Epicephala breyniphaga De Prins, Sruoga & Zwick, 2025

Prins, Jurate De, Hartley, Diana, Sruoga, Virginijus, Nicholls, James, Wallace, Jesse & Zwick, Andreas, 2025, Diversity of Australian Ornixolinae (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) with taxonomic and nomenclatural acts within the related taxa (Acrocercopinae and Gracillariinae) based on the evidence of museomics, bionomics, and mitogenomics, Zootaxa 5616 (1), pp. 1-340 : 148-157

Epicephala breyniphaga De Prins, Sruoga & Zwick , sp. nov.

( Figs 294, 295, 313, 314, 326–329, 342–345, 361, 371, 378, 383, 637)

Type locality: Australia, New South Wales, Burrewara Point.

Type specimens: Holotype ♀: [labels verbatim] [1] Australia NSW [New South Wales]/ 35.50°S 150.14°E / Burrewara Point/Forest Res.[Reserve] emg.[emerged] 7 Dec.[December]1996/T. & M. Kumata [2] Host 5341/ Breynia / oblongifolia, DNA sample NULT025196, genitalia slide ANIC 6225, ANIC Acc. no 31 085533, in ANIC (Canberra).

Paratypes 2♂: Paratype 1(♂): New South Wales: Maclean , 29.4606°S 153.2019°E, 03-04-1952, leg. Common I.F.B., DNA sample NULT023198, genitalia slide ANIC 6256 , ANIC Acc. no 31 085607 . Paratype 2(♂) ( Figs 313, 314): Queensland: Millstream Falls, National Park , 17.3900°S 145.2000°E, Host 5684: Breynia oblongifolia (fruit), 01-02-1997, leg. Kumata T. & M., DNA sample NULT025433, genitalia slide ANIC 6227 , ANIC Acc. no 31 085590, in ANIC (Canberra) .

Unverified specimen: without abdomen, Queensland: Millstream Falls, National Park , 17.3900°S 145.2000°E, Host 5684: Breynia oblongifolia (fruit), 01-02-1997, leg. Kumata T. & M., DNA sample NULT025558 (not successful), ANIC Acc. no 31 085643, in ANIC (Canberra) .

Type depository: Australian National Insect Collection, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.

Diagnosis: Based on the characters of external morphology E. breyniphaga sp. nov. can be easily diagnosed from congenerous species by costal ornamentation, except the species E. trigonophora . The species E. breyniphaga sp. nov. is the sister lineage to E. trigonophora and is externally indistinguishable. In E. breyniphaga sp. nov. the sub-apical costal strigulae are comma-shaped, almost reaching the midline of forewing and edged by black scales basally, while in the group these comma-shaped strigulae are very short, hardly visible stripes and not edged by black scales; sub-apical area is also differently decorated; in the group of E. acrobaphes + E. dunkensis sp. nov. eight several fine horizontal not edged lines situated at about midline of forewing are approaching sub-apical fascia, while in E. breyniphaga sp. nov. these straight midline lines are absent. Bionomics between those two groups of Epicephala species is also different. The host of E. breyniphaga sp. nov. belongs to the plant genus Breynia while the host plant genus of the species group E. acrobaphes + E. dunkensis sp. nov. is Glochidion . Both plant genera belong to the same plant family Phyllanthaceae . There is no difference in bionomics between E. breyniphaga sp. nov. and E. trigonophora . Both species feed on the same host plant and the same spot synchronically. Four other species of Epicephala are feeding on Breynia host plants: E. lativalvaris , E. mirivalvata , E. sphenitis , and E. vitisidaea . The diagnostic morphological characters of the E. breyniphaga should be searched in internal (genital) morphology. These four described species mentioned above are distributed in China and India. Bionomics is a helpful mean to group Breynia feeding Epicephala species. In the great majority of cases the Ornixolinae species are host specific. Beside E. breyniphaga sp. nov. and E. trigonophora also Phyllocnistis diaugella Meyrick, 1880 is recorded to feed on Breynia oblongifolia in Australia.

Description: Wingspan ca. 7.0– 7.5 mm; length of the forewing 3.0– 3.3 mm ( Figs 294, 295).

Head ( Figs 313, 314): vertex smooth, covered by rather short white piliform scales with slight ochreous shading toward frons; occiput with two short separate lateral tufts of short piliform scales, directed posteriorly. Frons white with light ochreous shading. Maxillary palpus approximately as long as the eye, straight, white, covered with lose but not hanging scales. Labial palpus about twice longer than maxillary palpus, ca. 1.5× diameter of the eye, dirty white at inner side and very light ochreous at outer side, directed straightforward, covered with small tightly supressed piliform scales. Proboscis ochreous, strongly rolled. Antenna as long as forewing or slightly longer, dorsally light ochreous, with slight golden shine, each flagellomere contain numerous tiny brown lines, flagellomeres with brown apices, antenna not ringed; ventrally light ochreous; pedicel slightly shorter and thicker than the following flagellomere, dirty light ochreous; scape rather long, approximately as long as three flagellomeres, equally thick at base and at apex, dirty white at base and dorsally and light ochreous at lateral sides and ventrally, with a big bunch of long hanging light grey pecten of different lengths very well seen and noticeable at about 50× magnification.

Thorax ( Figs 294, 295, 327, 329): snowy white, tegula light ochreous. Forewing elongated, equally broad along all its length, with gently rounded apex, ground colour equally ochreous with white markings. Costal margin with three white markings: 1) a narrow hooked, not edged white stripe at sub-base of costa, 2) comma-shaped directed towards apex, edged basally strigula at 2/3 of costa, 3) oblique, white narrow strigula, directed towards apex, edged posteriorly; dorsal margin is marked by white narrowing from base toward apex stripe with a neighbouring white hook-like ornament at the mid of dorsum, and two oblique triangular markings at sub-apical part; apical part is defined by white, fine-edged from both sides fascia with broader parts at costa and dorsum; apical spot small, round clearly visible, situated on ochrous background bordered by an oval white patch at apex and a big triangular patch at tornus; apical line, fine, continuous, fuscous black. The fringe line is only at apical area. Fringe is golden ochreous, shorter snowy white at tornus, the longest at sub-apical part and again shortening towards base of forewing. Hindwing narrow, elongate, sharply pointed, ground colour grey ochreous, fringe long, ca. 6× longer than the width of hindwing at the base, well lighter in shading than the colour of hindwing, with golden shine, the longest piliform scales hanging at the base of the dorsum of the hindwing. Fore leg light grey ochreous, tip of fore tarsus ochreous; mid femur light ochreous, mid tibia light ochreous interchanging to white towards apex, tibial spurs ochreous with grey apical half, mid tarsomeres grey with lighter shading at inner sides; hind femur light ochreous fuscous, hind tibia golden ochreous, with a row of sharp long spines of more or less equal length stretching along tibia; median spurs long, slightly longer than half length of tibia, light grey, apical spurs significantly shorter (ca. half of the length of median ones), dirty white grey outer side; tarsomere I light ochreous with grey apical part, tarsomere II fuscous ochreous, tarsomeres III–V ochreous, the tip of hind tarsus fuscous.

Abdomen ( Figs 326, 328, 371, 378): dorsally tergites ochreous fuscous, matte, terminal genital segments brightly yellow, sternites are white, with five ochreous markings, abdominal anterior sternites VII–IX dirty white, without any markings, but with basal ochreous shading. Abdominal opening broad, trapezoidal, lateral sides of abdominal opening on sternum II broadly and strongly sclerotised, posterior corners of abdominal opening gently rounded; ventral crossing joint finely sclerotised, very fine but continuous in the middle, lightly convex; sternal apodemes absent, anterior and lateral margins of sternal plate fulfil the support function; tergal apodemes rather thick along entire their length, straight with a small appendage at the sub-basal part; anterior margin of the causal segment in males is marked with the convex sclerotised plate, two pairs of androconial sickle-shaped sclerotisations are present on the lateral sides of anterior segment VII in males that carry two pairs of bunches of long coremata, anterior margin with an anterior plate of lamellar scales; the smaller triangular plate with scobination terminates the androconial abdominal markings; anterior part of female abdomen simple; abdominal cuticle rather smooth with tiny dots.

Male genitalia ( Figs 342–345): Tegumen long broad cone-shaped, with gently rounded apex; teguminal arms are finely sclerotised; sub-scaphium well-developed, narrow, weakly sclerotised, apical part of tegumen protruding and truncate; valva split into two separate parts: regular valva and very broad, ca. 3× broader than valva sacculus; costal margin of valva straight, cucullus enlarged, truncate, ventral margin of valva convex, heavily covered with long, erect setae; sacculus broad, oval shaped with gently rounded apical part; costal margin of sacculus smooth, ventral margin with barbs of different sizes, inner surface of sacculus setae free but carries one big horn in sub-basal sector; valval apodemes long, play a transverse support function, do not meet each other, saccular basal parts play the function of juxta; vinculum well developed, with very broad lateral sides that are folded meeting each other at the basis of the genital cavity and playing the support function of juxta, U-shaped, with very evident mid suture separating left and right sides, basal part, connecting vinculum with saccus is triangular; saccus slightly shorter than valva, narrow, straight appendage with truncate anterior part. Aedeagus is ca. 2× longer than valva, straight, tubular, with gently rounded coecum, vesica is covered with cornuti of different lengths, the apex of vesica carries one big erect cornutus.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 361): Papillae anales and segment VIII are fused to a short truncate ovipositor. Apophyses posteriores fused until mid of segment VII, then biforked into two strong, thick, and straight separate apophyses, that extend till mid of corpus bursae; apophyses anteriores are also strong, very long, but shorter than apophyses posteriores, they reach the joint of ductus and corpus bursae, initiating at sub-posterior sector of segment VII. Segment VII is strongly sclerotised, especially the posterior part, that is as one irregular shaped sterigmatic sector; ostium bursae opens at sub-anterior sector of sternum VII; antrum enlarged, cup-shaped; ductus bursae short very thick in girth, surrounded by spherical melanised ring posteriorly; corpus bursae sac-shaped with a thin, transparent wall, signum absent; bulla seminalis smaller than corpus bursae, sac-shaped.

Individual variation: the species is described based on three specimens, one of which is rather worn. No variation is detected.

Bionomics ( Fig. 383): The species feeds on Breynia oblongifolia (Müll.Arg.) Müll. Arg. ( Phyllanthaceae ). The feeding period is from early December till early February. The flight period is from early February till early April.

Mitogenomic data: The three specimens sequenced have near identical mitochondrial genome sequences (0.3% divergence), despite having originated more than 2,000 km apart. Support is maximal in all analyses for the monophyly of the species and its sister relationship to E. trigonophora ( Fig. 637).

Distribution: Known only from three localities in Australia that range from the type locality Burrewarra Point in SE New South Wales to far northern Queensland.

Etymology: The species name is a composite word of the genus name of the host plant Breynia and the combining form from the Latin suffix - phagus which itself is derived from the Greek word ‘ φάΓΟΣ ’ meaning ‘feeding on’. The specific name is an adjective of the feminine gender.