE .

Diagnosis. This species resembles Argyresthia laevigatella (Heydenreich, 1851) in external character but can be distinguished by signum of female genitalia. The former species has a signum of an oval-shaped basal plate and a rough-surfaced bifurcated horn, while A. laevigatella has signum with one smooth, triangular horn (see Moriuti 1977).

Description. Adult ( Figure 3A ) Wingspan 5-10mm. Head white to silvery-white; vertex with tuft of white scales; frons smooth, covered with white scales; labial palpi yellowish white to ivory, slightly up-curved. Antennae white to gray; scape covered with yellowish white to ivory scales, 5-6 long scales on ventral side, extended downward. Thorax covered with silvery-white to silvery-gray scales. Legs white. Forewing lanceolate, covered with silvery-white to silvery-gray shining scales without any markings. Hindwing color same as forewing, with less sheen; cilia white.

Male genitalia. Unknown.

Female genitalia ( Figure 4A ). Papillae anales moderate, slender hairs on top. Apophyses anteriores and posteriores slender; apophyses anteriores as long as apophyses posteriores. Ostium bursae small; antrum slightly sclerotized. Ductus bursae as long as corpus bursae, slender, widening toward corpus bursae; antrum slightly sclerotized with some sclerotized needle-like structures; ductus seminalis short and slender, located at 1/2 of the ductus bursae. Corpus bursae pearl-shaped; signum well-developed; basal plate oval shaped, slightly sclerotized with dense spinules, and gap in sub-medial area; rough-surfaced bifurcated horns strongly sclerotized, stretched from both sides, extended ventrally.

Distribution. Korea.

Host plants. Unknown.

Etymology. The species name argentilucens is derived from the Latin words argentum meaning "silver" and lucens meaning "shining" or "gleaming", referring to the silvery luster of the forewings in the adult moth.

Remark. This new species, Argyresthia argentilucens sp. nov., has a genetic distance of 5% from A. laevigatella , and about 5~14% from other species in NJ tree.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Adults of Argyresthia. A, Argyresthia (Blastotere) argentilucens sp. nov. (♀, Holotype, gen. slide no. HNUSEL- 1804); B, A. (B.) koreana sp. nov. (♂, Holotype, gen. slide no. HNUSEL-1865); C, A. (B.) koreana sp. nov. (♀, Paratype, gen. slide no. HNUSEL-1864); D, A. (B.) koreana sp. nov. (♀, Paratype); E, A. (B.) maculofasciata sp. nov. (♀, Holotype, gen. slide no. HNUSEL-1876).

FIGURE 4. Male and female genitalia of Argyresthia. A, Argyresthia (Blastotere) argentilucens sp. nov. (♀, Holotype, gen. slide no. HNUSEL-1804); B, A. (B.) koreana sp. nov. (♂, Holotype, gen. slide no. HNUSEL-1865); C, A. (B.) koreana sp. nov. (♀, paratype, gen. slide no. HNUSEL-1864); D, A. (B.) maculofasciata sp. nov. (♀, Holotype, gen. slide no. HNUSEL-1876). Scale bars: 0.2mm (B), 0.5mm (A, C, D).