The female of Megacraspedus peslieri Huemer & Karsholt, 2018 (Lepidoptera, Gelechiidae), a new case of brachyptery in alpine Lepidoptera
Auteur : Huemer (Peter)
Année de publication : 2023
Publication : Alpine Entomology
Volume :
7
Pagination : 37-44
Résumé :
Megacraspedus peslieri was described from the Pyrenees in 2018 and subsequently also discovered at a few localities in the northern Cottian Alps (Italy). The hitherto unknown female was collected in these localities after a targeted search. As with some other representatives of the genus, the female is flightless and shows a strikingly strong reduction of the wings (brachyptery). Whereas the forewings are significantly shortened and narrowed, the hindwings are strongly reduced. Both the external morphology and the genitalia of the female are described and illustrated in detail, together with previously unpublished photographs of live adults of both sexes. The identification of specimens from the Alps as well as of the male and female were determined by means of a DNA barcode comparison with the holotype.