Monday, July 5, 2010

Plectophila pyrgodes



Plectophila pyrgodes Turner, 1898.


♀ - NSW, 5 km S of Ourimbah Lat. 33' 19'' S Long. 151' 21'' E, 25. Nov. 1976, I.F.B. Common leg. (ANIC). [AMO].

♀- Qld, Toowoomba, 16. Nov. 1961, J. Macqueen leg. (ANIC). [AMO].

Plectophila pyrgodes Turner, 1898, The Xyloryctidae of Queensland. Annals of the Queensland Museum 4: 1–32 [24]. Holotype ANIC ♀, Brisbane, Qld.
Plectophila ascripta Lucas, T.P. 1901. Queensland Lepidoptera. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 16: 73–95 [88]. Holotype SAMA ♂, May Orchard, Brisbane, Qld.
Plectophila pyrgodes Turner, 1898. Common, in Nielsen, Edwards, & Rangsi, 1996, Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera, 4: i-xiv, 1-529 & CD-ROM [88].
Plectophila pyrgodes Turner, 1898. Beccaloni, G. W., Scoble, M. J., Robinson, G. S. & Pitkin, B. (Editors). 2003. The Global Lepidoptera Names Index (LepIndex). World Wide Web electronic publication. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/entomology/lepindex [accessed 26 April 2010].
Plectophila ascripta Lucas, T.P. 1901. Beccaloni, G. W., Scoble, M. J., Robinson, G. S. & Pitkin, B. (Editors). 2003. The Global Lepidoptera Names Index (LepIndex). World Wide Web electronic publication. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/entomology/lepindex [accessed 26 April 2010]. [Synonymy not noted].
Plectophila pyrgodes Turner, 1898. Edwards, E. D. (2003), Xyloryctinae. Australian Faunal Directory. Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra. http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/abrs/online-resources/fauna/afd/taxa/XYLORYCTINAE [accessed 17 June 2010].

Original description, Turner 1898
Plectophila pyrgodes, n. sp. Female, 18 mm. Head and face snow-white. Palpi white; terminal joint pale fuscous towards apex. Antennae fuscous. Thorax, anterior half snow-white, posterior dark fuscous. Abdomen pale ochreous. Legs pale ochreous. Forewings elongate, costa scarcely arched, apex round-pointed, hindmargin oblique, slightly sinuate; white; markings ochreous-fuscous, costal edge fuscous at extreme base; a broad streak along inner margin from ¼ to anal angle; from this arises a broad transverse bar crossing disc at 1/3, ceasing abruptly at 1/3 breadth of wing from costa; a very broad fascia from costa beyond middle to anal angle, both margins irregularly dentate; a dark-fuscous longitudinal streak at apex, attenuated anteriorly; between this and costa an ochreous-brown area with two white dots on costa; hindmarginal part of disc irrorated with fuscous; cilia white, a median fuscous line at apex, at anal angle slightly ochreous-tinged. Hindwings dark-grey; cilia ochreous-whitish.
Probably attached to Acacia. Brisbane: one specimen.

Synonymic description, T.P. Lucas, 1901
Plectophila ascripta nov. sp.
♂ 15 mm. Head and palpi, white. Antennae, white and fuscous finely annulated. Thorax, white, posteriorly shaded with fuscous. Abdomen, light fuscous. Forewings, costa gently rounded, hindmargin obliquely rounded, white with ferruginous markings. Forewings, with a narrow fuscous line on costa at base, which gradually becomes obscured along costa; an oblique line from 2/3 costa to below apical angle on hindmargin, the hindmarginal half is darkened deep black, and the whole line is suffused with ferruginous on costal side and with two or three small dashes on costa; a black margin line surrounds this round apex; from a point at 3/5 of costa a broad ferruginous fascia commences, having its base separated from half of apical fascia by a line of ground colour, thence runs to inner margin to just before anal angle; both borders are jagged and throw out tooth-like longer or shorter lines; a conspicuous spot opposite anal angle; a diffusion of light ferruginous along inner margin sends a quadrate spot of ferruginous to middle of wing before the half; a smaller spot on inner margin, nearer base. Cilia,  white, with au apical ferrous bar, and becoming ochreous at anal angle and along inner margin. Hindwings, light fuscous. Cilia, ochreous fuscous. May Orchard, Brisbane.

Diagnosis:
Description:
Head:
Thorax:
Abdomen:
Food plants:
Flight period: November.
Distribution: New South Wales, Queensland. Endemic. (Edwards, 2003).

Remarks: