Gibbovalva lambertiae De Prins, Sruoga & Zwick, 2025

Gibbovalva lambertiae De Prins, Sruoga & Zwick , sp. nov.

( Figs 559, 560, 563–568, 570, 571, 636)

Type locality: Australia, New South Wales, Fitzroy Falls.

Type specimens: Holotype ♂: [labels verbatim] Australia: [1] Fitzroy Falls /N. S. W. [New South Wales] emg./2 Nov.[ember] 1957/ I. F.B. Common; [2] A118. Larva, making blotch/mine on upper/leaf surface/of Lambertia formosa ; [3] Barcode of Life /DNA Voucher Specimen/Smple [sample] ID: 11 ANIC-16309 /ANICY309-11; [4] ‘ ANIC Database No/31 053844’, DNA sample NULT023143, genitalia slide ANIC 6301 About ANIC , in ANIC (Canberra).

Paratypes 2 specimens: Paratype 1(♀): Australia, New South Wales, Moss Vale, 34.5468°S 150.3741°E, 13 December 1948, leaf miner on Lambertia formosa ; Barcode of Life , DNA Voucher Specimen, Smple [sample] ID: 11 ANIC-16310 , ANICY310-11, leg. I.F.B. Common, DNA sample NULT023268, genitalia slide ANIC 6302 About ANIC , ANIC Acc. no 31 053845 GoogleMaps . Paratype 2: same locality and rearing data, except the date 15 December 1948, in ANIC (Canberra) GoogleMaps .

Type depository: Australian National Insect Collection, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.

Diagnosis: Externally very similar to Gibbovalva zaplaca ( Meyrick, 1907) and indistinguishable by the external characters of habitus from G. lomatiae sp. nov. There are only slight differences in the basal fascia: it is complete rectangular fascia, edged apically in G. lambertiae sp. nov., while in G. zaplaca this basal fascia is narrowing triangular edged from both sides. There are tiny diagnostic differences in apical part: in G. lambertiae sp. nov. the apical fascia is broad curved band, edged from both sides, the apical part of G. zaplaca is with two not edged, brownish-ochreous patches. There are also tiny differences as described below in shading of occiput, tegula, colour of scape. Female genitalia are highly diagnostic to separate G. lambertiae sp. nov. from G. lomatiae sp. nov. in G. lambertiae sp. nov. ductus bursae thick in girth, almost as wide as the diameter of corpus bursae, corpus bursae with signum, while in G. lomatiae sp. nov. ductus bursae thin, thread-like, corpus bursae without signum. The clear and undoubtful diagnostic differences should also be looked at in other characters of internal morphology of genitalia, bionomics and mitogenomics. Larvae of Gibbovalva lambertiae sp. nov. feed on Lambertia formosa Sm. ( Proteaceae ), while larvae of G. lomatiae sp. nov. feed on Lomatia silaifolia R.Br. ( Proteaceae ). The mitogenomic relationship and genetic distance is visualised in Fig. 636.

Description: Wingspan ca. 5.6–5.8 mm; length of the forewing ca. 3.0 mm ( Figs 559, 560).

Head ( Fig. 563): vertex white, smooth, covered with long filiform scales, occiput white with ochreous shading at base; labial palpus slightly longer than 2× of the diameter of the eye, drooping, covered with lose lamella-shaped scales, apex of each palpomere brownish ochreous; antenna slightly longer than forewing, monochromous ochreous brown; scape ochreous dorsally and white ventrally, pedicel shorter than the following flagellomere, dark ochreous at base and white at apical part, pecten not perceptible.

Thorax ( Figs 559, 560): white; tegula ochreous at base and white at apical part; forewing ground colour white with four dark ochreous fasciae and apical curved band; the first fascia is rectangular-shaped at sub-base, edged apically, the second and the third fasciae are almost of the same size, constricted at middle, edged from both sides, and situated at both sides of the mid part of the forewing; the fourth fascia is situated at sub-apex, narrower than the second and the third fasciae, curved, edged from both sides, the apical ornamental marking on forewing is the broad ochreous band, running along the termen, fringe line is well defined, running gently along apical margin of the forewing; fringe white, long, with yellowish shading. Hindwing very narrow with sharp apex, beige; fringe long, dense, of the same colour at costa and on dorsum, the longest piliform scales at the base and they are ca. 5× longer that the broadest width of hindwing at base. Mid tibia white at basal half and dark fuscous at apical half, spurs are dirty white, mid tarsomeres I and II dirty white with dark brown apices, terminal tarsomeres dirty white. Hind tibia ochreous at basal half and white at apical half, covered with long, loose, erect scales, median spurs are very long, reaching almost the sub-apical part of mid tibia, dirty white, apical spurs shorter, dirty white. Hind tarsomeres I–III dirty white at basal half and ochreous brown at apical half, tarsomere IV dirty white with brown apex, terminal tarsomere dirty white.

Abdomen ( Figs 564, 565, 570, 571): dorsally light fuscous, tergum I ochreous, lighter shading than the rest of the abdominal terga, ventrally white with broad triangular ochreous patches at lateral sides. Abdominal opening mid-sized, shaped as a triangular, ventral crossing joint concave, double lined, the first line with broader sclerotised central part, and the second line with broad, sclerotised base; sternal apodemes very short, just sharp spines at the corners of ventral crossing joint, the support function is taken by conical sternal plate; tergal apodemes rather thick, convex at sub-apical part, with straight bases, apices blunt reaching the sub-posterior part of segment II. Terminal segment in males with the presence of the androconial long dorsocephalic apodeme that reaches with its enlarged, gently rounded end the mid of segment VII, and the androconial trapezoid plate.

Male genitalia ( Figs 566, 567): tegumen very long, narrow, slightly enlarged at anterior part, a pair of long setae present on the apex of tegumen; valva about 1/3 longer than tegumen, rather broad, straight at costa, and gently curved at ventral margin with narrowing and gently rounded cucullus, costa with prolonged trapezoid appendix; basal valval apophyses long, meeting each other at the cavity of genital capsule; valval surface is covered with short setae, more dense at sub-ventral sector; several seldom planted long setae present at cucullus and sub-apical ventral margin; base of valva with two bunches of long, as long as valvae, piliform brushes; transtilla absent, but the basal valval apodemes take the function of trans support; vinculum very narrow, U-shaped, with strongly sclerotised lateral margins; saccus round, bulb-shaped appendage. Aedeagus rather thick, slightly shorter than valva, straight, cylindrical, with triangular and strongly sclerotised vesica, an internal sclerotisations runs along the entire length of aedeagus, cornuti absent.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 568): papillae anales pressed and flat, joint together by their anterior surfaces, densely setose; apophyses posteriores with broad triangular bases and very narrow, sharp apical part reaching the posterior margin of segment VII; apophyses anteriores with broad, triangular bases and sharp anterior part, entering well into the posterior 1/3 sector of segment VII; sterigma absent; the ostium is on the membranous area between segments VII and VIII. The posterior part of sternum VII overlaps the antrum and part of ductus bursae ( Fig. 568), antrum with a strongly sclerotised ring; colliculum along all the ductus bursae, ductus bursae, broad, strongly sclerotised; corpus bursae relatively small, sac-shaped with slightly wrinkled wall, signum as small narrow curved line at the anterior part of corpus bursae, a couple of signal markings as tiny scobs present at the sub-basal part of ductus bursae.

Individual variation: described from three specimens belonging to different sexes. No variation is observed.

Bionomics: Proteaceae : blotch mine on the upper surface of leaves of Lambertia formosa Sm. , new host plant genus for Gracillariidae . This moth species is monophagous.

BOLD data: https://boldsystems.org/index.php/Public_SearchTerms?query=%22 Conopomorpha %20zaplaca%22[t ax] (as Conopomorpha zaplaca ).

Mitogenomic data: The monophyly of this species and its sister relationship to G. lomatiae sp. nov. are maximally supported by all analyses ( Fig. 636).

Distribution: Known from two localities in Australia: New South Wales: Fitzroy Falls, and Moss Vale.

Etymology: The specific name refers to the genus name of the host plant. It is a noun of feminine gender in the genitive case.