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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #353154
Research Project: Systematics of Moths Significant to Biodiversity, Quarantine, and Control, with a Focus on Invasive Species

Location: Systematic Entomology Laboratory

Title: Two new Fabaceae-feeding Nepticulidae (Lepidoptera) from the Western Hemisphere, including a potential pest of the economically important Centrolobium Mart. ex Benth

Author
item STONIS, JONAS - Lithuanian University Of Educational Sciences
item DISKUS, ARUNAS - Lithuanian University Of Educational Sciences
item Solis, M Alma

Submitted to: Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/4/2018
Publication Date: 6/4/2018
Citation: Stonis, J.R., Diskus, A., Solis, M.A. 2018. Two new Fabaceae-feeding Nepticulidae (Lepidoptera) from the Western Hemisphere, including a potential pest of the economically important Centrolobium Mart. ex Benth. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 120(4):842-855.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4289/0013-8797.120.4.842

Interpretive Summary: Leaf mines created by pygmy moth larvae are serpentine in leaves, twigs, or fruit in over 30 plant families. This research found only four records of these larvae feeding on plant species of the bean or legume plant family. We describe an additional two species new to science from South America and provide illustrations of adults, internal structures and their leaf mining habit on plants. One of the new species feeds on economically important tree that is harvested for timber. This research will be useful to scientists and growers interested in the biology and identity of leaf mining moths on plants of the legume family.

Technical Abstract: We describe two new Nepticulidae (Lepidoptera) species from the Western Hemisphere that feed on Fabaceae. Stigmella mimosae Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov. feeds on Mimosa albida Willd. (Caesalpinioideae) and Acalyptris minimus Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov. feeds on Centrolobium ochroxylum Rose ex Rudd. (Faboideae). Centrolobium ochroxylum is an economically important tree in South America that is exported for timber. The new species are illustrated with photographs of the adults, genitalia, and the leaf mines.