Cochylimorpha perfusana (Guenée, 1845)

Figs 1, 2, 9, 13, 17, 18–20, 28, 32

Argyrolepia perfusana Guenée, 1845, Annales de la Société entomologique de France. Deuxième Série 3: 302. Locus typicus: Austrian Alps and Dauphiné in France.

Cochylis perfusana Herrich-Schäffer 1851: 183.

Euxanthis perfusana Kennel 1913: 320, pl. 14 fig. 19.

Stenodes perfusana Razowski 1970: 162, colour pl. 8 fig. 79-1, pl. 59 fig. 79, pl. 127 fig. 79.

Cochylimorpha perfusana Razowski 1991: 105; 2001: 36, colour pl. 3 fig. 51; 2002: 43, colour pl. 5 fig. 91; 2009: 37, colour pl. 3 fig. 97.

Type material examined.

Argyrolepia perfusana Guenée, 1845: Lectotype. ♀, Type; Type Guenée; perfusana Gn.; Paravicini Coll. B. M. 1937–383; NHMUK 013700330; NHMUK (Fig. 17).

Additional material examined.

38 ♂, 14 ♀, Austria: 1 ♂, Wiener Schneeberg, ex coll. E. Frank – Regensburg in coll. Osthelder, ZSM; 1 ♂, Schn [ee] berg, Krone [leg.], NHMW; 1 ♀, genit. slide Buchner (museum-ID: MV 20074), Mann [leg.], NHMW; 1 ♂, Gr [oss] Glockn [er], Krone [leg.], Stenodes perfusana Gn., det.: J. Razowski, 1961, NHMW; 1 ♀ (as callosana), Led. [erer leg.], [1] 853, NHMW; 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Schneeberg, [18] 56, ex coll. A. Caradja, MGAB 118296; 1 ♀, Schneeberg, 19. vii. [18] 94, 58, C. Perfusana HS., ex coll. A. Caradja, MGAB 118296; 1 ♂, Austria Superior, Gr [osser] Pyhrgas, 1600 m, 10. vii. 1939, genit. slide Buchner (museum-ID: MV 20071), J. Klimesch leg., NHMW; 1 ♂, Austria Superior, Gr [osser] Pyhrgas, 1600 m, 4. viii. 1940, J. Klimesch leg., DNA sample ZSM _ 46193 _ A 01 [failed], ZSM; 1 ♂, Lower Austria, Hochkar, Schmalzmauer, 1750 m, 30. vi. 2012, DNA sample BC _ LSNOE _ 02140 (638 [0 n]), W. Stark leg. & coll.;

Bulgaria: 1 ♂, Southern Pirin, Orelek, 1500 m, 29. v. 2006, J. Junnilainen leg. & coll.; 11 ♂, Southern Pirin, Orelek, 2000 m, 4. vii. 2014, genit. slide Junnilainen 201710, DNA sample 25898 Lepid Phyl (658 [0 n]), J. Junnilainen leg. & coll.; 1 ♀, Pirin Mts, Orelek Mt, 24. vi. 2014, genit. slide Tokár 12280, Z. Tokár leg. & coll.;

France: 1 ♂, 1 ♀, La Grave, Alpes, vi. [18] 99, ex coll. A. Caradja, MGAB 118296; 1 ♂, La Grave, 1. vi. [18] 99, ex coll. A. Caradja, MGAB 118296; 1 ♂, H [au] tes Alpes, 4. viii. [18] 99, genit. slide Obraztsov 786, Chrétien leg., DNA sample ZSM _ 46193 _ A 02 (145 [0 n]), ZSM; 1 ♀, Südfrankreich [= Southern France], 19. vi. 1910, genit. slide Buchner (museum-ID: MV 20075), NHMW; 1 ♀, Südfrankreich [= Southern France], 10. vi. 1912, NHMW; 2 ♂, Hautes Alpes RN 05, La Grave 3 km E, 1700 m, 4–5. vi. 2003, DNA sample 25901 Lepid Phyl [failed], genit. slide Junnilainen 201709 ♂, J. Junnilainen leg. & coll.; 1 ♂, 3 ♀, Hautes Alpes, La Grave, 20. v. 2007, genit. slide Junnilainen 201723 ♀, DNA sample ♂ TLMF Lep 32488 [failed], DNA sample ♀ Junnilainen _ 46193 _ H 07 (550 [1 n]), J. Junnilainen leg. & coll.;

Romania: 1 ♂, Carpații Orientali, Cheile Bicazului, 14–16. vi. 1984; 1 ♂, Ibidem, 4. vii. 1987, genit. prep. Kovács 285; 8 ♂, 3 ♀, Ibidem, 26–28. vi. 1989, genit. prep. Kovács 1345 / ♀; 1 ♂, Ibidem, 4. vii. 2012, DNA sample TLMF Lep 28732 (658 [0 n]), all S. & Z. Kovács leg. & coll.;

Serbia: 1 specimen, Serbia, ex coll. Staudinger, MfN.

Diagnosis.

Externally, Cochylimorpha perfusana is characterized by a fine, smooth, regularly dispersed olive-green reticulate pattern that lacks an admixture of brown scales, and the roundish, almost uniformly small, yellowish white spots of ground colour. In the male genitalia the tegumen has convex margins and an elongated and pointed terminal process; the valva is slightly variable; the median process of the transtilla wide and long, has parallel margins and a tapering apex; the caulis has shallow ventro-lateral folds; and the phallus is straight with one long, straight, latero-basally attached cornutus. In the female genitalia the papillae anales are lanceolate and densely covered with strong short setae and a longitudinal row of very long setae; the apophyses are stout; the ductus bursae is very short; and the corpus bursae has the signum in the posterior 1 / 3, in the form of a very weakly sclerotized plate with distinct longitudinal folds.

Redescription.

Adult, male (Fig. 1). Head. Frons and vertex covered with very pale olive-green scales. Labial palpus about 2.5 times length of diameter of eye, first segment short, second segment long and widened distally, third segment short, all covered with off-white scales medially, light olive-green dorsally, a mixture of olive-green and brown scales laterally, and long brown scales ventrally. Antenna filiform, reaching ½ length of the forewing, brown, dorsally covered with off-white scales.

Thorax. Dorsally covered with light olive-green scales, long and erect in posterior 1 / 3, tegula pale olive-green laterally edged with a row of long off-white scales. Forewing length 7–9 mm, wingspan 15.5–19.5 mm. Forewing almost 3 times as long as wide, trapezoidal, only slightly widening from base to apex, costal margin without costal fold, slightly convex in basal 1 / 5, remainder straight, apex rounded, termen straight; almost evenly scattered small spots of off-white ground colour evenly distributed with fine and distinct pale olive-green reticulate pattern, lacking admixture of brown scales. Fringe pale olive-green. Hindwing without costal roll, dark grey, fringe off-white with light grey basal line. Underside of thorax and forewing brown, yellowish white distally on costal margin, along basal ½ of subcostal vein and fringe; hindwing light grey, with an indistinct light brown reticulate pattern in apical 1 / 3, light yellow along M 2 vein, fringe off-white. Legs brown, but fore- and mid-leg medially, hind-leg on both dorsal and ventral surfaces covered with off-white scales.

Abdomen. Dorsally uniformly covered with olive-green, ventrally a mixture of off-white and olive-green scales, each segment distally edged with a row of long, off-white scales, last segment off-white.

Variation. The spots of ground colour may vary from small and regularly scattered to fairly large and irregularly scattered in median and subterminal areas of forewing. Both the olive-green markings and the off-white ground colour may vary from greyish to yellowish.

Male genitalia (Figs 9, 18–20, 28). Tegumen tapering distally, margins convex, with elongated and pointed terminal process. Socius long, subtriangular lobe at margin of tegumen, sparsely covered with long setae. Median process of transtilla long and wide, parallel-sided, tapering distally with group of small thorns. Valva slender, elongated, costa slightly convex in basal 1 / 3, sacculus convex, 1 / 3 length of valva, ventral margin of valva slightly concave, cucullus round. Vinculum rod-like, straight, narrow dorsally, slightly widening ventrally, inwardly curved terminally. Saccus membranous. Caulis with short, shallow, ventro-lateral folds. Phallus slightly shorter than valva, straight, coecum slightly widened, ventral phallic process short, tapering; vesica with a single stout, straight, aciculate non-deciduous cornutus, attached latero-basally with a widened round base, slightly longer than ½ length of phallus.

Variation. Length of terminal process of tegumen slightly variable, costa of valva straight, ventral edge varying from slightly concave to straight or slightly convex. Cornutus sometimes with slightly curved distal apex.

Female (Figs 2, 17). Forewing length 7–8.5 mm, wingspan 15–18.5 mm, generally slightly shorter and widening more from base to apex than that of male. Underside of forewing brown with yellowish white reticulate pattern on the apical 1 / 3. Hindwing with 3 bristles in the frenulum.

Variation. Hindwing grey with indistinct white spots along the external and dorsal margin, rarely with 2 bristles in the frenulum on one or both sides.

Female genitalia (Figs 13, 32). Papilla analis about 1 ½ as long as segment VIII, narrow, elongated, lanceolate, densely covered with strong, short setae, with row of 10–13 strong, very long setae parallel to lateral edge. Posterior apophysis 1 ½ as long as segment VIII, with wide, weakly sclerotized posterior ½ and rod-like, stout, strongly sclerotized anterior ½. Segment VIII with group of strong and very long setae along and parallel to posterior margin. Anterior apophysis 1 ½ as long as posterior apophysis, rod-like, stout, strongly sclerotized, except its anterior end. Sterigma with wide lateral sides and strongly strengthened middle covered with tiny microspines. Anteostial sclerite large, indistinct, roundish, with microspines. Ostium 2 / 3 width of segment VIII. Antrum narrow, ½ as wide as segment VIII, weakly sclerotized. Ductus bursae 2 / 3 as wide as antrum, very short, membranous. Corpus bursae roundish, as wide as segment VIII, 1 ½ as long as wide, membranous, signum a very weakly sclerotized plate in the posterior 1 / 3 of bursa, with distinct longitudinal folds. Accessory bursa membranous, about 1 / 3 of size of corpus bursae, with long and narrow postero-ventral join.

Molecular data

(Fig. 36). BIN URI: BOLD: ADI 4764. The intraspecific divergence is 1.11 % (n = 2), and it shares its BIN with the nearest neighbour, C. dorsimaculana, at a distance of 1.07 %. The minimum distance to C. callosana is 3.13 % and to C. bucegiana sp. nov. 3.73 %.

Biology.

According to Razowski (1970: 162), host-plants are Centaurea stoebe L. and C. triumfettii All. (Asteraceae), however, the latter was confirmed only for C. dorsimaculana (P. Buchner personal observation). Moths are on wing from the very end of May to the beginning of August. The authors collected most of the specimens in the evening and early morning by net, usually around places with some Centaurea (Asteraceae). Some specimens were also attracted to light.

Habitat.

Exposed mountain and high-mountain meadows on limestone substrate where its host-plants are abundant, at elevations from about 550 m to Dauphiné (France) up to 1700–1800 m in the Alps (France, Austria, Switzerland), between 1200–1300 m in the Eastern Carpathians (Romania) (Fig. 37) and at 2000–2100 m in the Pirin Mountains (Bulgaria).

Distribution

(Fig. 48). Widespread in scattered localities in mountain areas of Europe. We examined voucher specimens from the Austrian Alps and France (type localities), Eastern Carpathians (Romania), Pirin Mountains (first record for Bulgaria) and only a historic specimen from Serbia; for details see above the examined material.

Further material was identified from figures in the literature or available on the world wide web: Ukraine (Crimea) (Razowski 1970: colour pl. 8 fig. 79-1), however, in our opinion, this may be a misinterpretation of the label data (“ Kr. [im], Urspr. [ung], 23. v. [19] 01 ”, Kr. may instead be Krone, the collector); Austria (Oberösterreich, Steiermark, Rax area, Siebenbrunnenkessel) (Razowski 1970: pl. 50 fig. 79, pl. 127 fig. 79; 2001: pl. 3 fig. 51; 2002: pl. 5 fig. 91; 2009: pl. 3 fig. 97; P. Buchner in Lepiforum; W. Stark in BOLD); Romania (Bicaz Gorge) (Kovács and Kovács 2005: 64 fig. 52, 70 fig. 71, 76 fig. 90); Switzerland (Bern, Chasseral, 1285 m; Wallis, Simplon, Engeloch, 3. vii. 2021) (R. Bryner in Lepiforum; jaroschacht in iNaturalist); southern France (Hautes-Alpes: Le Monêtier-les-Bains, 5. vii. 2021; Névache, 14. vi. 2022) (Lepertel et al. 2023: 45 fig. 346; L. Decrick in iNaturalist).

Literature data.

Guenée (1845: 302) in the original description of the species mentions the entire Austrian Alps and Dauphiné in France as type localities. Staudinger and Wocke (1871: 242) mention the Austrian Alps and Serbia, the latter we can confirm based on a specimen labelled as Serbia, ex coll. Staudinger, deposited in MfN in Berlin (Viola Richter pers. comm.).

Kennel (1913: 320) reports the Austrian Alps, Serbia and Switzerland. Caradja (1916: 54) mentions La Grave in France. In Razowski (1970: 163; 2001: 37; 2002: 43; 2009: 37, all as perfusana) detailed distribution is given, most of which were confirmed by examined material: France, Switzerland and the Schneeberg in Austria refer to C. perfusana; records from north-eastern Italy and Croatia (Dalmatia) refer to C. callosana; and those from Wachau and Retz in Lower Austria refer to C. dorsimaculana. We were not able to confirm the following two: Hardegg may refer to the latter species, being a similar habitat also in Lower Austria; and Romania (Transylvania), specified as dorsimaculana, may refer to C. bucegiana sp. nov. Razowski (2001: 37) mentions C. perfusana from the Czech Republic, which is plausible, but we cannot confirm it. In both the catalogue of the Italian Tortricidae (Trematerra 2003: 51) and the on-line checklist of the fauna of Italy (Stoch 2003), the species is mentioned from northern Italy. In the former, Valle d’Aosta, Piemonte, Lombardia, Trentino-Alto Adige and Friuli-Venezia Giulia are given, the latter without details. Valle d’Aosta, Piemonte and Trentino-Alto Adige are high-mountain habitats which may refer to C. perfusana, but we cannot confirm this. All Italian specimens examined in this study, most of them from Friuli-Venezia Giulia and also from Trentino, proved to be C. callosana. Records from Lombardia, a low-mountain habitat, may also refer to the latter species, but require re-examination. Two historic specimens from Hungary deposited in ZSM were recorded from Budapest as C. perfusana by Fazekas (1994: 40), but these records refer to C. callosana (see also that species). Another record of C. perfusana from Hungary (Mátra Mountains, 1 specimen from Jászberény and 3 from Nagykáta, Cseh-domb, all F. Buschmann leg., coll. Mátra Múzeum) (Buschmann 2004: 224) was also recently disproved, as all specimens proved to be Cochylimorpha straminea (Haworth, 1811) (Buschmann 2022: 159; Fazekas 2022: 118, 120; 2023: 24).

The species was mentioned for the first time from Romania, in Transylvania, as Euxanthis dorsimaculana Preiss. by Galvagni and Preissecker (1913: 49), based on the written communication of J. Kennel, and which, in our opinion, may not refer to this species but to C. bucegiana sp. nov. This record was also cited by Razowski (1970: 163; 2001: 37). Kovács and Kovács (2005: 88) recorded material from the Bicaz Gorge as forma perfusana which refers to this species, but the material from the Bucegi Mountains, mentioned as forma callosana, refers to C. bucegiana sp. nov. Székely and Cernea (2007: 141) recorded four specimens from the environs of Braşov (Codlea, Vlădeni) and Lacu Roşu, but we consider the record as doubtful, because two of these specimens, one from each of the latter two collecting localities, examined by us proved to belong to Aethes rubigana (Treitschke, 1830), and the other two specimens, not examined by us, may also be misidentified. The record by Lesar and Godevič (2010: 77) from Slovenia lacks evidence because it is only based on two old literature sources: Mann (1854: 576), who reported C. callosana from Gradischa, which currently is Gradisca d’Isonzo in modern Italy, and Staudinger and Wocke (1871: 242), who mention C. perfusana only from the Austrian Alps and Serbia. Jakšić (2016: 140) included C. perfusana in the checklist of Serbia referring only to the literature data of Staudinger and Wocke (1871: 242), apparently the voucher specimen labelled as Serbia, ex coll. O. Staudinger deposited in coll. MfN in Berlin was unknown to him. The literature data from Croatia (as Dalmatia or Yugoslavia) (Razowski 1987: 250, 313; 1970: 163; 2001: 37; 2002: 43, pl. 5 fig. 91, pl. 47 fig. 91; 2009: 37, pl. 9 fig. 97, pl. 40 fig. 97) and north-east Italy (Gradisca d’Isonzo, Monte Bondone) (Mann 1854: 576; Klimesch 1951: 24; Razowski 1970: 163; 2001: 37; 2002: 43; 2009: 37; Peter Huemer pers. comm.) refer to C. callosana, for details see below.

As a consequence, C. perfusana is replaced by C. callosana in the north-eastern Italian and Croatian fauna, and the former is regarded as requiring confirmation from the Czech Republic, north-western Italy and Slovenia. We consider the record from Ukraine (Crimea) (Razowski 1970: colour pl. 8 fig. 79-1) to be doubtful.

Taxonomic notes.

Argyrolepia perfusana was described by Guenée (1845: 302) based on an unspecified number of specimens. Razowski (1970: 162), under Stenodes perfusana, states that the holotype, an undissected female labelled as “ Type Guenée ”, is deposited in NHMUK (Fig. 17), giving page 301 for Guenée’s description of perfusana, but later (Razowski 2002: 43; 2009: 37) he gives the correct page number (i. e., 302); however, all publications mention only the Austrian Alps as the type locality ignoring Dauphiné in France (see also below in discussion). In accordance with the ICZN article 74.6 Razowski’s (1970: 162) treatment of “ Type Guenée ” as the holotype must be considered a lectotype designation.