Oiketicoides gohadoensis Roh & Lee, 2025

Oiketicoides gohadoensis Roh & Lee sp. nov.

Type material.

Holotype: ♂, South Korea • Mokpo , Gohado Island; 28.vi.2023; 34°46'01"N, 126°22'02"E; altitude 12 m; leg. J. W. Kim; HNIBRIN 16107 . GoogleMaps

Paratypes: 9 ♂; same label data as holotype; HNIBRIN 16104 –16106, 16108–16113 GoogleMaps .

Diagnosis.

The genus Oiketicoides has little difference in external morphological characters between the males of the species, making morphological diagnosis difficult ( Arnscheid and Sobczyk 2023). This new species also appears to have typical characters (uniformly dark, yellowish-brown coloration), but it has a noticeably shorter wingspan (11–13 mm) compared to the other species. The male genitalia of O. gohadoensis are very similar to those of O. elegantis Arnscheid & Sobczyk, 2023 , but the cucullus is wider and club-shaped. Moreover, the male genitalia differ in having a wide vinculum and a downwardly thick saccus.

Description.

Adult (Fig. 1 View Figure 1 ). Male. Head: vertex densely clothed with yellowish-brown hairs; ocelli absent; antennae less than length of 2 / 5 of forewing, scape roughly covered with hairs, bipectinate, with 14 flagellomeres. Thorax: notum covered with dark, yellowish-brown scales. Legs with femora, tibiae, and tarsi clothed in light-brown hairs; tarsi and apical and medial spurs covered by yellowish-brown scales; foreleg with a long and narrow tibial epiphysis. Wingspan 11–13 mm. Forewing dark brown, mostly covered with short, hair-like scales; accessory and intercalary cells absent; 10 separate veins originating at discal cell; Sc terminating at 3 / 5 of costa; R 3 and R 4 stalked at anterior part of cell to reach apex; M 2 and M 3 parallel; scales slightly narrowed; apical margin usually produced into 2–4 weak, rounded lacininations. Hindwing covered with dark-brown scales; 6 veins from discal cell; M 2 + M 3 fused; scales narrowed; apical margin usually produced into two or three weak, rounded lacininations.

Male genitalia (Fig. 2 View Figure 2 ). Tegumen wide, slightly folded; valva short and slender; sacculus sclerotized with short setae; cucullus arched, club-shaped; vinculum slightly narrow; saccus straight, slightly thick, and long; phallus thick and long, 0.87 times as long as genitalia.

Distribution.

Korea (new species).

DNA barcode.

DNA barcode sequences were generated from three specimens of Oiketicoides gohadoensis sp. nov. (PP 983255, PP 983256, and PP 983257). Multiple alignments using the BLAST tool in the NCBI database showed Clania ignobilis Grote, 1873 to be the nearest neighbor at 86.49 %. The maximum intraspecific genetic variation ranged from 1.09 to 0.62 %, a little lower than interspecific distances.

Etymology.

This species was discovered on a tree in the garden at Honam National Institute of Biological Resources, Mokpo, Korea (Fig. 3 A View Figure 3 ). The specific name is derived from the type locality (Gohado Island) of the new species.

Biology.

Larvae of the new species build their cases (8.1–10.3 mm in length) by adhering the tiny particles of bark to their case. In addition, they were found to live in dried conditions between the bark or leaves of trees (Fig. 3 View Figure 3 ). Adults emerge from late June to mid-July in breeding condition. Of 11 larvae, 11 males emerged in the present study.

Natural enemy of O. gohadoensis

Neophryxe psychidis Townsend, 1916 ( Diptera , Tachinidae )

During the breeding of O. gohadoensis in this study, we discovered a parasitoid, N. psychidis (Fig. 4 View Figure 4 ). This species is reported for the first time in Korea. According to the literature, this species is known to emerge from psychid cases and is distributed in China, Japan, and Russia ( O’Hara et al. 2009). In the Palearctic region, 31 species of Tachinidae are known to be associated with at least 36 species of psychid moths, and at least seven species of psychid moths are known to be associated with N. psychidis ( Tschorsnig 2017) . DNA barcode sequences were generated (NCBI accession number PP 983258). Multiple alignments using the BLAST tool in the NCBI database showed N. psychidis as the nearest neighbor (locality of reference data from Japan; 100 %).