Epicephala philippa 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 : 164-166

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

( Figs 302, 303, 317, 318, 330–333, 349–352, 364–366, 373, 380, 637)

Type locality: Australia, Queensland, Kuranda.

Type specimens: Holotype ♀: [labels verbatim] [1] Australia QLD [Queensland]/ 16.49S 145.38E /Kuranda emg. [emerged] 8 Feb.[February]1997/T. & M. Kumata [2] Host 5692/ Glochidion / philippicum / (Fruit), DNA sample NULT025071, genitalia slide 6224, ANIC Acc. no 31 085531, in ANIC (Canberra).

Paratypes 8 specimens: Paratype 1: without abdomen, same collecting data as for the holotype, except the date 02 February 1997. Host 5692 Glochidion philippicum (Cav.) C.B.Rob. ( Phyllanthaceae ). Paratype 2: abdomen in a separate tube, pinned under the specimen, same collecting data, except the date 03 February 1997. Paratype 3(♂): same collecting data, DNA sample NULT024832, genitalia slide ANIC 6222, ANIC Acc. no 31 085587. Paratype 4: abdomen in a separate tube, pinned under the specimen, same collecting data, except the date 08 February 1997. Paratype 5(♂): same collecting data. Paratype 6(♀): same collecting data, except the date 11 February 1997. Paratype 7: without abdomen, same collecting data. Paratype 8(♂): same collecting data, DNA sample NULT024957, genitalia slide ANIC 6223, ANIC Acc. no 31 085588, in ANIC (Canberra).

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

Diagnosis: This Epicephala philippa sp. nov. is similar in several character sets to E. xerocarpa sp. nov., collected on the closely related host plant, belonging to the same genus but a different species, and in a different locality, but more or less at the same time. From external morphology both species are very similar showing only very slight differences that fall outside the observed intraspecific variation. These diagnostic differences are observed in the markings on the costal margin: in E. xerocarpa sp. nov. the costal margin is decorated by thin stripes, at sub-apex one or maximum of two small thin stripes are present, in E. philippa sp. nov. the sub-apex is marked by a row (or two rows) of bigger or smaller dots and stripes of different shapes and lengths. If specimens are not worn then a clear diagnostic difference is found in the frons: in E. xerocarpa sp. nov. lateral tuft just below antenna is ochreous, while in E. philippa sp. nov. it is clearly white. More clear diagnostic characters are found in male and female genitalia micromorphology as described below respectively by both new species. Concerning bionomics the species E. xerocarpa sp. nov. feeds on seeds of Glochidion xerocarpus O.Schwarz. , while E. philippa sp. nov. feeds on seeds of Glochidion philippicum (Cav.) C.B.Rob. Both host plants belong to Phyllanthaceae . Both species E. philippa sp. nov. and E. xerocarpa sp. nov. are monophagous and highly host specific. More detailed species-linked diagnostic characters are found in the mitogenomics.

Description: Wingspan ca. 5.9–6.4 mm; length of the forewing 2.8–3.1 mm ( Figs 302, 303).

Head ( Figs 317, 318): vertex smooth, consisting of two fused tufts with lateral piliform scales present close to the eyes of moth are longer than other piliform scales of tuft, projecting direct and straight anteriorly; occiput with two short separate lateral tufts of piliform scales, directed posteriorly. Frons snowy white covered with long pressed piliform scales followed by loose hanging scales on labrum. Maxillary palpus approximately as long as the eye, straight, basal palpomere is rather thick, broad at basis, with narrower terminal palpomeres, covered with lose, dirty white scales. Labial palpus slightly longer than maxillary palpus, ca. 1.5× diameter of the eye, dirty white at inner side and dark ochreous at the outer side, directed straightforward, covered with small tightly suppressed scales. Proboscis yellow rolled. Antenna as long as forewing or slightly longer, dorsally ochreous, with very strong golden shine, each flagellomere contain numerous tiny brown lines, flagellomeres with narrow brown apices, antenna not ringed; ventrally light ochreous; pedicel slightly shorter and thicker than the following flagellomere, dirty white on anterior part; scape rather long, approximately as long as three flagellomeres, equally thick at base and at apex, dirty white on anterior part, with long hanging shiny golden pecten of more or less the same length.

Thorax ( Figs 302, 303, 331, 333): snowy white, tegula ochreous, concolourous with the ground colour of forewing. Forewing elongated, equally broad along all its length, with gently rounded apex, ground colour equally ochreous with white not margined markings. Costal margin with 5–6 white markings of which two are oblique costal strigulae and the sub-apical costal markings are dots, short or comma-shaped stripes, dorsal margin white with two short oblique strigulae, one at sub-basal area, the other at mid of dorsal margin, sub-apical part of dorsal margin is decorated with two long, oblique, thin strigulae just reaching the mid of forewing, white semi-round spot on pretornal area; apical spot small but clearly round, black, nested on ochreous spot, with a small white dot-like spot at apex and a broad horizontal white patch at tornus; apical line with tiny interruptions, fuscous brown. The fringe line is only at apical area. Fringe is golden ochreous, shorter 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, slightly 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 femur ochreous, fore tibia and fore tarsus fuscous, epiphysis present, tip of fore leg fuscous; mid femur dirty white, mid tibia with interchanged three dirty white and fuscous ochreous patches, tarsomere I dirty white, tarsomere II dirty white with fuscous base, terminal tarsomeres light ochreous, tibial spurs fuscous and dirty white, tip of mid tarsus dark ochreous; hind femur dirty white with ochreous band at sub-base, hind tibia with much broader apical part than the basal one, 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, dirty white with a dark tip, apical spurs significantly shorter (ca. half of the length of median ones), dirty white with dark fuscous apices; tarsomere I dirty white, tarsomeres II–IV with fuscous bases and apices, tarsomere V grey, the tip of hind tarsus black.

Abdomen ( Figs 302, 330, 332, 373, 380): shining ochreous on tergites I–III, fuscous grey on tergites IV–VII, ochreous white on genital segments; sternites dirty white, four ochreous oblique stripes are faint, not contrasted, but present and well noticeable at the magnification of 20×. Abdominal opening arc-shaped, lateral sides of abdominal opening on sternum II broadly and strongly sclerotised; posterior corners of abdominal opening angulated; sternal apodemes absent; sclerotised sides of the sternal plate take the role of support; ventral crossing joint thin complete almost straight, sternal plate situated at a short distance from ventral crossing joint, anterior margin unequally sclerotised, lightly sinuating in the middle; tergal apodemes slender, slightly approaching each other in the middle, reaching posterior 1/3 of sternum II, connected by a midsized, well-sclerotised joint; the penultimate abdominal segment in males with two pairs of prolonged semi-oval (aubergine-shaped) strongly sclerotised plates that bear very long and thin coremata; the posterior margin of the ultimate last abdominal segment in males with prolonged ellipsoid-shaped plate bearing lamellar scales, the basal part of this ellipsoid-shaped plate is covered by a long, triangular, with gently rounded top another plate, the anterior margin of which is decorated by tiny small sclerotised dots; the posterior margin of segment VI in females lightly sclerotised; the anterior margin of every segment in both sexes males and females finely but visibly sclerotised.

Male genitalia ( Figs 349–352): Tegumen long triangular; teguminal arms are thin, strongly sclerotised; sub-scaphium well-developed, narrow, long, truncate, protruding the apex of tegumen, tegumen is fully sclerotised, so the genital cavity is rather small, there is a dorsal supportive plate at the basal part of tegumen; valva of midsize width, slightly sinuating posteriorly at mid part, ventral margin of costal valva with digitiform appendix at sub-apical part, inner surface of valva; densely setose with thin standing setae of the same length; sacculus broad; ca. twice as broad as valva, gently acuminating towards apical part, ventral margin of sacculus is folded at the basal part, sub-apical part of the ventral margin roughly dentate and tuberculate; transtilla absent; basal appendages of valvae are long, almost meet at the mid of the cavity of genital capsule, basal appendages of the ventral margin of valva are slender, curved, just not meet each other; vinculum V-shaped with strongly developed lateral sides, that are folded, all inner sutures dividing vinculum into left and right sides are clearly visible; saccus mid-sized, rather thick, digitiform with gently rounded anterior part. Aedeagus ca. as long as valva, rather thick in girth, with enlarged, bulb-shaped coecum and narrowing vesica with a tiny appendage at the tip; vesica with numerous tiny wrinkles, the main body of aedeagus with two long dentate sutures that take the role of cornuti.

Female genitalia ( Figs 364–366): Papillae anales and segment VIII are fused to a long strongly acuminating ovipositor with sharp anterior part.Apophyses posteriores strong, thick, and straight, fused at ovipositor and segment VII, separate and distancing from each other from sub-anterior margin of segment VII, ends at mid part of corpus of bursae; apophyses anteriores initiate at anterior margin of segment VII, as strong and as thick as apophyses posteriores, end at mid part of ductus bursae, just beyond the apophyses posteriores; posterior margin of segment VII with V-shaped indentation; mid part of sternum VII with fused side mirroring sterigmatic sclerotisation that surrounds the ostium bursae; ostium bursae opens at sub-posterior part of sternum VII; antrum tubular, strongly sclerotised, broad in girth; colliculum as several fused long lineal sclerotisations that extend along the entire length of ductus bursae; ductus bursae rather thick in girth, with collicular sclerotisation, the distinction between corpus and ductus bursae is clearly evident. Corpus bursae short sac-shaped, mid part with a tuberculate area of the corpus bursae wall, signum one dentiform of mid-size, situated in the mid part of bursal wall, bulla seminalis irregularly shaped, smaller than corpus bursae, ductus seminalis, short, wide in girth as wide as ductus bursae.

Individual variation: a slight variation is observed in the ornamentation of the forewing: in the shape and size of white short stripes and the shape of small spots.

Bionomics: The host plant of this species is known: Glochidion philippicum (Cav.) C.B.Rob. ( Phyllanthaceae ). The biological/ecological character attributed to this species is the feeding mode on Glochidion fruits. The feeding period is in early February. The flight period of this species starts in mid-February.

Mitogenomic data: The mitochondrial sequences from the holotype and two paratypes from the same location are identical and only weakly supported as a sister to E. acrobaphes ( Fig. 637) .

Distribution: Known only from the type locality: Australia: Queensland, Kuranda.

Etymology: The specific epithet philippa is derived from the species-group name of the host plant Glochidion philippicum . The species name is a noun of the feminine gender in the nominative case that has been formed following the rules of Latin grammar and agrees in gender with the generic name (Art. 31.2.).