Dyseriocrania auricyanea Walsingham 1882

Dyseriocrania auricyanea (Walsingham)

Micropteryx auricyanea Walsingham, 1882:204.—Riley, 1891: 111, no. 6016.

Eriocrania auricyanea (Walsingham).—Walsingham, 1898:162.

Eriocrania aurocyanea [sic] (Walsingham).—Walsingham, 1898:162.

Eriocephala auricyanea (Walsingham).—Dyar, 1902[1903]:581, no. 6618.—Kearfott, 1903:125, no. 7165.

Mnemonica auricyanea (Walsingham).—Meyrick, 1912a:19; 1912b:5.—Barnes and McDunnough, 1917:197, no. 8477.—McDunnough, 1939:110, no. 9852.

Eriocrania cyanosparsella Williams, 1908:14 [new synonym].—Needham, Frost and Tothill, 1928:78.

Mnemonica cyanosparsella (Williams).—Meyrick, 1912a:19; 1912b:5.—Barnes and McDunnough, 1917:197, no. 8476.—Keifer, 1927:138.—McDunnough, 1939:110, no. 9851.—Armitage, 1951:111.

Dyseriocrania cyanosparsella (Williams).—Opler, 1974:16.

ADULT (Figure 167).—Wing Expanse: 10.5–13 mm; 9.3–10.5 mm.

Head: Vertex and frons covered with long, divergent white to predominantly white hairs intermixed with a scattering of pale brownish hairs. Antennae approximately 0.65 the length of forewings, 44–48 segmented; scape whitish; flagellum white ventrally and laterally, light fuscous dorsally. Maxillary palpi pale brown; apex of terminal segment largely naked except for 5–6 apical setae and 2–3 subapical setae; setae very short, length less than 2.0 their width; surface of apical region rougher than in D. griseocapitella due to a scattered series of rudimentary, appressed spines. Labial palpi whitish, particularly on ventral and inner surfaces, with scattered, elongate brownish scales.

Thorax: Dorsum almost equally intermixed with elongate hairs and broader, appressed scales of white and light brown. Venter white. Legs mostly white ventrally and bronzy brown dorsally. Forewings pale golden brown, and rather distinctly marked with several small patches of darker, purplish scales; heaviest patches of purplish scales typically arranged into three narrow, irregular, and approximately parallel bands obliquely slanted from hind margin toward costa and apex; the median fascia usually the most distinct with the outer fascia the least well developed; purplish spots also present along costal margin and outer margins of wings; fringe uniformly light golden bown. Hind wings slightly darker in color, more grayish brown with a slight purplish luster.

Abdomen (Figures 222–223): Sparsely covered pale grayish white hairs, usually more whitish ventrally. Fifth sternite of both sexes with a pair of large, reniform tubercules situated toward lateral margin of sternite; surface of tubercules swollen, reticulated; tubercules wider than long; length approximately 0.5–0.6 the length of sternite. Fourth sternite of female with a pair of moderately large fenestral areas about half the diameter of 5th sternal tubercules; fenestrae situated more mesad than glands; 4th sternite of male without fenestrae. Posterior margin of 8th segment of female not deeply clefted, nearly simple.

Male Genitalia (Figures 257–258): Uncus shallowly bilobed, lobes reduced, rather narrowly separated. Anal tube membranous, with several minute, scattered spines; basal sclerites absent. Median lobe from caudal margin of vinculum pronounced; margin deeply excavated on either side of median lobe; anterior apophyses elongate, approximately 0.8 the length of undivided vinculum. Juxta broadest anteriorly, then narrowing gradually to acute caudal apex; greatest width approximately 0.7 its length. Base of aedeagus moderately swollen, much less so than in D. griseocapitella; ventral branch of aedeagus slender, with bilateral pair of small, rounded lobes at basal sixth; apex of ventral branch simple, acute.

Female Genitalia (Figures 296–298, 334): Apex of ovipositor subacuminate to acute; lateral edges serrulate, with 12–14 minute teeth. Bursa copulatrix of moderate length, not surpassing cephalic apices of anterior apophyses when extended; walls of corpus bursae with numerous minute spines concentrated especially over caudal two-thirds. Vaginal sclerite moderately sclerotized; broad, greatest width approximately 0.65 its length, not depressed, with a prominent, triangular ventral keel; structure of sclerite as in Figure 297.

LARVA (Figures 103–107).—Length of largest larva 8.5 mm; diameter 1.2 mm.

Head: Relatively dark brown except for blackish outline of frontal sutures. Greatest width 0.6 mm; length 0.7 mm. Va situated approximately midway between V1 and V2. Pl moderately elongate, arising either within or very approximate to ecdysial line. A1 present. Chaetotaxy of labrum similar to that of D. griseocapitella; all setae simple, acute; anterior margin of pilifers and epipharynx densely spinose; M3 arising much closer to M2 than L3. Mandibles with an inner median tuft of 12–15 elongate, finely branched setae.

Thorax: Pronotal shield consisting of 2 pair of irregular, brownish plates partially confluent across midline. Prosternum with a large pair of brownish plates partially confluent at midline; plates roughly triangular in form with apex of triangle directed anteriorly. Meso- and metathorax without sclerotized plates. L2 relatively well developed on meso- and metathorax, approximately equal to L1. Subventral setae trisetose on prothorax.

Abdomen: Integument without pigmentation, appearing whitish except for a minute pair of longitudinal, brownish spots near lateroposterior margin of anal segment; barlike spots without enlarged cephalic end. L1 present on all segments, situated relatively high above SD1 and spiracles on I to VIII. SV2 variable, but typically present on segments I to VIII. Segment IX with 7 pair of primary setae; SD2, L3, and SV2 absent.

TYPES.—Holotype, , No. 1622 (Eriocrania auricyanea); in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University. Holotype , No. 3219 (Eriocrania cyanosparsella); in the California Academy of Sciences.

TYPE-LOCALITIES.—Unknown [probably California] (Eriocrania auricyanea). At the base of Mt. Tamalpais, Marin County, California, in a small grove of oaks (Quercus agrifolia), (Eriocrania cyanosparsella).

HOST.—Fagaceae: “Quercus agrifolia Neé,” Keifer, 1927; “Putative mines on Quercus douglasii H. and A., Q. dumosa Nutt., Q. lobata Neé and Q. wislizenii A.DC.,” Opler, 1974.

FLIGHT PERIOD.—Early March to mid-April; univoltine. The December through March emergence dates of Keifer (see “Material Examined”) have not been considered here because they are suspected to be laboratory rearings and, thus, probably do not reflect natural emergence dates.

DISTRIBUTION (Map 2).—This species is known only from California, where it occurs, according to Opler (1974), from Shasta County southward in the Coast ranges and western foothills of the Sierra Nevadas to Santa Cruz Island and the San Gabriel Mountains.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.—35 males, 17 females, and 1 larva. UNITED STATES. CALIFORNIA: Alameda Co: Alameda: 1 , 1 (CAS). Strawberry Canyon, Berkeley Hills: 1 , 23 Mar, 1 larva, 11 Apr (UCB). Lake Co: Lakeport: 6 , 1–15 Apr (CAS). Lower Lake: 2 , 1 , 15 Apr (CAS). Marin Co: Mt Tamalpais: 1 (holotype), 3 Mar (CAS); 1 (paratype), 3 Mar (CAS); 2 (paratypes), 3 Mar (USNM). Novato: 1 , 6 Apr (CAS). San Luis Obispo Co: Black Mts: 1 , 29 Mar (USNM). San Mateo Co: San Francisco: 2 , 14 Apr (LACM); 15 , 9 , 6 Dec–30 Mar (CAS); 3 , 3 , 7 Dec–29 Mar (USNM). Sonoma Co: Boyes Hot Springs: 1 , 31 Mar (CAS). Cazadero: 1 , 12 Apr (CAS).

Other Records (not examined): CALIFORNIA: Alameda Co: Berkeley, Univ. Calif. campus: 2 , 26 Feb (UCB). Contra Costa Co: Antioch: 2 , 26 Mar (UCB). 2 mi [3.2 km] E Antioch: 3 , 26 Mar (UCB). 2 mi [3.2 km] N Orinda: 2 , 1 , 26 Feb (UCB). Russel Farm, 4 mi [6.4 km] NE Orinda: 1 , 19 Apr (UCB). Richmond: 1 10 Apr (UCB). E1 Dorado Co: Cool: 2 , 23 Mar (UCB). Marin Co: Vicinity of Phoenix Lake: 1 , 2 Apr (UCB). Mendocino Co: 3 mi [4.8 km] N Branscomb, 1400 ft [427 ml: 2 , 4 , 16–17 May (UCB). San Bernardino Co: 10 mi [16 km] N Fontana, Lytle Creek Ranger Sta: 1 , 17 Apr (UCB). Santa Barbara Co: Prisoner's Harbor, Santa Cruz Island: 4 , 16 Mar (UCB). Santa Clara Co: Herbert Cr, 3 mi [4.8 km] W New Almaden: 1 , 18 Apr (UCB). Sierra Co: Shenanigan Flat, 14 mi [22.4 km] W Donnieville: 1 , 18 Apr (UCB). Ventura Co: Oxnard: 1 , 11 Apr (UCB).

Dyseriocrania auricyanea is a moth of the family Eriocraniidae. It was first described by Baron Walsingham in 1882 and is found in California.

The wingspan is 10.5–13 mm for males and 9.3–10.5 mm for females. The forewings are pale golden brown, and rather distinctly marked with several small patches of darker, purplish scales. The hindwings are slightly darker in color and more grayish brown with a slight purplish luster. Adults are on wing from early March to mid-April in one generation per year.

The larvae possibly feed on the coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia), blue oak (Quercus douglasii), coastal sage scrub oak (Quercus dumosa), valley oak (Quercus lobata) and interior live oak (Quercus wislizenii). They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine starts as a linear or slightly curved passage to the leaf margin. It is then quickly enlarged to an inflated, full-length blotch. Full-grown larvae leave the mine through a slit in the upper leaf epidermis and drop to the ground. They then burrow into the litter beneath the host plant and form a whitish silken cocoon covered with darker soil particles. The larvae have a brownish body and a dark brown head.