Pseudopostega colognatha Davis & Stonis 2007

Pseudopostega colognatha

ADULT. Figure 178. Length of forewing 1.8–2.1 mm. Small white moth with forewing pattern similar to that of P. latifurcata latifurcata, bearing a large brown to fuscous dorsal spot that extends most of the length of the hind margin and 2 dark brown, subapical costal strigulae. Male with apex of gnathos strongly recurved, relatively short, appearing blunt (viewed ventrally); basal fold, narrow, strongly arched (Figure 330). Female unknown.

Head: Vestiture white. Scape white. Flagellum light brown, ~45–48-segmented. Maxillary palpus cream; labial palpus cream, with suffusion of brown laterally.

Thorax: White; anterior margin of tegula fuscous. Forewing white, with large dark brown to fuscous dorsal spot extending ~half the length of wing from near base to distal fourth; a closely parallel pair of dark brown to fuscous, subapical costal stigulae extending across base of terminal cilia from costa to wing apex; strigula 1 terminating at reduced, dark brown to fuscous, apical spot; costal third to one-half of proximal margin of strigula 1 shadowed with dark brown suffusion, which can appear as an additional, although indistinct, strigula; strigula 2 sometimes faint, usually curving around apical spot; terminal cilia cream to light brown; venter of forewing brown with basal portion of discal area white. Hindwing and cilia pale brown with basal suffusion of white both dorsally and ventrally; distal half of wing unusually slender. Legs mostly white to cream; foreleg brown over lateral and dorsal surfaces; midleg and hindleg with light brownish suffusion dorsally, especially over terminal tarsal segments.

Abdomen: Brown dorsally, white to cream ventrally.

Male Genitalia: Figures 330, 331. Socii a pair of moderately large, rounded, setose lobes, separated by a distance less than half the length of cucullar lobe. Caudal rim of uncus moderately concave. Vinculum broadly V-shaped; anterior margin subacute. Gnathos broad, width approximately equaling distance between lateral margins of socii; caudal third abruptly constricted to form relatively short, stout lobe; apex of lobe dorsally upturned, bluntly rounded; anterior margin of gnathos deeply concave, with narrow, strongly arched, basal fold (Figure 330). Valva with a relatively large, oval cucullar lobe ~0.55× length of genital capsule, bearing a pectinifer consisting of 47–49 blunt spines; pedicel elliptical, very slender, broadest width ~0.1× length of cucullar lobe; valva long, length along sacculus ~0.8× length of genital capsule; saccular lobe short, rounded; basal process of valva elongate, gradually tapering to acute base; costal process of valva very slender and elongate, terminating near anterior margin of vinculum near basal process of valva. Juxta a slender, membranous, median extension from vinculum.

FEMALE, LARVA AND PUPA. Unknown.

HOLOTYPE. ♂; USA: PUERTO RICO: Patillas, 590 m: 1 ♂, Aug 1987, V. O. Becker, slide USNM 32475 (USNM).

PARATYPES. PUERTO RICO: Carite, 500 m: 1 ♂, 17 Aug 1987, V. O. Becker (USNM). Cayey, 450 m: 2 ♂, 1 UNK, 2 Aug 1987, V. O. Becker, slide USNM 32751 (USNM). Patillas, 590 m: 1 ♂, Aug 1987, V. O. Becker, slide USNM 32750 (USNM).

HOST. Unknown.

FLIGHT PERIOD. August.

DISTRIBUTION. (Map 9) Currently known only from Puerto Rico.

ETYMOLOGY. The species name is derived from the Greek kolos (shortened, stunted) and gnathos (jaw), in reference to the short, blunt apex of the gnathos as viewed ventrally.

DISCUSSION. The large dark brown dorsal spot on the forewing of P. colognatha is similar to that present in P. dorsalis dorsalis and P. latifurcata latifurcata, although in dorsalis the spot usually extends to the costal margin and the terminal cilia are typically lighter in color in colognatha. The gnathos of colognatha is characteristic in having the broad base abruptly constricted to form a stout, dorsally recurved caudal lobe. Viewed ventrally the “apex” of the lobe appears truncate. The basal fold is relatively narrow and strongly arched caudally. The valva is very long with proportionately the longest costal process of any species of Pseudopostega.

Pseudopostega colognatha is a moth of the family Opostegidae. It was described by Donald R. Davis and Jonas R. Stonis, 2007. It is known from Puerto Rico.

The length of the forewings is 1.8–2.1 mm. Adults have been recorded in August.