Psammotis haematidea (Hampson, 1913)

Seizmair, Michael, Ishag, Alrabea & Al Dhafer, Hathal Mohammed, 2025, Contribution to the study of the Afrotropical Pyraustinae Meyrick, 1890 (Lepidoptera, Crambidae): Taxonomic and distributional updates on five species with new country records, Biodiversity Data Journal 13, pp. e 161293-e 161293 : e161293-

Psammotis haematidea (Hampson, 1913)

Pyrausta haematidea Hampson, 1913 . Hampson (1913 b): 31-32. Type locality: Tanzania, Ruaha R [iver]

Materials

Type status: Other material. Occurrence: catalogNumber: ♂ 24 GP 028 ; recordedBy: M. Seizmair, A. Ishag; individualCount: 1; sex: male; lifeStage: adult; disposition: CMS; occurrenceID: 80000C12-B756-58A8-A7BB-F2A7705E326E; Location: country: Saudi Arabia; stateProvince: Jizan; locality: Fayfa Mts., Al Khashah ; verbatimElevation: 640 m; verbatimLatitude: 17 ° 14 ' 30.3684 "; verbatimLongitude: 43 ° 3 ' 41.0178 "; Event: samplingEffort: UV- Light; eventDate: 10 - XI- 2023

Type status: Other material. Occurrence: catalogNumber: ♀ 24 GP 027 ; recordedBy: M. Seizmair, A. Ishag; individualCount: 1; sex: female; lifeStage: adult; disposition: CMS; occurrenceID: 63A0C80B-282D-54F8-9142-561412D6ADCA; Location: country: Saudi Arabia; stateProvince: Jizan; locality: Fayfa Mts., Al Khashah ; verbatimElevation: 640 m; verbatimLatitude: 17 ° 14 ' 30.3684 "; verbatimLongitude: 43 ° 3 ' 41.0178 "; Event: samplingEffort: UV- Light; eventDate: 13 - XI- 2023

Type status: Other material. Occurrence: catalogNumber: ABSRC 1000599 (slide no ♂ 1854) ; recordedBy: K. Maes; individualCount: 5; sex: male; lifeStage: adult; disposition: ABSCR; otherCatalogNumbers: ABSRC 1000600 (slide no ♂ 1855), ABSRC 1000683, ABSRC 1004998, ABSRC 1004999; occurrenceID: 4D32E076-B86B-5077-9DAB-2FEA798452E6; Location: country: Cameroon; locality: Center Region, Savannah-Rainforest edge, near Magong, SE of Yoko ; verbatimElevation: 732 m; verbatimLatitude: N 05 ° 23 ’ 38.5 ''; verbatimLongitude: 012 ° 30 ’ 48.4 ”; Event: samplingEffort: Black / MV lights; eventDate: 04 - 11 - VI- 2019

Type status: Other material. Occurrence: catalogNumber: ABSRC 1000653 ; recordedBy: K. Maes; individualCount: 8; sex: male; lifeStage: adult; disposition: ABSCR; otherCatalogNumbers: ABSRC 1000654, ABSRC 1000656 - ABSRC 1000661; occurrenceID: 77BC4A7C-BD96-530F-A0D9-40D8EBD06149; Location: country: Cameroon; locality: Center Region, Savannah-Rainforest edge, near Magong, SE of Yoko ; verbatimElevation: 732 m; verbatimLatitude: N 05 ° 23 ’ 38.5 ''; verbatimLongitude: 012 ° 30 ’ 48.4 ”; Event: samplingEffort: Black / MV lights; eventDate: 05 - 11 - VI- 2019

Type status: Other material. Occurrence: catalogNumber: ABSRC 1005053 ; recordedBy: K. Maes; individualCount: 1; sex: male; lifeStage: adult; disposition: ABSCR; occurrenceID: 0F79783F-1588-53AA-87B8-9D94170255D6; Location: country: Cameroon; locality: Center Prov. Batchenga ; Event: eventDate: 19 - VI- 1993

Type status: Other material. Occurrence: catalogNumber: ABSRC 1005051 ; recordedBy: K. Maes; individualCount: 3; sex: male; lifeStage: adult; disposition: ABSCR; otherCatalogNumbers: ABSRC 1005055, ABSRC 1005062 (slide no ♂ 918); occurrenceID: 40E8B73C-993C-5D5C-88DB-001C57F87CC3; Location: country: Kenya; locality: Rift Valley, Marich Pass Field Station area ; verbatimElevation: 950 m; verbatimLatitude: 01 ° 32 ’ 14 ”; verbatimLongitude: 35 ° 27 ’ 26 ”; Event: samplingEffort: Mercury Vapor Light; eventDate: 26 - 29 - VII- 1999

Type status: Other material. Occurrence: catalogNumber: ABSRC 1005052 ; recordedBy: K. Maes; individualCount: 1; sex: male; lifeStage: adult; disposition: ABSCR; occurrenceID: FA118907-92E9-5485-93A3-6B241F9BE5E3; Location: country: Kenya; locality: Eastern, Meru N. P. Bwatherongi Camp Site ; verbatimElevation: 600 m; verbatimLatitude: 00 ° 09 ’ 51.8 ”; verbatimLongitude: 38 ° 12 ’ 32.3 ”; Event: samplingEffort: Black / MV lights; eventDate: 04 - XII- 2002

Type status: Other material. Occurrence: catalogNumber: ABSRC 1005054 ; recordedBy: K. Maes; individualCount: 5; sex: male; lifeStage: adult; disposition: ABSCR; otherCatalogNumbers: ABSRC 1005058, ABSRC 1005059, ABSRC 1005060, ABSRC 1005061 (slide no ♂ 1438); occurrenceID: 7A95F11A-C6EC-54F3-94B6-C7A52C171DFF; Location: country: Kenya; locality: Kakamega Rainforest Edge “ Quarry ” ; verbatimElevation: 1800 m; verbatimLatitude: 0 ° 10 ' 12 "; verbatimLongitude: 34 ° 28 ' 11.9994 "; Event: samplingEffort: Mercury Vapor Light; eventDate: 07 - V- 1997

Type status: Other material. Occurrence: catalogNumber: ABSRC 1005056 ; recordedBy: K. Maes; individualCount: 5; sex: male, female; lifeStage: adult; disposition: ABSCR; otherCatalogNumbers: ABSRC 1005057, ABSRC 1005064, ABSRC 1005065, ABSRC 1005066; occurrenceID: DAC3EB3E-0FD7-55EF-9A88-2F01E28993B4; Location: country: Kenya; locality: Rift Valley, Samburu Nat. Res. near Uaso Nyiro river, Intrepid Camp ; verbatimElevation: 910 m; verbatimLatitude: 0 ° 34 ’ 34, 8 ”; verbatimLongitude: 37 ° 39 ’ 36 ”; Event: samplingEffort: Black / MV lights; eventDate: 13-14 - XII- 2002

Type status: Other material. Occurrence: catalogNumber: ABSRC 1005063 (slide no ♀ 919) ; recordedBy: K. Maes; individualCount: 1; sex: female; lifeStage: adult; disposition: ABSCR; occurrenceID: CBFB12C9-E8DD-5DB1-A759-19496959549C; Location: country: Kenya; locality: Coast, Rukinga Ranch, Sagana Dam ; verbatimElevation: 462 m; verbatimLatitude: 03 ° 51 ’ 09.6 ”; verbatimLongitude: 38 ° 50 ’ 39.7 ”; Event: samplingEffort: Black / MV lights; eventDate: 30 - XII- 2000

Description

External characters

Re-description - Wing span: 10.0 mm (male, n = 1), 10.7 mm (female, n = 1), fore-wing length: 5.2 mm (male, n = 1), 6.3 mm (female, n = 1). Head: Antenna yellowish in the flagellum, greyish-white in the ciliae in both sexes. Vertex and frons with reddish and yellowish scales. Labial palpus with an extended patch of elongate shining white scales ventrally in the first segment, scaling of the second and third segments brownish-yellowish interspersed with greyish and reddish scales, length relative to the diameter of the eye 1.7 (n = 1, male). Maxillary palpus obliquely upturned, with brownish-yellowish scaling, length relative to the length of the labial palpus 0.2 (n = 1, male). Thorax: Scaling of the dorsum reddish-brown interspersed with yellowish scales, scaling of the venter greyish-white in both sexes. Fore-wing upper side ground reddish, antemedial, postmedial and subterminal lines yellow. Postmedial line with a right-angled inward turn at CuA 1, then running upwards towards the cell, with another right-angled turn at CuA 1 towards the anal border. Subterminal line developing from the costa, interrupted at R 5, continuing strongly tapered at CuA 1 and terminating at the anal border. Costa with yellow scales between the medial area and the apex. Fringe yellow, long-scaled. Hind-wing ground concolorous with the fore-wing ground. Postmedial line concolorous with the fore-wing postmedial line, strongly broadened, w-shaped. Fringe yellow, with elongate reddish scales at the anal border. There are no intersexual differences in the wing maculation. Legs greyish-brown in the femur, greyish-white in the tibia. Abdomen: Dorsum with reddish scaling, in the male with a yellowish-grey anal tuft, venter greyish-white ( Hampson (1913 b), Figs 1 a , 2 a ).

Male genitalia

Uncus 1.8 times longer than wide (n = 1), apex pointed, with very short chaetae dorso-laterally, ventrally with two overlapping flanges of rhomboid shape and with anteriad-directed process. Transtilla widely separated, transtillum inferior well developed. Valva strongly broadened in the anterior half, posteriorly constricted, apex medially rounded, costa and ventral border parallel, basal costa inflated, base of the editum anteriorly thumb-shaped, posteriorly bifid with acuminate ends, sella with a posterior cup-shaped extension, anterior end hook-shaped. Sacculus post-basally dilated, with a sclerotised dorsal ridge. Arms of the juxta slender, strongly elongated, acuminate, length of the split relative to the total length 0.6. Vinculum u-shaped, short, 1.8 times wider than long (n = 1). Phallus cylindrical, constant in width. Vesica with two spiculose patches and one thorn-shaped, slightly curved cornutus (Figs 3 a , 4 a ).

Female genitalia

Length of the posterior apophysis relative to the anterior apophysis 0.7 (n = 1). Anterior apophysis with a subtriangular-shaped medial projection. Posterior ductus bursae sclerotised. Colliculum short. Antrum sclerotised, elongated. Rhomboid signum with longitudinal and transversal sclerites, ratio length of longitudinal / length of transversal axis 0.6 (n = 1), lateral processes short, rounded. Bursa with further sclerotisation at the appendix (Fig. 5 a ).

Diagnosis

The species is externally easily differentiated from the other congeners by the presence of an angulated yellowish postmedial line in the fore-wing and by the presence of a wedge-shaped hind-wing postmedial line. The items in the wing maculation as mentioned in the re-description above are in conformance with the original description in Hampson (1913 b). From the externally closest Psammotis rubrilinearis Seizmair, 2023 , the species is furthermore differentiated in the male genitalia by the presence of a pair of processed flanges in the uncus, by the shape of the editum basis with a posterior bifurcation, by the shape of the sella, the anterior end of which is curved towards the ventral border of the valva and by the elongated arms of the bifid juxta.

Distribution

Afrotropical. To date only known from the type locality in Tanzania ( De Prins and De Prins 2025). New to the Arabian Peninsula, to Cameroon and to Kenya.

Figures

Figure 1 a. P. haematidea, slide no. 24 GP 028;

Figure 2 a. P. haematidea, slide no 24 GP 028;

Figure 3 a. P. haematidea, slide no 24 GP 028, juxta omitted;

Figure 4 a. P. haematidea, slide no 24 GP 028, with juxta;

Figure 5 a. P. haematidea, slide no. 24 GP 027;