Philodoria opuhe Kobayashi Johns & Kawahara, sp. n.

Philodoria opuhe Kobayashi Johns & Kawahara sp. n.

Figs. 25C, D, 33B, C, E, F, 53D, 54C, D, 55C, 60F.

Gracilaria ureraella Swezey, 1915: 94.

Parectopa ureraella (Swezey, 1915); Swezey 1928: 191.

Philodoria ureraella (Swezey, 1915); Zimmerman 1978a: 691, figs. 446, 453, 460.

Type locality. Mt. Tantalus (Oahu).

Etymology. The specific epithet, opuhe is a noun in apposition taken from the Hawaiian name of the host plant, Urera.

Type material. Holotype ♂, Mt. Tantalus, Oahu, [15.iii.1914 or 16.iii.1915] O.H. Swezey, host: Urera [sandwicensis], |TYPE of Gracilaria ureraella Swezey [Type no.] 213| top right specimen is the designated specimen among four types on the same mount, Type no. 213 in BPBM (Fig. 25C). Paratypes: 59 (10♂, 7♀ 36 sex unknown, 6 pupae), Mt. Tantalus, Oahu, [15.iii.1914 or 16.iii.1915] O.H. Swezey, host: Urera [sandwicensis]: 1 (sex unknown), right bottom one of four types, same mount of holotype, 213 (Fig. 25D); 3♂, 3♀, 34 (sex unknown), BPBM 34327–34348, SK674♂| BPBM 34349, BPBM 34351(1♂, 1♀, 1 sex unknown, three of four types, excluding the bottom right specimen), BPBM 34353(four types), |ex blotch mine| BPBM 34354, BPBM 34355 (bottom ♀ of two types), SK746♂| BPBM 34356, |ex blotch mine| BPBM 34357 (four types), |ex blotch mine| BPBM 34358, SK 675♀ | BPBM 34361; 7♂, 4♀, 1 (sex unknown), same data and locality as holotype in USNM.

Pupa. 6 (sex unknown), same data and locality as holotype, BPBM 34354 (two types), BPBM 34359 (four types).

Additional material. 1♂, Puu Kaua (Peak of Waianae range 3127ft), Waianae Mts, Oahu, 6.xi.1932, O.H. Swezey, ex Urera kaalae, SK 682| BPBM 34362.

Diagnosis. Described based on paralectotypes of P. ureraella Swezey. Philodoria opuhe is distinguished from P. ureraella and similar species, e.g., P. sciallactis and P. lipochaetaella, by having a fuscous costal line from the base to about 1/ 2 in the forewing; the male genitalia have a rather oblong and straight valva and wide saccus; the female genitalia have a combination of rather small ostium and antrum, and sclerotized wrinkles on the corpus bursae. See also diagnosis of P. ureraella. A Urera mining species, P. urerana (Swezey), has female genitalia similar in shape to P. opuhe and P. ureraella, but P. urerana is distinct from the latter two species by having a fuscous to brown forewing (Figs. 20A, B, 33G).

Redescription: Adult (Figs. 25C, D, 33B, C, E, F). Wingspan 7–9 mm in type series; forewing length 3–4 mm in paralectotype. Head ocherous; frons white; maxillary palpus ocherous, dark brown below; labial palpus white to ocherous, with fuscous externally.Antenna ocherous, fuscous on apical fourth, 1.3–1.4 x length of forewing. Thorax ocherous. Forewing pure white to ocherous with ocherous patches enclosed fuscous scales: an obscure patch from base to 1/7; one large costal patch ( cp 2 ) at 3/4 reaching near tornus, connecting a fuscous line from base of costal fold to beyond the middle, very narrow or interrupting from 1/7 to 1/3; obsure dp 1 from 1/4 to 1/2, dp 2 from about 1/2 reaching to the middleof wing; all fascia connect in the middle of wing forming ocherous obscure median line from base to 3/4; apical portion ocherous with costal and dorsal obscure black lines from 4/5 reaching black as of termen; cilia orange ocherous mixed with fuscous scales; three white spots (a, b, c) at apex and fuscous apical patch at termen and a dark fuscous bl 1 from termen to tornus. Hindwing grayish fuscous, cilia paler. Abdomen grayish fuscous. Legs ocherous, fuscous above and tarsi barred with fuscous.

Male genitalia (Figs. 53D, 54C, D, 55C) (n=3). Capsule 820 µm. Tegumen 0.8 x length of valva; valva 620 µm long, rather gently tapering along costal margin from basal 2/5–1/2 to apex, apical half digitiform and slightly curved toward outer margin with small spines at apex, rather widening at middle compared to P. ureraella; a set of short spines arranged along inner side of basal region (Fig. 53D). Saccus digitiform (Fig. 54C) or triangular (Fig. 54D) in ventral view. Phallus about 600 µm long, rather thick, slightly sinuous in lateral view with developed coecum; cornuti in vesica indistinct (Fig. 55C).

Female genitalia (Fig. 60F) (n=1). Similar to P. ureraella, but differs in having a rather broad ductus bursae and slender ductus seminalis.

Distribution. Oahu (Swezey 1915).

Host plants. Urticaceae: Urera kaalae Wawra (Swezey 1933 b; Zimmerman 1978a), U. sandvicensis Wedd. (Swezey 1915).

Biology. Swezey (1915: 94) reported the biology of ‘ P. ureraella ’: “The mine at first is a small roundish blotch becoming irregular as it becomes larger from the eating of the larva within. The larva emerges to spin its whitish cocoon on the surface of the leaf. The moths emerged from the cocoons in about ten days.” We believe his report is for P. opuhe based on the specimen label “ex blotch mine”. See also Biology and Remarks of P. ureraella and P. urerana.

Remarks. We were unable to survey for many Urera plants on Oahu but found a few Philodoria that are generally rare on Oahu. Swezey (1933) noted that specimens reared from Urera kaalae in the Waianae mountains differ slightly from the type series of ‘ P. ureraella ’ from U. sandwicensis on Mt. Tantalus. We identified a Philodoria specimen from U. kaalae (Fig. 33E, F) as P. opuhe based on genitalia. Urera kaalae has become extremely rare and this plant should be considered for listing on the IUCN Red List. We observed two populations of U. kaalae in the Waianae mountains but found no signs of Philodoria mines.