Diphtheroptila cairna De Prins, Sruoga & Zwick, 2025

Diphtheroptila cairna De Prins, Sruoga & Zwick , sp. nov.

( Figs 140, 141, 157, 158, 188, 189, 215, 216, 234–236, 255, 264, 281, 638)

Type locality: Australia, Queensland, Kuranda.

Type specimens: Holotype: ♀: [labels verbatim] [1] Australia QLD [Queensland]/ 16.49S 145.38E / Kuranda / em.[erged] 16 Mar. [March] 1998/ T. & M. Kumata [2] Host 6030/ Glochidion sp. , DNA sample NULT025275, genitalia slide ANIC 6198 About ANIC , ANIC Acc. no 31 085522, in ANIC (Canberra). GoogleMaps

Paratypes: 4 specimens: Paratype 1(♀): Australia, Queensland, 16.49°S 145.38°E, Kuranda, emerged 17 March 1998, leg. T. & M. Kumata, Host 6030 Glochidion sp. , DNA sample NULT025390, genitalia slide ANIC 6199, ANIC Acc. no 31 085573. Paratype 2(♂): Queensland, 16.92°S 145.77°E, Kuranda, Cairns , emerged 03 April 1991, leg. T. Kumata. Host 4215 Glochidion sp. , DNA sample NULT025150, genitalia slide ANIC 6197, ANIC Acc. no 31 085572. Paratype 3(♂): same collecting data, emerged 02 April 1991, genitalia slide No Grc-5693, T. Kumata, 1991, ANIC image, ANIC Acc. no 31 081107. Paratype 4(♀): same collecting data, emerged 19 December 1999, leg. T. Kumata, larva feeds on Glochidion sp. , DNA sample NULT023277, genitalia slide ANIC 6309, ANIC Acc. no 31 085645, in ANIC (Canberra).

Additional specimens not included in the type series: 4 specimens: Specimen 1(♂): Australia, Queensland, Kuranda, Cairns , emerged 03 April 1991, leg. T. Kumata, Host 4215 Glochidion sp. , Diphtheroptila det. T. Kumata 1999. Specimen 2: without abdomen, same data, except the date 21 March 1991, ANIC image, DNA sample, ANIC Acc. no 31 075734. Specimen 3: without abdomen, same collecting data, except the date 02 April 1991, ANIC image, DNA sample, ANIC Acc. no 31 075733. Specimen 4(♀): same collecting data, except the date 03 April 1991.

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

Diagnosis: This is one of the four Diphtheroptila species belonging to the complex of Glochidion ( Phyllanthaceae ) feeding species sampled and reared in the area of Kuranda, Queensland. The host family Phyllanthaceae is the most common hostplant family for Ornixolinae and within this plant family the genera Glochidion and Phyllanthus serve as the most common host plants for Diphtheroptila species. This genus was represented only by one species in Australia before this study. Based on the specimens, prepared and preserved in the ANIC collection, we firmly can state that the gracillariid genus Diphtheroptila is species-rich in Australia and mostly feeds on Glochidion plants. The diagnosis based on external characters of species within this complex is difficult and cannot be performed referring only on one set of independent characters. Bionomics and the chronology of inter (intra-) specific biological activity plays the major role within the process of co-existence of several species feeding on the same genus of host plant and in the same area. Diphtheroptila cairna sp. nov. is very similar to the other three Glochidion feeding Diphtheroptila species but can be diagnosed rather easily by its paler brighter ground colour, thicker and clearly white irregular oblique stripes forming a median fascia, presence of a clear bent white stripe on tornus. However, these external morphological characters are not so well observable depending upon the condition of a specimen. The reliable diagnostic characters can be found in internal morphology of genitalia and mitogenomics. Male genitalia are strongly diagnostic for this species and due to complexity of folds and flaps as described below cannot be confused with other species. According to the female genitalia D. cairna sp. nov. mostly reminds the genital structure of D. glochidia sp. nov. In both species the ostium bursae broadly opens and it is situated on the sub-anterior part of sternum VII within an enringed cup of funnel-shaped sterigma. However, both species can be easily diagnosed by the shape of lamellae ante- and post-vaginalis. In D. cairna sp. nov. sterigma is funnel-shaped, with broad grooved lamella post-vaginalis, the lamella ante-vaginalis is clearly triangular, while in D. glochidia sp. nov. the posterior margin of lamella post-vaginalis is narrowing and lamella ante-vaginalis has a round cup-shaped sterigmatic sclerotisation.

Description: Wingspan of the holotype 5.9 mm; length of the forewing 3.0 mm ( Figs 140, 141).

Head ( Figs 157, 158): vertex grey beige, smooth, filiform scales of different length, occiput with two small lateral tufts of short grey beige, concolourous with vertex piliform scales, projecting posteriad. Frons light grey beige concolourous with vertex with golden shine, with clearly visible suture separating frons and labrum. Maxillary palpus short ca. as long as basal labial palpomere, dirty white. Labial palpus relatively long, ca. 2× longer than the diameter of the eye, both palpus distancing from each other, with slightly erected apices, basal palpomere dark brown, median palpomere dirty white internally and greyish brown externally with long thin dirty white intermixed with ochreous hanging piliform scales, apical palpomere shining white, glabrous without a bunch of hanging piliform scales. Antenna light ochreous, flagellomeres with thin fuscous longitudinal lines with darker apices, ventrally uniformly light ochreous, pedicel slightly shorter and thicker than the second flagellomere, concolourous with the following flagellomeres, scape light ochreous, with 9 longer and 5–6 shorter light ochreous pecten with a golden shine.

Thorax ( Figs 140, 141, 188, 189): tegula concolourous with vertex, light grey beige. Forewing narrowly elongated, equal in width along all its length, with a gently rounded apex, ground colour is ochreous-fuscous, with very clearly expressed prolonged apical spot enringed by triangular white spot at apex, and a long, thin white stripe following the tornal margin; wing ornamentation white contrasted from the ground colour with dorsal stripes almost crossing the forewing forming irregular curving or oblique fascia of different width; basal 1/3 of dorsum with a group of thick short white stripes, median part carries a group of three stripes, of which the longest is in the midden and forms an irregular fascia almost reaching the costal margin, sub-apical part consists of curved and oblique stripe followed by two sinusoid fasciae, apical line think but very clear forming a semi-round ornament with apical spot in the middle. The fringe line is black, gently following the apical margin, best seen at tornus; fringe long, unicoloured light grey, with light silver shine, shorter at distal part, the longest at median part of dorsum. Hindwing narrow, elongate, sharply pointed, ground colour light ochreous-fuscous, fringe long, ca. 6× longer than the width of hindwing at the base, with the longest piliform scales hanging at the base of the dorsum of the hindwing. The fore femur and fore tibia grey ochreous, fore tarsomere I ochreous with white median part, tarsomeres II–IV with ochreous basal and white apical parts, terminal tarsomere ochreous, tip of fore leg ochreous; mid femur ochreous, mid tibia ochreous with three white stripes sub-basal, sub-median and apical, tarsomeres fuscous, tip of mid tibia dark grey, median spurs short, less than half of length of first tarsomere, light grey; hind femur dirty white with light ochreous oblique sub-basal stripe, hind tibia light fuscous with short, stout, sharp, spines arranged in a row at inner side of tibia, medial spurs light grey, slightly shorter than hind tibia, apical spurs shorter than medial spurs, ca. 1/3 of the length of tarsomere I, fuscous, tarsomeres fuscous with dark grey apices, tip is light grey.

Abdomen ( Figs 188, 189, 255, 264): Tergites ochreous, lateral sides of abdomen (tergites and sternites) are dirty white with five oblique dark-ochreous stripes. Abdominal opening as an equilateral triangle, margins of abdominal opening on tergum I strongly sclerotised, ventral crossing joint with very narrow sclerotised anterior margin; sternal apodemes initiating at the corners of abdominal opening are well developed, rather long, straight, thin, entering beyond the anterior 1/3 of segment II; a lightly melanised sickle-shaped joint connects lateral sides of abdominal opening on tergum I, which is an initiating point of tergal apodemes; tergal apodemes sharply hooked at bases, slender, with sharp spiculose appendage directed toward the inner cavity of abdominal opening; straight, rather long, reaching sub-posterior 1/3 part of tergum II; apical part of tergal apodemes is blunt. The posterior margin of segment VI in females is finely marked by a narrow sclerotised line. Anterior margins of segments III–VI in females and III–VII in males narrowly and finely melanised, intersegmental joins are broad and weakly melanised.

Male genitalia ( Figs 215, 216): Tegumen is shaped as an equilateral triangle with strongly sclerotised arms at the basal half and a clearly visible mid teguminal suture; two bulb-shaped swellings that can represent a tiny uncus are present at the sub-apical part of tegumen; anal tube strongly protruding, almost as long as tegumen itself, weaker sclerotised than teguminal arms, with triangular or blunt apex; basal half of valvae broader than the apical half of valvae with gentle sinuating transition; costal margin of apical half carries a row of thin, stout, rarely planted setae, that go round and become shorter on cucullus, more dense on the tuberculated sub-apical ventral margin of valvae; sub-apical part of valvae is covered by trapezoid internal fold, basal part of which carries 2–3 rows of very strong, thick, spiculose long setae, apical part of the fold borders prolonged sclerotisation that is situated at the sub-basal part of the inner surface of valvae; saccular part of valvae is with light fold and weakly sclerotised clavus; transtilla very weakly developed and in the illustrated paratype ( Fig. 215) it is hardly perceptible; vinculum is well-developed, more or less V-shaped, with very broad lateral sides and gently rounded apical part, saccus short but clearly present, more or less broadly triangular, with strongly sclerotised two-forked anterior protrusion. Aedeagus short, broad, bottle-shaped, with two areas of cornuti: one cornutus as digitiform appendage, protruding the apical part of the aedeagus, the other at sub-apical part, more or less T-shaped with a spiculose horizontal sclerotisation that carries two sharp, dentiform spines.

Female genitalia ( Figs 234–236): Papillae anales fused and very strongly flattened, in two paratype specimens even immersed into the anterior part of segment VIII. Apophyses posteriores short, thick, blunt, with a small swelling at the mid part, entering the anterior part of segment VIII; apophyses anteriores with very broad laminate bases, that are relatively weakly sclerotised and sharply narrowing short, anterior part of apophyses anteriores that reach the posterior margin of segment VII. Segment VII is strongly sclerotised with gloving margin of sternum VII. Posterior margin of sternum VII with dense scobination. Ostium bursae opens in sub-anterior margin of sternum VII within a broad and deep funnel-shaped sterigmatic sclerotisation that occupies almost entirely central part of sternum VII; lamella post-vaginalis with two narrow but clearly observable furrows at the central part of sterigmatic sclerotisation. Colliculum + ductus bursae are strongly sclerotised, rather broad, with very clear distinction between ductus bursae and corpus bursae, which is marked by an oval strongly sclerotised plate; corpus bursae prolonged, sac-shaped with posterior part relatively smooth, marked by linear wrinkles, while in central and anterior part the wall of corpus bursae is covered with tiny squamous melanisations. A single signum is present as a small sclerotised spot at sub-anterior part of ductus bursae with sharply pointed triangular dentiform appendage. Bulla seminalis smaller than corpus bursae, ductus seminalis lightly sclerotised with longitudinal lines, enters ductus bursae just posterior the joint of ductus and corpus bursae.

Individual variation: One female paratype emerged as a crippled specimen. The diagnosis and description above is based on the holotype and four paratypes. The additional four specimens are not included in the present species delineation.

Bionomics ( Fig. 281): A series of specimens is reared from the same host plant Glochidion sp. ( Phyllanthaceae ) in the same locality, Kuranda. The mining period of D. cairna sp. nov. is about early or mid March to early April. Emerging time is from mid-March till early April. One female paratype specimen emerged mid-December in the same locality in Queensland, Kuranda, Cairns. This fact might indicate a possible second generation of this species.

Mitogenomic data: The species is relatively closely related to D. djabu sp. nov., with very strong support for their sister relationship in all analyses ( Fig. 638).

Distribution: Known from the type locality: Australia, Queensland, Kuranda.

Etymology: The specific epithet refers to the locality of occurrence—Cairns—situated in tropical Far North Queensland. It is a noun in the nominative case, in feminine gender. The specific name is a noun in apposition to the generic name.