Dlium

NEWS - Copaquilla moth ( Plutella copaquillaensis Vargas sp. nov.) newly recognized in the genus based on adult specimens raised from larvae collected on Neuontobotrys lanata (Walp.) Al-Shehbaz (Brassicaceae) in the arid Andean highlands of northern Chile. The new species resembles Plutella xylostella Linnaeus 1758 in wing pattern, but differs in genital morphology. Plutella Schrank 1802 (Lepidoptera, Plutellidae) is a widespread genus of moths containing 26 species. The larvae feed on plants in the Brassicaceae, except for a lineage endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, whose host plants are in the Capparaceae, a member of the Brassicales closely related to the Brassicaceae and Cleomaceae. The circumscription of Plutella is controversial because of the variation in genital morphology. Unlike the large number of studies on P. xylostella , many members of this genus are poorly known. Apart from the diamondback moth, only two species have previously been recorded in Chile, Plutella deltodo...

NEWS - Chengkou meshweaver ( Cicurina chengkou sp. nov. ♂♀), Daba Mountain meshweaver ( Cicurina dabashan sp. nov. ♂♀) and long hook meshweaver ( Cicurina longihamata sp. nov. ♂♀) from Daba Mountain National Nature Reserve in Chongqing, China, were added as new species to science in Cicurina Menge 1871. Daba Mountain National Nature Reserve is located in the southern Dabashan Mountains with many intersecting valleys. The heterogeneous habitats create conditions for independent evolution of species and have given rise to many endemic species such as ferns and flowering plants, including Botrychium sutchuenense , Asplenium humistratum , Primula phagosa , and the beetle Neobisnius chengkouensis . A comprehensive survey of the biological resource background of Chongqing Daba Mountain National Nature Reserve was conducted in 2011. A total of 181 macro fungi, 3572 tracheophytes, 884 insects, 68 mammals, 233 birds, 24 reptiles, 25 amphibians, and 44 fish species were recorded. However, onl...

NEWS - Perlis fairy lantern ( Thismia perlisensis Besi & Rusea sp. nov.) was discovered during a scientific expedition in a wetland forest at the foot of a limestone hill, Perlis State Park, resembling Thismia arachnites Ridley (1905) and Thismia javanica J.J.Sm. (1910), but has a prominent reddish dome-shaped annulus. Thismia perlisensis can be easily distinguished from T. arachnites and T. javanica by its blood-red dome-shaped annulus (vs. ring-like with a rim, orange annulus), prominent trilobed stigma with bifid and subulate lobes 1.8 mm long (vs. oblong, truncated stigma), and claviform apex of inner tepal appendage (vs. subulate apex of inner tepal appendage). Stenoendemic to northern Peninsular Malaysia, Perlis State and possibly Langkawi Island. Although there have been sightings of the plant on Langkawi Island, this location is based solely on photos posted on social media. There are currently no specimens or additional information to confirm. The new species grows in...

NEWS - Fuwen Wei forester moth ( Thibetana weii Li & He, sp. nov.) was found in Galongla Snow Mountain, southeastern Xizang, China, becoming the seventh species in Thibetana Efetov & Tarmann 1995 which has distribution in southwest China and Indian Sikkim. Thibetana (Zygaenidae, Procridinae) was assigned to Artona sieversi Alphéraky, 1892. This genus includes 6 species with distribution in southwest China and Indian Sikkim. Three species are known from China. Now researchers report a new species to the genus based on specimens collected from Xizang, China. T. weii has forewing upperside with ovate yellow spot at base, two ovate spots near middle, and an 8-shaped yellow spot at distal part; hindwing upperside with subtriangular yellow spot and oblong yellow spot. In male genitalia, sacculus nearly rectangular, dentated on outer margin, ending with spine-like process on ventral margin. The new species is similar to Thibetana zebra (Elwes, 1890) in the pattern of the forewings...

NEWS - Guttulate freshwater fungus ( Paramirandina guttulata H.W. Shen, K.D. Hyde & Z.L. Luo, sp. nov.) is a morphologically striking hyphomycete species collected from a freshwater habitat in Dujuanhu Lake in Yunnan Province, China, at an elevation of 2500 m as new to science based on unique morphological features and combined phylogenetic analysis of LSU and ITS sequences. Paramirandina was introduced by Liu et al. (2023) to accommodate two lignicolous freshwater fungi from lotic habitats in Guizhou Province, with Paramirandina aquatica as the type species. This genus is morphologically similar to Heliocephala and Mirandina, but can be distinguished by the morphology of conidia and conidiogenous cells. During the investigation of lignicolous freshwater fungi from a highland lake in Yunnan Province, the researchers discovered the striking hyphomycete on submerged woody substrates. Detailed morphological descriptions and comprehensive phylogenetic analyses confirmed the distincti...

NEWS - Socoroma leafminer ( Cremastobombycia socoromaensis Vargas sp. nov. Lepidoptera, Gracillariidae, Lithocolletinae) from the dry highlands of the western slopes of the Andes in northern Chile with larvae mining leaves on the shrub Baccharis tola Phil. (Asteraceae) is the first record of Cremastobombycia Braun 1908 in South America. No Cremastobombycia species have been reported from South America. However, morphological examination revealed that a micromoth obtained from a leafminer collected in the arid Andean highlands of northern Chile was an undescribed species in this genus. C. socoromaensis was recognized based on wing pattern and genital morphology. The forewings of the male (3.6–3.7 mm long) are orange-brown and have indistinct creamy white markings: a short longitudinal subbasal line and three costal strigulae and two dorsal oblique strigulae. Although the female forewings (3.0–3.1 mm long) are also orange-brown with subbasal lines similar to those of the male, the fou...

NEWS - Ralph Holzenthal caddisfly ( Rhyacophila lignumvallis Graf & Rázuri-Gonzales, sp. nov.) from the island of Corsica (France) was established as a new species in the Rhyacophila tristis (Schmid 1970) group based on morphological analysis and the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (mtCOI), including sequences from 16 of the 28 species in the group. Rhyacophila Pictet 1834 with 814 living and 30 fossil species is the largest genus of caddisflies in the world, distributed mainly in the northern hemisphere, but also in temperate and tropical India and Southeast Asia. One of the groups is the R. tristis group in the branch Rhyacophila invaria . R. lignumvallis is most similar to Rhyacophila pubescens Pictet 1834, Rhyacophila tsurakiana Malicky 1984, Rhyacophila ligurica Oláh & Vinçon 2021, Rhyacophila harmasa Oláh & Vinçon 2021 and Rhyacophila abruzzica Oláh & Vinçon 2021. However, R. lignumvallis differs in the shape of the X tergum, the dorsal arm ...