Pseudopostega subtila Davis & Stonis 2007

Pseudopostega subtila

ADULT. Figure 175. Length of forewing 3.8 mm. Small, mostly white moth with white forewings marked by 2 fuscous, subapical costal strigulae, with brownish basal suffusion, a fainter, fuscous, apical strigula, a short, fuscous, tornal strigula, and a small black apical spot. Male genitalia with a broadly triangular gnathos terminating in an elongate, slender, caudal lobe; basal fold narrow, with slightly concave anterior margin (Figures 323, 324). Female unknown.

Head: Vestiture white. Scape white; flagellum light golden brown, paler ventrally, 67-segmented. Maxillary palpus cream. Labial palpus cream, with brownish suffusion dorsally.

Thorax: Entirely white. Forewing white, immaculate except for a pair of fuscous to brown subapical costal strigulae, a single, faint, fuscous apical strigula, a single tornal strigula, and a small black, apical spot; strigula 1 extremely short and fuscous at costa, becoming gradually broader, more suffused and golden brown to black apical spot; strigula 2 fading into golden brown suffusion before apical spot; apical strigula faint, curving around and beyond apical spot; tornal strigula fuscous, beginning below apical spot and ending at tornus; terminal cilia mostly white, becoming cream around tornus; venter of forewing light brown except for short, basal white patch. Hindwing and cilia light golden brown dorsally and ventrally. Legs mostly white to cream; foreleg with lateral and dorsal surfaces of femur, most of tibia, and some tarsomeres suffused with pale fuscous; tarsi of mid- and hindlegs without dark suffusion.

Abdomen: Brown dorsally and laterally, white ventrally.

Male Genitalia: Figures 323–325. Socii a pair of moderately long rounded, setose lobes, widely separated by a distance ~0.4× length of cucullar lobe; caudal rim of uncus shallowly concave. Vinculum moderately broad, with rounded anterior margin. Gnathos broadly triangular, tapering abruptly to form a slender, elongate, slightly recurved dorsally, caudal lobe; apex of lobe subacute; anterior margin of gnathos shallowly concave; basal fold narrow, moderately arched. Valva with an elongate cucullar lobe ~0.65× length of genital capsule, bearing a pectinifer consisting of ~55 blunt spines; distal apex of cucullar lobe slightly extended; pedicel broad, ~0.13× length of cucullar lobe; length of valva along sacculus ~0.7× length of genital capsule; saccular lobe stout, moderately long with a highly irregular, rugose apex bearing ~7–8 setae; basal process of valva tapering to acute apex, approximately equaling length of slender costal process. Juxta developed as a slender median rod from vinculum.

FEMALE, LARVA AND PUPA. Unknown.

HOLOTYPE. ♂; BRAZIL: MINAS GERAIS: Nova Lima, 850 m, 30 Dec 1988, V. O. Becker, slide DRD 4235 (VOB).

HOST. Unknown.

FLIGHT PERIOD. December (unique record).

DISTRIBUTION. (Map 7) Known only from the type locality in the state of Minas Gerais of southeastern Brazil.

ETYMOLOGY. The species name is derived from the Latin subtilis (thin, slender, acute) in reference to the elongate, slender, caudal lobe of the male gnathos.

DISCUSSION. The male of this species is partially characterized by the long, slender caudal lobe and slender basal fold of the gnathos and elongate cucullar lobes. Pseudopostega subtila differs from P. trinidadensis by the more slender apical lobe and broader apex of the saccular lobes of the valvae. From P. acuminata it differs in possessing much longer cucullar lobes and an evenly rounded anterior margin of the vinculum.

Pseudopostega subtila is a moth of the family Opostegidae. It was described by Donald R. Davis and Jonas R. Stonis, 2007. It is known from the state of Minas Gerais of south-eastern Brazil.

The length of the forewings is about 3.8 mm. Adults have been recorded in December.