Pharcidopsychinae, Saigusa & Sugimoto, 2025

Saigusa, Toyohei & Sugimoto, Mika, 2025, Pharcidopsyche novemplicata, a curious new genus and species of the Psychidae, representing new subfamily Pharcidopsychinae (Lepidoptera, Tineoidea), Zootaxa 5575 (4), pp. 501-519 : 502-508

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5575.4.1
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:E5081FCD-8E80-4F7C-B882-F812F62C474A
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14893064
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/3774878C-FFF3-095E-7281-FA5DFB66FA33
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Pharcidopsychinae
status

Treatment

Subfamily Pharcidopsychinae , subf. nov.

Type genus: Pharcidopsyche , gen. nov.

Adult: Both sexes functionally winged ( Figs. 1A View FIGURE 1 , 2A View FIGURE 2 ). Head without ocelli ( Fig. 3B View FIGURE 3 ); antenna filiform, short, nearly 1/4 as long as forewing, flagellomeres in male scaled dorsally and ciliate ventrally ( Figs. 3E, F, G View FIGURE 3 ), in female encircled with scales; labial palpus ( Fig. 3D View FIGURE 3 ) 3-segmented, moderately long; maxillary palpus reduced to 2 globular minute palpomeres ( Fig. 3C View FIGURE 3 ); galea minute ( Fig. 3C View FIGURE 3 ). Wings ( Fig. 4C View FIGURE 4 ); Forewing Rs with 3 branches, M with 3 branches, CuA2 bent subbasally, with a short stump representing fused apex of faint CuP; accessory cell present; M in discoidal cell simple, not forked; hindwing venation complete, M in discoidal cell simple. Legs ( Fig. 4F View FIGURE 4 ): Foreleg short, tibia with a short epiphysis ( Fig. 4G View FIGURE 4 ); mid- and hindlegs moderately long; mid tibia with pair of apical spurs; hind tibia with each pair of apical and median spurs. Male genitalia ( Figs. 5A–E View FIGURE 5 , Fig. 6 View FIGURE 6 ) unique for psychids; dorsum extensively membranous; vinculum extraordinary widened on ventral part, not produced to saccus; valva with sclerotized processes on inner wall of harpe, without distal spinules; phallus thick, tapered distally and with finely pointed apex. Mesoscutellum with suberecting brush of long scales ( Figs. 1D, E View FIGURE 1 , Figs. 2D, E View FIGURE 2 ). Female corethrogyne ( Fig. 2G View FIGURE 2 ) dense and completely encircling 7th abdominal segment; female terminalia ( Fig. 7 View FIGURE 7 ) with well sclerotized lamella antevaginalis (sternum 8) tapered distally to prominent ostium bursae; apophyses anteriores and posteriores rather short, apophysis ventralis lacking.

Larva ( Fig. 8 View FIGURE 8 ): Prolegs of 6th abdominal segment absent, those of 4th abdominal segment unusually shifted laterally. Larval case ( Fig. 9 View FIGURE 9 ): Long, slender, with 9 longitudinal pleats throughout the length, what permits to swell part of case there the larva or pupa stays.

Larva ( Figs. 9B, C View FIGURE 9 ) feed on hard mushrooms or white mycelia covering rotten logs.

This new subfamily is quite distinct from other subfamilies of Psychidae in lacking the larval prolegs on the 6th abdominal segment. The larval case is also unique in having nine longitudinal pleats. The vein CuP of the forewing is uniquely fused distally with subbasal portion of the vein CuA2, a state that otherwise is found only in the Degia group in Psychidae , which is now assigned to the subfamily Typhoniinae ( Sobczyk, 2009) .