Elachista flammeaepennella O.G. Costa , 1836

Elachista flammeaepennella O.G. Costa, 1836 View in CoL

Elachista ( Ornix) flammeaepennella O.G. Costa, 1836: 298 View in CoL , 313, pl. 5, fig. 8A. Type locality: Italy, Napoli. Type material [not stated] in MZFN, probably destroyed.

Subgenus: Aphelosetia ; argentella species group.

Distribution: Palearctic. Italy.

Larval host plant(s): unknown.

Figs.: O.G. Costa (1836).

Remarks: E. flammeaepennella Costa, 1836 was synonymized with E. subocellea ( Stephens, 1834) by Tremewan (1977: 222). This synonymy has been followed since, even though the otherwise recognized geographic distribution of E. subocellea does not extend to the Napoli area, the type locality of E. flammeaepennella . The painting of E. flammeaepennella O.G. Costa, 1836 in the original description (Plate V, fig. 8A) displays brighter forewing pattern and darker hindwings than observed in E. subocellea . Examination of genitalia of recent specimens from Napoli display significant differences in both male and female genitalia between E. subocellea and the specimens from Napoli. The verbal description: “ Alis anticis flaviis, fasciis duabus albis, punctis minutissimis atris adspersis; fimbria longa cinerea nigro-punctulata: alis posticis plumbeis”, also points out towards a brighter-colored species than E. subocellea . Based on this evidence, E. flammeaepennella is here considered a valid species., stat. rev.