Liocrobyla pinnatae 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 : 187-192

Liocrobyla pinnatae De Prins, Sruoga & Zwick , sp. nov.

( Figs 389, 390, 395, 396, 399, 400, 406, 407, 410, 413, 416, 424, 425, 638)

Type locality: Australia, Northern Territory, Darwin.

Type specimens: Holotype ♀: [labels verbatim] [1] Australia N.T. [Northern Territory]/ 12.21S 130.52E / Casuarina C.R./Darwin em.[erged]/ 7 Feb 1998 /T. & M. Kumata. [2] Host 5739/ Pongamia / pinnata, DNA sample NULT025239, genitalia slide ANIC 6167, ANIC Acc. no 31 085536, in ANIC (Canberra).

Paratypes: 12 specimens: Paratype 1(♀): Australia: Northern Territory, Darwin, CSIRO, 12.25S 130.55E, 5 February 1998, T. & M. Kumata. Host 5765, Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre ( Fabaceae ). Paratype 2: without abdomen; same data except for the locality and date, Casuarina C.R., Darwin, 8 February 1998. Host 5739, Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre ( Fabaceae ). Paratype 3: without abdomen; same data, except the date 5 February 1998. Paratype 4(♀): same data as for holotype. Host 5765, Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre ( Fabaceae ). Paratype 5(♀): same data except the date 10 February 1998, DNA sample NULT025479, genitalia slide ANIC 6169, ANIC Acc. no 31 085549. Paratype 6: same data except the date 6 February 1998. Paratype 7: without abdomen; same data, except the date 11 February 1998. Paratype 8(♂): Queensland: Cape Tribulation, Daintree National Park, 16.05S 145.29E, 23 January 1997, T. & M. Kumata. Host 5607, Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre ( Fabaceae ), DNA sample NULT024993, genitalia slide ANIC 6165, ANIC Acc. no 31 085605. Paratype 9: same data except the date 27 January 1997. Paratype 10: without abdomen, same data except the date 26 January 1997. Paratype 11: same data, except the date 20 January 1997. Paratype 12: same data, except the date 29 January 1997, in ANIC (Canberra).

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

Diagnosis: Following the general external characters and especially forewing pattern, this new species belongs to the same species group as L. desmodiella and L. kuranda sp. nov. Based on genitalia characters L. pinnatae sp. nov. shares a slight similarity with L. saturata Bradley, 1961 , since both species possess long, flexible and sinoiding vincular appendages. Other external and internal morphology characters separate those two latter species very well. Costal margin of valva in L. saturata is straight while in L. pinnatae sp. nov. sinuating. Sacculus in L. pinnatae sp. nov. is strongly developed as a separate broad and thick lobe, while in L. saturata male genitalia bear two pairs of narrow appendages: one pair carries a long and sharp spine at the apex, while the second pair is flexibly sinuating; transtilla in L. pinnatae sp. nov. is of moderate size, reversed U-shaped, with gently rounded apical part, while in L. saturata transtilla is just slightly smaller than tegumen, reversed V-shaped, with sharply triangular apical part ( Bradley 1961: pl. 18, fig. 11). Wing pattern is almost indistinguishable from L. kuranda sp. nov., except very tiny differences in the pattern of the costal margin of forewing. In L. pinnatae sp. nov. the narrow beige longitudinal costal band is followed by fuscous brownish intermixed with white irregular patches, while in the L. kuranda sp. nov. these patches are interrupted by a series of narrow short longitudinal black stripes less seen in warn specimens. From external morphology, L. kuranda sp. nov. and L. pinnatae sp. nov. are twin species. The bionomics of both L. kuranda sp. nov. and L. pinnatae sp. nov. is similar. Both species are leaf miners of Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre ( Fabaceae ). However, the L. kuranda sp. nov. larva feeds on other species of Pongamia plants, while L. pinnatae sp. nov. was reared exclusively from Pongamia pinnata . Up to now, the present data indicate that L. pinnatae is monophagous. The better diagnostic differences are in internal morphological characters of male and female genitalia and molecular data. Since both species are twin-species and very closely morphologically and genetically related, the differences in micromorphology of genital characters and mitogenomic data are not big but sufficient to recognize and distinguish L. kuranda sp. nov. and L. pinnatae sp. nov. as two separate species. There are no differences in bionomics.

In male genitalia:

● in L. pinnatae sp. nov. the apices of valvae are gently rounded, while in L. kuranda sp. nov. they are cut and even with slight convex indentation;

● in L. pinnatae sp. nov. the saccular process is shaped as one digitiform appendix, in L. kuranda sp. nov.

this process is biforked;

● in L. pinnatae sp. nov. the sub-apical ventral margin of valva with very slightly concave, in L. kuranda sp.

nov. it is U-shaped indentation;

● in L. pinnatae sp. nov. ventral surface of valvae bears two barb-like sclerotisations, in L. kuranda sp. nov.

these sclerotisations are as one triangular fold;

● in L. pinnatae sp. nov. transtilla is incomplete, in L. kuranda sp. nov. it is complete;

● in L. pinnatae sp. nov. saccus is broadly rounded, in L. kuranda sp. nov. saccus is as equilateral triangle;

● in L. pinnatae sp. nov. aedeagus is lightly bent, vesica rounded and no appendix at coecal area, in L.

kuranda sp. nov. aedeagus is S-shaped, vesica narrowly sharp with biforked process at the end, coecal area with a digitiform appendix.

In female genitalia:

● in L. pinnatae sp. nov. sterigmatic posterior appendages are long horn-shaped with narrowly sharping apices, in L. kuranda sp. nov. the posterior sterigmatic appendages are short blunt, with more or less broadly rounded apices;

● in L. pinnatae sp. nov. the central part of lamella post-vaginalis is broadly semi-roundly concave, in L. kuranda sp. nov. the central part of lamella post-vaginalis is with strongly convex parabola-shaped projection.

For mitogenomic diagnostic differences see Fig. 638.

Description: Wingspan 5.3–5.5 mm; length of the forewing 2.0– 2.5 mm ( Figs 389, 390).

Head ( Figs 395, 396): Vertex light yellowish beige consisting of two brushes of piliform scales projecting anteriad, with slight diffusion of intermixed dark-tipped piliform scales gently transitioning to frons area; occiput covered with two tufts of short, slightly paler piliform scales. Frons dark brown shining with some white scales. Maxillary palpus short pointed dark brown. Labial palpus whitish with dark brown spots: apical part of palpomere I, basal part and anterior tip of palpomere III, drooping, ca. 2× longer than the eye. Antenna more or less uniformly beige fuscous with intermixed fuscous, consisting of piliform narrow scales forming longitudinal thin lines, ventrally lighter, uniformly light ochreous, pedicel short, dark fuscous; scape dorsally white with fuscous base and apex, ventrally almost white, pecten very short mixed with the tips of the piliform scales of vertex.

Thorax ( Figs 389, 390, 400): lightly beige, slightly lighter in shading than vertex; tegula fuscous greyish. Forewing narrowly elongated, with a gently rounded apex, ground colour is fuscous with white, black and light beige markings, that differ in costal and sub-dorsal areas of the forewing; costal area: a sharply oblique white costal stripe with a broad base and narrow apex, sharply directed towards tornus initiates at 1/2 of the forewing, margined basally with a broad irregular area of black scales; a narrow costal oblique stripe, sharply directed toward tornus at apical 1/3, basally margined with an irregular area of black scales, sub-apical area is separated by a narrow white arched line repeating the apical margin of the forewing; apex with indistinct but present two white narrow apical stripes, dark fuscous tornus, black termen and white silvery shining apical marginal line. A narrow, yellowish ochreous stripe borders the dorsal margin of forewing. The sub-dorsal area of the forewing pattern consists of dirty white irregular band with irroration of fuscous, spots and stripes. The fringe line is light grey with white base; fringe short, silvery shining at the apex, termen, and tornus, silvery shining light fuscous along the dorsal margin of fore wing with very long shining piliform scales at about 1/2 of the dorsum of the forewing. Hindwing narrow, elongate, sharply pointed, ground colour dark greyish fuscous, fringe shorter at costa and long, ca. 6× longer than the width of hindwing at the base. The fore femur is light fuscous, the fore tibia is dark fuscous with two dirty white spots at base and at median part, tarsomere I dark fuscous, tarsomeres II–IV with white basal part and dark fuscous apical part, terminal tarsomere fuscous with white tip; mid-femur dark fuscous, almost black, mid-tibia with three oblique dirty white and black stripes, tibial spurs light beige as long as tarsomere I, tarsomere I fuscous with white apical 1/3, tarsomere II–III dirty a white with prolonged dark fuscous stripe on lateral side, tarsomeres IV–V dark fuscous, apical tip white; hind femur dirty white with light grey basal part, hind tibia dirty white at basal part with broad light fuscous oblique stripe at apical half, medial spurs light beige almost as long as the tibia, apical spurs light fuscous externally and dirty white internally, tarsomere I fuscous with the whitish oblique sub-apical band, tarsomeres II–V, dark fuscous with dirty-white apices, tip dirty white.

Abdomen ( Figs 399, 413, 416): dorsally dark fuscous; ventrally shining white with four short dark brown stripes on lateral sides of sternites. Two sets of paired long piliform androconial coremata are present on abdomens of males: one set on central part of sternum VI and the other on posterior margin on sternum VIII. Intersegmental joint between segments VI and VII is weakly sclerotised and carries two narrow strongly sclerotised semi-rings initiating at anterior margin of sternum VII. Segment VII is strongly sclerotised; two sub-lateral very long, as long as ca. three abdominal segments, tufts consisting of thin piliform scales and connected by a narrow strongly sclerotised link on sterna VII–VIII. Segment VIII is reduced, and remains a small but broad triangular plate which bears a peculiar bunch of nicely and tightly arranged prolonged and flat scales forming a brushed triangular anterior decorative plate. In females, anterior segment VI is strongly sclerotised. The sides of abdominal opening on sternum I are very strongly sclerotised, especially the anterior part, however, the horizontal joint is very thin and weakly sclerotised; apodemes on sternum II are rudimental almost invisible, while the apodemes on tergum II are thin, long, reaching the posterior 1/3 of segment II, slightly bent at apical half; a sclerotised line joins the anterior parts of tergal apodemes; a sclerotised plate proceeds the opening of abdomen on sternum II.

Individual variation: There is slight variation in the ornamental pattern of the forewing, especially in the sub-dorsal area. Light patches on mid legs can differ in extent or be absent.

Male genitalia ( Figs 406, 407): Tegumen narrow, weakly sclerotised, slightly shorter than valva, with gently rounded apex, tuba analis not protruded, truncate, below the joint of teguminal arms, teguminal arms narrow, weakly sclerotised, gently approaching each other towards gently rounded apex; valvae with folded ventral margin; costal margin sclerotised and gently bent at basal half, apex gently rounded, strongly setose; ventral margin of cucullus bears a bunch of long, strong, spiculose setae, ventral margin of valvae slightly folded with very gentle sinusoid indentation at sub-apical part, sacculus area strongly sclerotised, two sharp barb-like sclerotisations at the midden of ventral margin of valva; ventral margin is strongly sclerotised, bent with protruding single digitiform appendix that proceeds the ventral valval fold; transtilla incomplete, juxta thin sclerotised band parabola-shaped; vinculum strongly developed with complex two-layered sides and well noticeable joint of left and right mirror-sides at the central part of anterior margin, vincular posterior appendages long, flexible, sinuating; saccus short, gently rounded; aedeagus gently bent without any process, tip of vesica gently rounded without appendages, vesica with a broad band of sprinkled spicules.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 410): Papillae anales flat, fused, densely covered with thin, long setae, apophyses posteriores thick short, with blunt apices, reaching the posterior1/3 of segment VIII; apophyses anteriores with broad sclerotised bases forming a sclerotised plate on tergum VIII, basal parts of apophyses angulated and apical part thin needle-like with sharp apices terminating at posterior 1/3 of segment VII. Segment VII with a very complex sterigmatic sclerotisation: lamella ante-vaginalis with big horn-shaped bi-forked appendages at posterior margin, lamella post-vaginalis with deep concave indentation, the anterior margin of segment VII is strongly sclerotised; ostium bursae opens on sub-anterior margin of sternum VII, as a round opening with very strongly sclerotised margins. Segment VI is strongly sclerotised; ductus bursae relatively short, melanised, ca. as long as segment VI, antrum covered by prolonged irregular oval shaped sterigmatic collicular sclerotisation; corpus bursae slightly longer than segment VI, sac-shaped with slightly folded wall, without signum.

Mitogenomic data: The mitochondrial genomes sequenced from the Northern Territory and Queensland populations show no significant divergence, and the monophyly of this species is maximally supported in all analyses. Its sister relationship to L. kuranda sp. nov. is well supported ( Fig. 638).

Bionomics: The larva is a monophagous leaf miner found feeding on Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre ( Fabaceae ) ( Figs 424, 425). The mining period is short, starting at the beginning of February. The flight period for adults starts in the second decade of February.

Distribution: Known from two localities in Australia: Northern Territory and Queensland.

Etymology: The specific name of this species of moths derives from the specific name of the host plant Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre ( Fabaceae ). It is an adjective in the feminine gender and in the genitive case.