Stigmella paniculata Diškus & Navickaitė, sp. nov.

(Figs 15, 133–136)

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 4ACFA17B-D8BB-4902-A3EC-9B846230B904

Type material. Holotype: ♂, India, Uttarakhand, Tehri Garhwal Distr., Chamba, 30°20’39”N, 78°23’59”E, 24.viii.2010, A. Diškus and A. Navickaitė, genitalia slide no. AD496 (ZIN).

Diagnosis. S. paniculata sp. nov. belongs to the Stigmella ruficapitella group. In the male genitalia, this new species differs from other representatives of the group in the presence of a basal set of very long, transverse cornuti (Fig. 135) and apically rounded valva without a conspicuous apical process (Fig. 136).

Male. Known from adult in pupal skin; only genitalia are preserved and desribed.

Genitalia (Figs 133–136) with capsule 180 µm long, 140 µm wide. Uncus with two very short, well-separated lateral lobes (Figs 133, 134). Gnathos U-shaped (Fig. 133). Valva (Fig. 136) about 130 µm long, with a slightly concave and heavily papillated inner lobe and rounded apex without pronounced apical process. Transtilla with long and slender sublateral processes. Vinculum with a short ventral plate and short triangular lateral lobes (Fig. 133). Phallus (Figs 133, 135) about 180 µm long, without carinae; vesica with a set of four very long, transverse cornuti basally (Fig. 135).

Female. Unknown.

Bionomics (Fig. 15). Host plant is unknown (unidentified). Larva is green, with a dark green intestine and pale, yellowish brown head (Fig. 15). Larvae mine in leaves in late August and possibly in September. The leaf mine is a slender, contorted gallery; in the initial part, brown-black frass fills the width of the gallery; further on, black frass is deposited in a slender central line (Fig. 15). Adults fly in September.

Distribution. Known from a single locality in the western Himalaya (Uttarakhand: Chamba), at the elevation of about 2600 m (Fig. 1: wHi).

Etymology. The species name is derived from Latin panicula (a cluster), in reference to the set of four very long and slender cornuti in the male genitalia.