Gelechia bilobuncusa, Nandhini & Shashank, 2025

Gelechia bilobuncusa sp. nov.

LSID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:

( Figs. 3A–J View FIGURE 3 )

Type material. Holotype. 1 ♂, India, Himachal Pradesh, Nauni , 30°86'00'' N, 77°17'30" E, 1300 m MSL, 09.VII.2017, Mercury vapour lamp, coll. Shashank P R; genitalia slide no. L00055158, INPC ; Paratypes. 3 ♂, 2 ♀, India, Himachal Pradesh, Nauni , 30°86'00'' N, 77°17'30" E, 1300 m MSL, 09.VII.2017, Mercury vapour lamp, coll. Shashank P R ; genitalia slide no. L00055160 ( ♀), INPC .

Diagnosis. Gelechia bilobuncusa sp. nov. is similar to Gelechia albomaculata Omelko, 1986 in the shape of cucullus, but it can be distinguished by the rectangular lobes of uncus, relatively wider sclerites of the fultura superior, much smaller culcitula, and sinuous sacculus; the saccus in G. albomaculata is subtriangular, about as long as wide at base, but very narrow in the new species; the phallus is strongly curved in middle in G. albomaculata , but straight in the new species. Also G. bilobuncusa differs by its uniform pale brown forewing with irregularly scattered black scales, whereas the forewing in G. albomaculata is dark brown with two white spots in middle.

Description.

Head. Smooth-scaled, compound eye greyish black. Vertex and frons grey with lustrous pale brown scales. Second labial segment brown-scaled with a tuft of long brown scales underneath; third segment long, sharply pointed, brown-scaled with white apex ( Fig. 3C View FIGURE 3 ); antenna filiform with brown scales.

Thorax. Brown scaled, wingspan 10-14 mm. Forewing pale brown with irregularly scattered black scales, apex acute, termen and tornus fringed with creamish-grey scales. Hindwing slightly trapezoidal, grey scaled with creamish-grey cilia.

Wing venation. Forewing R 1 branched out at 1/3 rd from of the cell; R 2 closer to R 3 than R 1, being 2.5x as far from R 1 as from R 3. R 4 and R 5 stalked below middle; R 4+5 and M 1 arise at upper angle of cell, M 2 close approximate to M 3 than to M 1; M 3 and CuA 1 arise just above lower angle of cell ( Fig. 3D View FIGURE 3 ). In hindwing, Sc and R 1 veins closely approximate and fading away 2/3 rd from base; Rs bent downwards and extended to costa at apex; M 1 at upper angle of cell; M 2 and M 3 subparallel; M 3 and CuA 1 stalked and arises at lower angle of cell ( Fig. 3E View FIGURE 3 ).

Abdomen. Light brown covered with pale brown scales, anal tuft white.

Male genitalia ( Figs. 3 View FIGURE 3 G-H): Uncus bilobed, lobes symmetrical, rectangular with serrated and fringed margins; gnathos absent; fulture superior about 2/3 rd length of tegumen with bilobed apex; tegumen long and parallel-sided in middle and narrowed in distal third; cucullus digitiform with flattened distal 1/6 part and sparsely fringed near apex, about 2.25x longer than saccus; sacculus sinuate and about 2/3 rd the length of cucullus; medial processes rounded and separated; saccus long and narrow; phallus slightly elongate, apex pointed, left lateral process short, curved, medial sclerite broad, long.

Female genitalia ( Figs. 3 View FIGURE 3 I-J): Papillae anales elongate, subovate, with straight anterior margin; apophyses posteriores eight times as long as apophyses anteriores. Apophyses anteriores fused to lateral wall of sternum VIII; sternum VIII two times longer than broad, with narrow, sclerotized lateral rods, wrinkled along medial membranous zone, with strongly sclerotized short anterolateral lobe-like processes joined to apices of apophyses anteriores; ostium elongate, slit-like; antrum cylindrical; colliculum in proximal part a sclerotized ring with a membranous gap; ductus bursae broad, slightly expanded towards corpus bursae, corpus bursae long, oval and as long as ductus bursae; signum symmetrically diamond-shaped with serrated edges ( Fig. 3J View FIGURE 3 ).

Etymology. The specific epithet refers to the bilobed uncus of the male genitalia.