Cuphodes niphadias ( Turner, 1913 )

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 : 66-68

Cuphodes niphadias ( Turner, 1913)

( Figs 60, 73, 74, 82, 109, 110, 130, 134, 637)

“ Phrixosceles niphadias , n. sp. ”—Turner, A.J., 1913. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 38: 186. https:// www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/6407215

Cuphodes niphadias — Turner 1940: 53; Nielsen & Kumata 1996: 48; De Prins & De Prins 2005: 167.

Type locality: [ Australia], N.[orth] Q.[ueensland], Cairns.

Type specimens: Holotype, 2 paratypes (♂ and ♀), coll. Turner; in ANIC (Canberra).

Specimens examined: Holotype: without abdomen (labels verbatim) [1] Cairns/ 1900 Oct. [ober] [2] ANIC Database No./31 010798. [3] Cyphosticha TYPE/ niphadias Turn. [4] HOLOTYPE / Cuphodes / niphadias Turn., DNA sample (one leg) NULT023222, in ANIC (Canberra).

Additional specimens examined: Specimen 1(♀): Queensland: Cairns dist. , F. P. Dodd, DNA sample NULT023107, genitalia slide ANIC 6275 , ANIC Acc. no 31 085618, in ANIC ( Canberra ). Specimen 2 (♀): Australia N.T. [Northern Territory], 12.25°S 130.49°E, East Point NR [National Reserve], Darwin em.[emerged], 14 February 1998, T. & M. Kumata, Host 5819, Diospyros calycantha, DNA sample NULT023064, ANIC 6247 , ANIC Acc. no 31 085591 ( Figs 60, 73, 74, 82). Specimen 3 (♀): same collecting data except the date 15 February 1998. Host 5819. Diospyros calycantha O. Schwarz ( Ebenaceae ), DNA sample NULT022940, genitalia slide ANIC 6246 , ANIC Acc. no 31 085592. 4 specimens: same collecting data. Specimen 8: same collecting data, except the date 17 February 1998. Specimen 9: same collecting data, except the date 16 February 1998. Specimen 10: same collecting data, except the date 15 February 1998, in ANIC (Canberra) .

Note: Three externally cryptic species C. calycanthae sp. nov., C. drypette sp. nov. and C. niphadias are involved in the series of 10 specimens collected in the same locality, in the same time period, and reared from the same host Diospyros calycanthae O. Schwarz ( Ebenaceae ). All three species can be easily diagnosed by internal morphology (female genitalia characters) and mitogenomics. Wing pattern ornamentation might vary and depend upon the freshness of specimens. Therefore, the correct identification can be performed only by dissection of specimens and /or studying their DNA.

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

Diagnosis. Cuphodes niphadias is similar externally to Cuphodes drypette sp. nov. and C. calycanthae sp. nov. All these three species cannot be identified based exclusively on external characters. For specific diagnosis micromorphology and/or mitogenomic DNA data are obligatory, since all three externally cryptic species occur in the same locality, mine or active as adults at the same time and feed on the same host plant Diospyros calycantha O. Schwarz. ( Ebenaceae ). Following the female genital morphology C. niphadias and C. drypette sp. nov. share simplified sterigma on sternum VII, long narrow flexible ductus bursae with very clear distinction between ductus and corpus bursae, and thick squamous wall of corpus bursae. The diagnostic differences between both species are as follows: the position of ostium bursae: in C. niphadias it is situated on anterior margin of sternum VII, while in C. drypette sp. nov. it is situated in sub-posterior sector of sternum VII; sterigma is very simplified in C. niphadias , while in C. drypette sp. nov. it is an invagination with many melanised wrinkles. The biggest difference is in the shape of signum: in C. drypette sp. nov. is a small ring with slightly enlarged anterior side while in C. niphadias is a huge pyriform sclerotised structure occupying more than half of posterior sector of corpus bursae with large funnel-shaped anterior margin. Following the mitogenomic data Cuphodes niphadia s is the sister species of C. drypette sp. nov.

Morphological diagnostic characterisation: Wingspan 4.4–6.1 mm; length of the forewing 2.0– 2.9 mm ( Figs 60, 73, 74).

Head ( Figs 73, 74): vertex with a tuft of shining snowy white, lifted, brushed, piliform scales, directed anteriorly; occiput with two fused tufts of snowy white scales directed posteriorly. Frons concolourous with vertex, shiny white, smooth, slightly darker ochreous tint on labrum. Maxillary palpus very short, hardly perceptible, white. Labial palpus glabrous, thin, long, ca. as long as 2.5× diameter of the eye, shining white, with slightly curved, sharply pointed apex. Proboscis light yellow.Antenna slightly (ca. 1/5×) longer than forewing, dirty white anteriorly and light ochreous posteriorly, ventrally of the same shading as dorsally, dirty white anteriorly and light ochreous posteriorly; pedicel slightly shorter than the following flagellomere, with a tiny spot of dark grey scales at posterior lateral side; scape shining white, dilated at margin with a small ochreous spot on posterior lateral side, a few long shining white pecten present.

Thorax ( Fig. 60, 83): snowy white, tegula white with golden ochreous bases. Forewing narrowly elongated, costal and dorsal margins run parallel, forewing slightly narrowing at apex, ground colour white with faint golden, light ochreous and yellow markings. Three short abrupted golden ochreous costal and dorsal stripes form the basal group of ornaments, thin, curved, irregularly shaped lines form the distinct group of ornaments at the mid of forewing, a distinctive yellow apical patch with oblique basal margin with a narrow m-shaped white stripe crossing this sub-apical patch is the most eye catching: apical line not perceptible. The fringe line is not defined. Fringe grey ochreous, matte, without shine, with the darkest shade at tornal area, shorter at tornus, the longest at sub-apical part and again shortening towards base of forewing. Hindwing narrow, elongate, sharply pointed, ground colour fuscous with dark ochreous shading, fringe long, ca. 6× longer than the width of hindwing at the base, concolourous with the colour of hindwing, the longest piliform scales hanging at the base of the dorsum of the hindwing. Fore femur white, fore tibia dirty white with ochreous fuscous epiphysis, tarsomeres unicoloured ochreous fuscous; mid femur and tibia white with golden shine, mid tibia rather thick covered with lose scales with long sharp thin spiculose apices, tarsus rather thick, white, also covered with lose scales, long thin hanging spiculose scales continue on tarsomere I, tip of mid leg dark ochreous; hind femur white, hind tibia thinner than mid tibia, white, covered with long shiny white spiculose scales of different lengths; median spurs long, as long as about 2/3 of tibia length, white with a black spot at sub-apex, apical spurs slightly shorter than tarsomere I, white, tarsomere I white, with dark ochreous sub-apical spot, covered with loose, thin, piliform scales, placed in two tufts of radially directed spiculose scales; tarsomere II dirty white with ochreous apical half, tarsomere III dirty white, tarsomeres IV–V dark fuscous, the tip of hind tarsus dark fuscous.

Abdomen ( Figs 82, 130): tergites fuscous or dark grey, except genital segments that are dirty white. Sternites light grey or white with a very strong silver shine. No lateral stripes are present. Margins of abdominal opening on sternum II narrowly but strongly sclerotised, opening itself is triangular, ventral crossing joint very slightly concave, very narrowly sclerotised; corners of abdominal opening gently rounded, with tiny triangular appendages, sternal apodemes initiating at the corners of abdominal opening are sclerotised, thin, short, with very sharp apices; tergal apodemes initiate at the sides of the margin on tergum I, slender, strongly bent at midden part, entering the posterior 1/3 of sternum II; a horizontal mid fold is present on tergum I and tergum II. Sternum VI in females without any sclerotisations.

Male genitalia: No data.

Female genitalia ( Figs 109, 110): Papillae anales flattened, fused with their ventral surfaces? and deeply immersed into segment VIII. Segment VIII, short reduced, weakly sclerotised; apophyses posteriores with broad bases sharply narrowing towards slightly bent apices, that enter the posterior margin of segment VII; apophyses anteriores not perceptible; segment VII weakly sclerotised with open broad semiring along posterior margin of sternum VII, mid part of sternum VII open without any sterigmatic sclerotisations; ostium bursae opens at anterior margin of sternum VII, proceeded by short, strongly sclerotised funnel-shaped antrum; ductus bursae, narrow and flexible channel. Corpus bursae plum-shaped with thick melanised and tuberculose wall, signum is huge, occupying about half of the ventral surface of corpus bursae—pyriform with strongly sclerotised margins and enlarged, triangular anterior part. Ductus seminalis enters ductus bursae at the conjunction of ductus and corpus bursae.

Individual variation: the species shows a rather wide variation in forewing pattern: the colour of ornaments may vary from light ochreous, beige to fuscous. Also, the shape of ornaments is variable from more or less geometrical triangles till irregular patchers or broad irregularly shaped stripes.

BOLD data: No data.

GenBank data: No data.

Mitogenomic data: The mitochondrial genomes of the sequenced specimens show large intraspecific genetic differences of approximately 4% uncorrected pairwise distance, which reflects the large geographic distance of approximately 1,700 km between the collecting sites ( NT, Darwin and QLD, Cairns). While the monophyly of the species as here considered is maximally supported by all analyses, additional specimens need to be sequenced to determine if the present specimens belong to a single or two species. The species as here considered is sister to C. drypette sp. nov., maximally supported in all analyses ( Fig. 637).

Bionomics. Cuphodes niphadias feeds on Diospyros calycantha ( Fig. 134), new record. The mining period is expected about the first decade of February. The flight period starts in the second decade of February.

Distribution: Australia: Queensland ( Turner 1913: 186); Northern Territory, Darwin, new record.