Cuphodes albomarginata ( Stainton, 1862 ), 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 : 46-49

Cuphodes albomarginata ( Stainton, 1862) , comb. n.

( Figs 44, 45, 84–87, 102, 115, 123, 133, 637)

“ Gracilaria albo-marginata , n. sp. ”—Stainton, H.T., 1862. Transactions of the Entomological Society of London (3) 1(3): 294; pl. 10, fig. 3. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/32121248

Gracillaria albomarginata — Walker 1864: 855; Turner 1894: 120.

Cyphosticha albomarginata — Turner 1913: 186, 1940: 54; Nielsen & Kumata 1996: 48; De Prins & De Prins 2005: 168.

Type locality: [ Australia], North Australia [Northern Territory], Moreton Bay .

Type specimen: Holotype (gender unknown), thorax broken, abdomen missing, coll. Stainton ( Meyrick 1880: 166), in NHMUK (London).

Specimens examined. Specimens in Australia: Queensland: Specimen 1(♂): Yeppoon , 2 miles S, 23.1335°S 150.7374°E, 20-09-1954, Barcode of Life , DNA voucher specimen, Sample ID: 11 ANIC-16258 , BOLD Proc. ID: ANICY258-11, leg. Common I.F.B., ID: 31 053593. Specimen 2(♂): Rockhampton , Fairy Bower , 23.3786°S 150.5089°E, 14-03-1948, Barcode of Life , DNA voucher specimen, Sample ID: 11 ANIC-16259 , BOLD Proc. ID: ANICY259-11, leg. Common I.F.B., ID: 31 053594. Specimen 3(♀): Rockhampton , The Caves , 23.3786°S 150.5089°E, 01-04-1948, Barcode of Life , DNA voucher specimen, Sample ID: 11 ANIC-16260 , BOLD Proc. ID: ANICY260-11, leg. Common I.F.B., ID: 31 053595. Specimen 4(♂) ( Figs 44, 86, 87): Rockhampton , The Caves , 23.3786°S 150.5089°E, 01-04-1948, leg. Common I.F.B., DNA sample NULT022782, genitalia slide ANIC 6298 , ANIC Acc. no 31 085630. Specimen 5(♂) ( Figs 84, 85) Yeppoon, 23.1335°S 150.7374°E, 03-02-1948, leg. Common I.F.B., DNA sample NULT022904, genitalia slide ANIC 6299 , ANIC Acc. no 31 085631. Specimen 6(♀): Rockhampton, Fairy Bower, 23.3786°S 150.5089°E, 22-03-1948, Common I.F.B. Specimen 7(♀) ( Fig. 45): Rockhampton, The Caves, 23.3786°S 150.5089°E, 01-04-1948, leg. Common I.F.B., DNA sample NULT023028, genitalia slide ANIC 6300 , ANIC Acc. no 31 085644. Specimen 8(♂): Brisbane, 27.4705°S 153.0260°E, 01-03- 1910, leg. Common I.F.B. Specimen 9(♀): Coolangatta, 28.1703°S 153.5305°E, 04-09-1913, leg. Common I.F.B., in ANIC (Canberra) .

Morphological diagnostic characterisation ( Figs 44, 45): Wingspan 5.5–7.0 mm; length of the forewing 3.1–3.4 mm. Head: vertex smooth, white with some ochreous infusion at lateral sides of vertex, occiput covered with two lateral tufts of piliform scales, ochreous fuscous at base and white at apex, frons white with rounded fuscous ochreous dots at dorsal margin—a diagnostic character clearly separating C. albomarginata from its congenerous species; labial palpus thin, long ca. 2× length of the diameter of eye, similar in length like other Cuphodes species, however slightly thicker than labial palpus in C. callimacha and C. pandoxa . A diagnostic character distinguishing C. albomarginata from other Australian Cuphodes species that labial palpus with two strongly contrastive ochreous fuscous bands: the first one at the apical margin of palpomere I and the second at the apical margin of palpomere II; antenna slightly longer than forewing fuscous ochreous dorsally, light ochreous ventrally, scape long with thickened apical part, ochreous dorsally, shining white ventrally.

Thorax: white, forewing pattern is strongly diagnostic character separating C. albomarginata from other Cuphodes species: there is no any geometrical pattern. The forewing ground colour of C. albomarginata is unicolourous fuscous ochreous with narrow white line on costal margin with numerous very short oblique stripes toward apex; dorsal margin with numerous longer more or less straight or oblique stripes of different length but not reaching the mid of forewing. Mid legs with thick tibiae and tarsi richly covered by hanging long filiform scales, mid legs ochreous fuscous with white apical parts (tarsomeres III–V); hind tibia and hind tarsus also richly covered by hanging filiform scales that are longer, softer, than in C. callimacha and C. pandoxa . Legs in C. albomarginata are clearly bicoloured: ochreous fuscous and shining snowy white—a character easily noticeable that allows to clearly diagnose C. albomarginata from C. callimacha and C. pandoxa .

Abdomen ( Figs 115, 123): dorsally tergites dark fuscous, ventrally sternites shining white, genital terminal segments white. Margins of abdominal opening on sternum II broadly and strongly sclerotised, ventral crossing joint trapezoid sclerotised with slight curve at the mid part, narrowly but strongly sclerotised; corners of abdominal opening gently rounded with very narrow hook-shaped bases of sternal apodemes; sternal apodemes initiating at the corners of abdominal opening are well developed, rather long, curved with very narrow sharp apices, distancing from each other, reaching almost the mid of the segment II, terminating slightly anteriad than tergal apodemes; tergal apodemes initiate at the margin on tergum I with narrow short appendages at the base; tergal apodemes rather thick, enter into the sub-posterior area of segment II apices sharp, directed towards each other. A M-shaped sclerotisation is present at the mid part of anterior area of sternum II in both sexes; a thick melanised band stretches across all segments in females, the anterior sclerotisation is like a thin short line ( Fig. 115), in males all sterna except the first one are with very clear M-shaped sclerotisation that initiates two brushes of androconial piliform coremata that are under the abdominal cuticle. The anterior sternum VII in males with a parabola-shaped bow. Two blunt conical sclerotisations that are covered with tiny tubercules and short setae are present at the anterior part of sternum VII, tergum VII terminates with broad triangular appendage. In females, terminal sclerotisations are absent but the anterior margins of all sterna are clearly and rather strongly sclerotised.

Male genitalia ( Figs 84–87): Tegumen broad, rather short with broadly rounded apex, sub-scaphium is strongly developed, broad more or less triangular-shaped with rounded apex, richly setose with long radially-directed setae; anal tube not perceptible; gnathos very big and strongly sclerotised with two horn-shaped with sharp and bent apices socii; valvae about ¼ longer than tegumen, complex, consisting of strongly protruded cucullus with trapezoid, flap-like appendage, covered with setose tubercules, sacculus folded at basal 2/3 and with free prolonged thick digitiform appendage at anterior part; ventral internal sector of valvae densely covered with long, thin, setae; except the sub-basal and basal parts that are almost setae free; basal valval apodemes are very long, forming a strong transverse support and probably act as transtilla; vinculum strongly developed, equally broad at anterior and lateral sides with partly developed central suture; saccus well developed, of median length, gently and gradually narrowing anteriorly. Aedeagus slightly shorter than valva, tubular with blunt vesica; an area with tiny scobinations is present on distant part of the aedeagus body and basal part of vesica; one long broad cornutus extends upon the along the anterior 2/3 of aedeagus, coecum not sclerotised, irregular-shaped.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 102). Papillae anales flattened, strongly fused. Segment VIII, short reduced, strongly sclerotised; apophyses posteriores rather thick, short with broader bases and blunt, slightly bent apices, reaching the posterior margin of segment VII; apophyses anteriores initiate at segment VIII with broad sclerotised basal semi-ring, anterior part narrow with curved sharp apices that reach posterior 1/3 of segment VII; the sclerotisation degree of segment VII is medial, the posterior half is stronger sclerotised than the anterior half; sterigma simple, with lightly sclerotised folds; ostium bursae opens at the ultimate posterior edge of segment VII which is partly covered by segment VI; antrum as very broad funnel-shaped and strongly sclerotised; it has a melanised ring at the posterior margin of segment VII and a strongly sclerotised ring at the joint with ductus bursae; ductus bursae very broad, broadening towards corpus bursae; though ductus bursae is broad but the transition of ductus bursae to corpus bursae is very well detectable. Corpus bursae prolonged bulb-shaped with two signa: one boomerang-shaped signum at the basal part of corpus bursae, just beyond the joint of ductus bursae, the second signum as a short furshaped sclerotisation at mid of the wall of corpus bursae; bulla seminalis at sub-posterior part of segment VII, ductus seminalis long with numerous convolutions that overlap each other.

BOLD data: https://www.boldsystems.org/index.php/Public_SearchTerms?query=%22 Cyphosticha %20albomargi nata%22[tax]

GenBank data: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/?term= Cyphosticha+albomarginata

Mitogenomic data: Comprising part of the big clade Cuphodes ; sister lineage of Cuphodes leucoptera sp. nov. ( Fig. 637).

Bionomics: Cocoon is oval with thickly vowed margins and more or less transparent upper surface; some bubbles of different sizes are scattered on the upper surface of cocoon. Exuvia of bright ochreous colour is protruding until the tips of appendages of the prothoracic legs, frontoclypeus, semi-rounded, strongly sclerotised, dark brown ( Fig. 133).

Distribution: Australia: Northern Territory ( Stainton 1862: 294), Queensland ( Turner 1894: 120).