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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #385616
Research Project: Systematics of Hyper-Diverse Moth Superfamilies, with an Emphasis on Agricultural Pests, Invasive Species, Biological Control Agents, and Food Security

Location: Systematic Entomology Laboratory

Title: Documenting leaf-mining trumpet moths (Tischeriidae): new Neotropical Coptotriche and Astrotischeria species, with notes on Sapindaceae as a host-plant family

Author
item STONIS, JONAS - Lithuanian University Of Educational Sciences
item DISKUS, ARUNAS - Lithuanian University Of Educational Sciences
item REMEIKIS, ANDRIUS - Nature Research Centre
item FERNANDEZ-ALONSO, JOSE - Real Jardin Bolancio Csic
item BARYSHNIKOVA, SVETLANA - Russian Academy Of Sciences
item Solis, M Alma

Submitted to: Zootaxa
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/20/2021
Publication Date: 10/1/2021
Citation: Stonis, J.R., Diskus, A., Remeikis, A., Fernandez-Alonso, J.L., Baryshnikova, S., Solis, M.A. 2021. Documenting leaf-mining trumpet moths (Tischeriidae): new Neotropical Coptotriche and Astrotischeria species, with notes on Sapindaceae as a host-plant family. Zootaxa. 5047(3):300-320. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5047.3.4.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5047.3.4

Interpretive Summary: Trumpet moths are the tiniest of the moth and butterfly group and have larvae that are leaf miners of wild and cultivated plants, and therefore important as potential pests. We describe four new species from South America. The new taxa are illustrated with photographs of the adults, their genitalia, and leaf mines when available. We discuss larval feeding on soapberry and aster plant families, and report for the first time a trumpet moth larva feeding on the soapberry plant family. This research will be useful to scientists interested in the biology and identity of leaf mining moths on plants of the mallow family.

Technical Abstract: Four new species of leaf-mining trumpet moths (Tischeriidae) are described from the Neotropics: Coptotriche serjaniphaga Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov., feeding on Serjania Mill. (Sapindaceae), Astrotischeria mystica Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., feeding on Verbesina L. (Asteraceae), A. yungasi Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., feeding on Oyedaea DC. (Asteraceae), and A. parapallens Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., feeding on Baccharis L. (Asteraceae). Records on Sapindaceae-feeding Tischeriidae are very rare and Serjania is a novel host-plant genus for Tischeriidae. It is hypothesized that Serjania, a diverse genus in the tropical and subtropical Americas, may be a host for many undiscovered species of specialized stenophagous Tischeriidae. The new species are illustrated with photographs of the adults, male and, if available, female genitalia, and the leaf mines. We briefly discuss the importance of new species descriptions as a part of biodiversity assessment.