Illustrated review of the leaf-mining Nepticulidae of the central Andes (Peru and Bolivia)

Abstract

We review forty-five species of Nepticulidae (Lepidoptera) based on an analysis of samples collected in the central Andean region of Peru and Bolivia. Thirteen of these species are new to science, and are named and described here: Stigmella paracosma Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov., S. expressa Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov., S. acalyphae Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., S. lepida Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., S. misera Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., S. inca Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., S. eiffeli Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., S. arequipica Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov., S. coronaria Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., S. azulella Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., S. sparsella Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., Manoneura forcipis Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., and Acalyptris murex Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov. Some of the central Andean species are recorded here as leaf-miners on Euphorbiaceae (Acalypha), Fabaceae (Collaea), Rosaceae (Polylepis), Malvaceae (Sida), Calceolariaceae (Calceolaria), Lamiaceae (Clinopodium), and Asteraceae (Ageratina and Trixis). We create eleven new species groups based on morphological characters designated in Stigmella and one in Acalyptris. A pictorial key to the species groups and distribution maps are provided. All new species are illustrated with 150 photographs and drawings of the adults and genitalia, and, where known and/or available, photographs of host-plants and leaf-mines.

The mystery of the tiny Urticaceae-feeders: documentation of the first leaf-mining Nepticulidae (Lepidoptera) species from equatorial America associated with Phenax, Boehmeria and Pilea

“…In South America, Urticaceae-mining Nepticulidae are from six records, representing specific leaf-mines of an unknown taxon and four named species: Stigmella singularia Diškus Generic composition of this Urticaceaefeeding fauna is very uniform: all species belong to the genus Stigmella Schrank. The dominance of Stigmella among the Urticaceae-feeders in South America is not an artifact as it is in the case of species feeding on Rosaceae (Stonis et al, 2016b), Asteraceae (Stonis et al, 2016a(Stonis et al, , 2016c(Stonis et al, , 2017b, or Lamiaceae (Stonis et al, in prep.). The genus Stigmella is the world's most widespread and diverse group of Nepticulidae, occurring in very different habitats.…”

The American species of the genus Glaucolepis Braun, 1917 (Neotrifurcula van Nieukerken, syn. nov.) (Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae)

“…With respect to the male genitalia, this is a peculiar species. Its taxonomic position remained unclear for a long time (Stonis et al 2017). The previously published hand drawings of the genitalia of the lectotype slide 28965, BMNH (Puplesis & Robinson 2000: Figs 203, 204;Stonis et al 2017: Fig.…”

“…not as a subgenus), e.g. by Wilkinson & Scoble (1979); Puplesis (1985Puplesis ( , 1992Puplesis ( , 1994; Puplesis et al (1996); Puplesis & Robinson (2000); ; ; Navickaitė et al (2011Navickaitė et al ( , 2014a; Stonis et al (2016Stonis et al ( , 2017; Remeikis (2017). In some other publications Glaucolepis (=Fedalmia Beirne) was treated as a subgenus of Trifurcula Zeller, 1848 (e.g., Scoble 1983;van Nieukerken 1986a, b;Johansson et al 1990;Laštůvka & Laštůvka, 2000;van Nieukerken et al 2004;Laštůvka et al 2007Laštůvka et al , 2013Ivinskis et al 2012).…”

“…the Western Hemisphere (Braun 1917;Wilkinson & Scoble 1979;Puplesis & Robinson 2000;Puplesis et al 2002;Stonis et al 2016Stonis et al , 2017; Europe, reaching the highest diversity in the Mediterranean (e.g. Chrétien 1904Chrétien , 1907Chrétien , 1914Parenti 1963;Klimesh 1975Klimesh , 1978Klimesh , 1979Johansson et al 1990; van Nieukerken & Puplesis 1991;Puplesis 1994;Laštůvka & Laštůvka 1997, 1998, 2007van Nieukerken et al 2004Laštůvka et al 2013;Navickaitė et al 2014a, b); North Africa (Chrétien 1914(Chrétien , 1915; Asia (Puplesis 1985;van Nieukerken & Puplesis 1991;Puplesis 1994;Puplesis et al 1996;, including one species from southwestern India ; and South America (Puplesis & Robinson 2000;Puplesis et al, 2002;van Nieukerken et al 2016a;Stonis et al 2016Stonis et al , 2017, including two new species described from Argentina and Chile in this paper. Doorenweerd et al (2016) stated that more new species could possibly occur in East Asia and other regions.…”

Adenogasteria leguminivora Davis & Vargas gen. et sp. nov. (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae): a new seed‐feeding micromoth associated with Fabaceae in Peru and Chile

“…Only three of the 21 species of Gracillariidae recorded in Peru are Ornixolinae , a surprisingly small number considering the high diversity of environments and plants in that country and where recent fieldwork has revealed previously unknown diversity in other families of host-specialist leaf miner micromoths (e.g. Stonis et al 2017). Orrillo et al (2016) described the biology of an unidentified pest species of Gracillariidae whose larvae feed on seeds of tara (Caesalpinia spinosa (Molina) Kuntze, Fabaceae) in Cajamarca, Peru.…”