Coleophora niphocrossa Meyrick, 1920

(Fig. 9)

Material examined. Holotype ♀ (PG SAMC 102) “ Cape Town | Jan.[uary] 1917 | K.H. Barnard ” “Type” (red label), “ S. A. M. 102”, “ Coleophora niphocrossa Meyr. ” (handwritten by Meyrick), coll SAMC.

1 ♂ (GP Bldz 11177), 1 ♀ (GP Bldz 11178) “Worcester, Breërivier, 19.X.1967 leg. Vári & Potgieter, Transv. Mus.”, coll. DNMN; 1 ♀ (GP Bldz 11181 “Vyeboom, Caledon Distr. 19.XI.1954, leg. L. Vári & Potgieter”, coll. DNMN; 1 ♂ (GP Bldz 14989) “ South Africa, Franschhoek, Theewaters Nat.R., 16.X.2009 LF [Lichtfang], leg. W. Mey”. coll. ZMHU; 1 ♀ (GP Bldz 13536) “ South Africa, Bontebok NP Cape, Swellendam, 14–16.XI.1993, leg. Mey & Ebert”, coll. ZMHU; 1 ♀ (GP Bldz 11924)” South Africa, Cape Peninsula, 1 km ONO Die Josie, 4 km SSO Hout Bay, 1.I.1996 LF [Lichtfang, T. Karisch leg.”, coll. Bldz.

Diagnosis. A species with a habitus comparable with many species of Toll’s 9th species group and of several Afrotropical species: Forewing brown, slightly shiny, with white line along costa. Judging from the habitus and the genitalia it is related to Afrotropical C. capitensis Baldizzone & van der Wolf, 2011. In the male genitalia the most obvious difference can be found in the sacculus, which ends in a rounded point in capitensis, whereas niphocrossa has an obtuse external margin, straight or slightly oblique; in the female genitalia the ductus bursae of niphocrossa has a spiculate section which is less developed than in capitensis, and also, the signum bursae, shaped like a leaf, has a rhombic expanded section, a characteristic which also differentiates it from all Afrotropical species of that group as far as they are known.

Description. The original description of the adult as given by Meyrick is correct: “ ♀, 12 mm. Head and palps white, centre of crown pale yellowish. Antennae white ringed with fuscous, basal joint roughly tufted anteriorly, base of stalk thickened with loose scales. Thorax white, patagia and a central stripe pale yellowish. Abdomen grey, segmental margins suffused with white. Forewings narrowly elongate-lanceolate, rather dark bronzy-brown, dorsal area suffused with bronzy-ochreous; a narrow white costal streak from base to 4/5; a slender white dorsal streak from base to near tornus; cilia light grey, on costa white except towards apex. Hindwings pale grey”(Meyrick 1920a: 299).

Male genitalia: (Figs. 68–71): Gnathos knob globular. Tegumen stretched, medially constricted. Pedunculus narrow. Transtilla short, slender. Valvula rounded, with oblique ventral margin. Cucullus long, narrower at base than at the rounded apex. Sacculus more or less straight. Ventral margin rounded, ventro-caudal process a very small tooth; dorso-caudal process triangular, with acute apex. Phallotheca broad, conical, transparent, with rounded apex. Cornuti a row of irregular thin spines.

Female genitalia (Figs. 73–75): Papillae anales ovular. Apophysis posterioris about 2.5 times longer than anterioris. Sterigma subtrapezoid, slightly wider than long. Distal margin slightly convex, medially excavated towards ostium bursae. Ostium bursae ovular. Colliculum cup-shaped, well-pronounced, as long as sterigma. First section of ductus bursae transparent, with medial line. Second section 7 times longer than sterigma, with two spiculate bands, enveloped in a speckled sleeve ending in a double coil; third section transparent, merging into a sack-like bursa containing a leaf-like signum, with a rhombic expanded section.

Abdominal apodemes (Fig. 72): Anterior lateral strut about twice length of posterior. Transverse strut with convex distal margin, proximal margin convex, slender. Tergal disk about three times longer than wide, covered with about 40 sharp spines.

Bionomy. The foodplant and the early stages are not known.

Distribution. Known only from the Cape Province of the R.S.A.