Pleurota nobilella Rebel, 1901

Tabell, Jukka, Honey, Martin, Leger, Théo, Mutanen, Marko, Nupponen, Timo & Sihvonen, Pasi, 2025, New and poorly known Pleurota Hübner, [1825] species from peninsular Spain, the Balearic Islands, and the Canary Islands (Lepidoptera: Oecophoridae, Pleurotinae), SHILAP Revista de lepidopterología 53 (209), pp. 43-74 : 51

Pleurota nobilella Rebel, 1901 ( Figures 14-15 , 34, 51)

Barcode Index Number: BOLD:ADI2705

Pleurota honorella Hb. v. nobilella Rebel, 1901 . Dt. ent. Z. Iris, 13 (2), 169

Type locality: SPAIN: Murcia. Lectotype [here designated] ♀ [abdomen missing] “Type” [red ink], “Origin.” [pink label], “ex coll. Staudinger ” (MFNB, examined from photographs and barcode: DNA sample MFNLEP252, 658 bp[89n]) .

Material studied: SPAIN, ALICANTE, 9 km NNW Albatera, 460 m, N38.25317 W0.91450, 5 ♂ (GP 5856 J. Tabell, DNA sample 25562 Lepid Phyl; GP 5901 J. Tabell, DNA sample 25563 Lepid Phyl; DNA sample 26200 Lepid Phyl), 21-V-2016, J. Tabell leg. (coll. TAB) .

Diagnosis: Brown subcostal line, which is markedly darker than the rest of the wing, distinguishes P. nobilella from P. honorella and P. subnobilella sp. nov. In the male genitalia, the broad posterior lobe of juxta is characteristic. The female genitalia are unknown.

Molecular diagnosis: Three fresh specimens of P. nobilella were sequenced, resulting in 658 bp (n=2) and 652 bp (n=1) barcodes. In addition, two old type specimens were sequenced (see Remarks). The nearest neighbor to P. nobilella is the Corsican P. cyrniella Mann, 1855 , with a 6.53 % divergence. Minimum and maximum genetic divergences between the lectotype and three P. nobilella specimens are 0.72 % and 0.9 %, respectively.

Description: Adult. Wingspan 18-23.5 mm, ♀ lectotype 29 mm. Labial palpus pale grey, ventrally mixed white and brown, dorsolaterally with a dark brown apical spot, about 6.3x as long as diameter of the eye (1 st and 2 nd palpomeres), 3 rd palpomere 0.25x length of 1 st and 2 nd palpomeres. Antenna dark brown. Frontal tuft and neck off-white, mixed with pale beige, tegula white, mixed with pale ochre, thorax white, medially mixed with pale ochre. Costal line white, from near base to 4 / 5, evenly tapered towards apex; subcostal line brown, evenly expanded towards apex; median line from base to apex, white, at junction of dent of median line narrow, then expanded, apical 1 / 3 tapered, dent wedge-shaped, not reaching termen; fringe line indistinct, only slightly paler than median area; dorsal line parallel-sided, white, from base to 1 / 3; median area pale ochreous yellow. Cilia pale brown. Hindwing and cilia brownish grey. Abdomen slightly lustrous, grey, each segment with a row of ochre scales.

Male genitalia: Uncus thimble-shaped from ventral view, lined with several bristles of different length, apex blunt. Gnathos 1.7x as long as uncus, from ventral view elongate, funnel-shaped, medially covered with small nodules, gradually tapered towards apex, apex weakly beak-shaped. Valva elongate, upwards oblique, ventral margin evenly curved; cucullus narrow, apex slightly expanded. Juxta robust; anterior extension straight, short, median part rounded, posterior lobe broad, not extended to uncus, apex armed with a small tooth. Valval lobe broad, rounded apically, covered with several short bristles apically. Vinculum U-shaped. Phallus curved, parallel-sided, with one robust plate-shaped cornutus surrounded by numerous tiny spines.

Female genitalia: Unknown. The female lectotype lacks the abdomen. The description by Back (1973) is not based on type material and is thus dubious.

Biology: Unknown.

Distribution: Known from south-eastern Spain, provinces of Murcia and Alicante.

Remarks: P. nobilella was originally described as a variation of P. honorella (Hübner, [1813]) , based on two specimens. Back (1973) upgraded it to a valid species, stating “Verbleib nicht nachgewiesen” [location is not known]. Two specimens found in MFNB bear “Origin”, “ Type ” and “ex coll. Staudinger” labels, and they indisputably are the original type specimens. The male genitalia are illustrated and described by Back (1973), the female genitalia are shortly described but not illustrated (from the specimen collected from Sierra de Espuña, province of Murcia).

Based on the external appearance, the male and female type specimens are not conspecific. Also, the DNA analysis supports our interpretation, the genetic distance between them is 8.4 %. We have designated the female specimen as a lectotype because Rebel (1901) emphasizes the importance of the dark subcostal stripe as a distinguishing character, and in the female specimen it is strikingly dark. The identity of the male specimen ( Figure 16 ) remains undefined, it has a unique BIN ( BOLD: AER 7277) and its genetic divergence to the nearest neighbour P. subnobilella is 1.28 %.

Figures

Figures 9-16. Adults of Pleurota spp. 9-10. P. pleurotella (Staudinger). 9. 1. 10. 0. 11-13. P. sobriella (Staudinger). 11. 1 lectotype. 12. 1. 13. 0. 14-15. P. nobilella Rebel. 14. 0 lectotype. 15. 1. 16. P. sp., 1 syntype of P. nobilella.