A peculiar new species of gall-inducing, clearwing moth (Lepidoptera, Sesiidae) associated with Cayaponia in the Atlantic Forest

Abstract

Larvae of most clearwing moths (Lepidoptera, Sesiidae) are endophagous borers of many angiosperms, including their fruits, stems, and roots. Their localized feeding may lead to swellings on those plant parts, but whether the structures produced should be considered true galls is still controversial. In this study we describe a peculiar sesiid moth, Neospheciacecidogenasp. nov. whose larvae induce unusual, external galls on Cayponiapilosa (Vell.) Cogn. (Cucurbitaceae) in the Atlantic Forest of southernmost Brazil. The adults, egg, larva, pupa and the gall are described and illustrated based on light and scanning electron microscopy. Galls are cylindrical and unilocular; they are induced individually on axillary buds of the C.pilosa stem. Unlike larvae of other sesiids, those of N.cecidogenasp. nov. lack abdominal pseudopodia, and show reduced stemata and chaetotaxy. Pupation occurs inside the gall, after having overwintered in the last larval instar. A maximum likelihood tree constructed based on mitochondrial DNA (COI) sequences showed that N.cecidogenasp. nov. is monophyletic and has an average distance of 13% to species of Melittia. The genera Neosphecia Le Cerf, 1916 stat. rev., Premelittia Le Cerf, 1916 stat rev., and Melittina Le Cerf, 1917 stat. rev. are restored from synonyms of Melittia Hübner, 1819 [“1816”].

Larvae of grassland caterpillar endemic to Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (Lepidoptera: Lymantriinae: Gynaephora): identification, distribution, and ultramorphology

“…3, 4, S2; i.e., Sensilla basiconica, Sensilla chaetica, Sensilla trichodea, and Sensilla styloconica) on the antennae and mouthparts of the mature larvae of G. menyuanensis. These types of sensilla are morphologically similar to other Lepidoptera larvae that have been previously reported (e.g., Noctuidae 21 , Papilionidae 22 , Carposinidae 23 , and Sesiidae 24 ). We identi ed two varieties of Sensilla trichodea in the antennae and maxillae.…”

Establishment of Eichlinia gen.n. for the Western hemisphere Melittiini (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae), with a catalogue of the genus

“…2, fig. 7;Eichlin, 1995: 48;Pühringer, Kallies, 2004: 17;Pohl et al, 2016: 206;Moreira et al, 2019: 42, 43. Melittia snowi -McDunnough, 1939Stallings, Turner, 1944: 31. HOST PLANT.…”

“…In 2017 I confirmed that the representatives of the Neotropical taxa of Melittiini "do not belong to Melittia and must be placed elsewhere" [Gorbunov, 2017: 128]. More recently, a review of the Neotropical genera of Melittiini described by Le Cerf was published, which restored all of them from synonyms of the genus Melittia [Moreira et al, 2019]. And now it is completely clear to me that all Melittiini species of North America as well as some of those from the Neotropical region belong to another genus that has not yet been described.…”