Diphtheroptila glochidiella 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 : 110-113

Diphtheroptila glochidiella De Prins, Sruoga & Zwick , sp. nov.

( Figs 149, 170, 171, 202, 203, 245–247, 259, 269, 277, 638)

Type locality: Australia, Queensland, Kuranda.

Type specimens: Holotype ♀: [labels verbatim] [1] Australia QLD [Queensland]/ 16.49°S 145.38°E /Kuranda em.[erged]/ 3 Feb 1997 / T. & M. Kumata. [2] Host 5708/ Glochidion /sp., DNA sample NULT024780, genitalia slide ANIC 6186 , ANIC Acc. no 31 085534, in ANIC (Canberra).

Paratype ♀: Australia, Queensland, Kuranda, 16.49S 145.38E, 08 February 1997, T. & M. Kumata. Host 5708, Glochidion sp. ( Phyllanthaceae ), DNA sample NULT024902, genitalia slide ANIC 6187, ANIC Acc. no 31 085566, in ANIC (Canberra).

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

Diagnosis: Despite the fact, that this species feeds on the same hostplant Glochidion sp. (Herbarium number 5708) as D. cornuta sp. nov. and D. virosae sp. nov., nevertheless, Diphtheroptila glochidiella sp. nov. is placed as a sister to all other Diphtheroptila species in the codon analyses. However, this placement lacks statistical support and should be considered unresolved ( Fig. 638). Moreover, morphological characters in external habitus as described below and internal micromorphology of female genitalia separates D. glochidiella sp. nov. from the rest of species belonging to the genus Diphtheroptila . The ground colour is brown, without any ornamentation except sub-apical and apical parts, with a very clear, contrasting dorsal marginal band of irregular shape. Apical spot is very clearly visible. The decorative scales hanging from the second palpomere of labial palpus are very long, longer than the labial palpus itself. Hind tibia covered with rough ochreous scales, also a row of erected spines along tibia is present as in the complex of Diphtheroptila species feeding on the same host plant. This character clearly indicates that this new species belongs to Ornixolinae . Diagnosis of this species might not be supported by bionomic data and biology, because Diphtheroptila glochidiella sp. nov. feeds on the same host plant, at the same time period and in the same locality as other species belonging to the Diphtheroptila species complex: D. glochidia sp. nov. and D. virosae sp. nov. The reliable data sets for diagnosis are found in internal morphology and mitogenomics ( Fig. 638). In female genitalia, the following characters diagnose Diphtheroptila glochidiella sp. nov. from the sister Diphtheroptila species:

● Apophyses anteriores are present in many Diphtheroptila spp. , but absent in D. glochidiella sp. nov.

● Ostium bursae in D. glochidiella sp. nov. opens in central part, more situated to posterior part of segment

VII, while in many other Diphtheroptila ostium bursae opens at anterior part of segment VII.

● Ductus bursae is partly sclerotised or placed in a sclerotised fold in other Diphtheroptila species, walls of ductus bursae are fully and entirely sclerotised in D. glochidiella sp. nov.

The very different and diagnostic wing pattern with snowy white broad horizontal stripes on dorsal margin in D. glochidiella sp. nov. and oblique narrow, dirty white-ochreous, indistinctive fasciae, crossing the forewing in D. glochidia sp. nov. and D. virosae sp. nov., as well as general habitus of adult and the set of mitogenomic characters separate D. glochidiella sp. nov. easily from D. glochidia sp. nov., D. virosae sp. nov. that feed on the same host plant, at the same time period and in the same locality. The reliable data sets for diagnosis are found in the external morphology of habitus and wing pattern, internal morphology (female genitalia) as described below and mitogenomics.

Description: Wingspan 5.5–5.9 mm; length of the forewing ca. 2.6–2.9 mm ( Fig. 149).

Head ( Figs 170, 171): Vertex snowy white with just a few ochreous scales forming a very thin line from occiput to the top of vertex, occiput covered with two tufts of short piliform scales initiating at base of eyes and radiating to all directions. Frons is shiningly white, of the same colour and shading as vertex. Maxillary palpus small, thin, white, not easily detectable, basal palpomere with some ochreous shading, second palpomere has a pencil of white long, piliform scales, directed upwards, proboscis glabrous, light ochreous. Labial palpus porrect, curved upwards, ca. as long as 2× diameter of eye, with impressively long piliform scales, dark brown from outside and snowy white from inside, terminal palpomere glabrous, snowy white, with blunt apex. Antenna light fuscous ochreous, flagellomeres with fuscous longitudinal lines and shining golden apices, not ringed, ventrally light ochreous, pedicel as long as the following flagellomere, darker ochreous; scape is significantly longer, than the following flagellomeres, ca. as long as two following flagellomeres, dirty white dorsally and ventrally, with dark brown thin lateral line anteriorly.

Thorax ( Figs 149, 203): White of the same colour as vertex; tegula light ochreous, dirty white at lateral half, neighbouring thorax ( Fig. 149). Forewing narrowly elongated along all its length, apex gently rounded, ground colour brown with dark brown median and costal sub-apical parts of the forewing; dorsal margin white, broader at basal half and narrower at apical half of the forewing irregularly margined with dark brown stripes and patches; apical half of dorsal white stripe is interrupted at sub-apex by irregular reverse y-shaped patch which is connected with a transverse interrupted fascia that consists of a row of light ochreous dots; apical part of this species is well decorated, two oblique stripes, one shorter and one longer at costal margin followed by a dark fuscous triangular patch, thick black transverse line crosses apex; apical spot distinct, round, black, bordered by a clear white spot at costa and white thick stripe at tornus, apical line dark brown, repeated by double fringe line, since fringe scales at tornus are dark fuscous at bases and apices, with median part white. Hindwing narrow, elongate, sharply pointed, ground colour ochreous grey, fringe shorter at costa and long, ca. 6× longer than the width of hindwing at the base, with the longest piliform scales hanging at the base of the dorsum of the hindwing. Fore femur ochreous, fore tibia ochreous fuscous, tarsomere I brown at basal half and white at apical half, tarsomere II white with brown basis, tarsomere III dark brown at basal half and white at apical half, tarsomeres IV–V dark grey; mid femur and mid tibia ochreous with long fuscous patches, median spurs long, slightly longer than tarsomere I; tarsomere I dirty white with fuscous apex, tarsomeres II–V fuscous with white apical halves, tip of mid tarsus dark grey; hind femur light ochreous, hind tibia ochreous with a row of stout, erect spines arranged in a row along tibia, smaller spines continue on tarsomere 1, median spurs long, 2/3 of tibial length, dark ochreous, apical spurs short, ca. 1/3 of length of tarsomere I, dark ochreous at basal half and light ochreous in apical half, tarsomere I fuscous with lighter apex, tarsomere II ochreous with fuscous basal half, terminal tarsomeres light ochreous with slighter darker tip.

Abdomen ( Figs 202, 269): light ochreous with fuscous shading on top of tergites, shiny white with ochreous shading on anterior sternites, lateral sides of abdomen (tergites and sternites) with four oblique dark brown stripes. Abdominal opening rather small, shaped as an triangle with longer lateral sides, margins of abdominal opening on sternum II strongly sclerotised, ventral crossing joint is narrowly sclerotised, ventral crossing joint almost straight, very slightly convex anteriorly; sternal apodemes initiating at the corners of abdominal opening are well developed, rather long, slightly shorter than 1/3 of segment II, very slightly bent, slender, with sharp apices; tergal apodemes initiate at sub-anterior part of abdominal opening with a short, angulated appendage; tergal apodemes rather long, terminating at mid of segment II, with blunt apices. No sclerotisations on anterior margin of other segments, except the posterior margin of segment VI. Segment VI is not additionally sclerotised.

Male genitalia: No data.

Female genitalia ( Figs 245–247): Papillae anales flat, fused, pressed, covered with thin setae of different lengths; apophyses posteriores short, broad at bases, sharply narrowing towards apices, slightly bent with blunt apices, terminating at posterior margin of segment VIII, segment VIII is short, weakly sclerotised; apophyses anteriores absent; segment VII strongly sclerotised, with indentate sterigmatic sclerotisations at the posterior margin of sterigma; ostium bursae opening at the central part of segment VII, like broad and open hole with melanised margins; lamella ante-vaginalis bilobed, thick sclerotisation, semi-surrounding the broad opening of ductus; antrum + ductus bursae broad, tubular, strongly sclerotised, with the very clear distinction between ductus bursae and corpus bursae. Corpus bursae regularly oval, with a clearly divided wall structure into two parts: posterior part with linear melanisations of different lengths, while anterior part is tuberculose, i. e. densely covered with tiny, semi-raised tubercules; a single signum, in the form of a short, bent, sharp spine, situated at the anterior 1/3 part of abdominal wall, at the border between two structuring coverings of the wall of ductus bursae. Ductus seminalis broad, sclerotised, but in a much lower degree than ductus bursae, entering ductus bursae at anterior 1/3 of ductus bursae.

Bionomics ( Fig. 277): This species is reared from an unidentified Glochidion sp. plant ( Phyllanthaceae ) (herbarium number: host plant 5708) in early February. So, the mining period of this species coincides with the complex of Diphtheroptila species feeding on the same host plant, in the same locality and at the same time which is the first week of February. Adult moths are on the wing in early February. Pupation in a transparent cocoon, which is oval shaped, one side attached to the leaf surface; exuvium protrudes 2/3 of pupal length, at the anterior ¼ of pupal cocoon.

Mitogenomic data: While the codon model analysis places this species as sister to all other Diphtheroptila species, from the molecular point of view, this placement lacks statistical support and should be considered unresolved ( Fig. 638).

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

Etymology: The species name derives from the genus name of the host plant Glochidion with the diminutive suffix - ella. It is a noun of the feminine gender in apposition.