Dahlica latisquama
| Dahlica latisquama | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Dahlica latisquama | ||||||||||||
| Weidlich , 2015 |
Dahlica latisquama is a butterfly from the family of the real sack bearer (Psychidae).
features
The males reach a wingspan of 11.4 to 14 millimeters. The eyes are black, there are no ocelles . The eye relief is significantly larger than the eye diameter. The forehead ( frons ) is hairy black-gray. The labial palps are only rudimentary. The antennae are scaly and reach to the middle of the costalrandes of the forewings. They are ventrally ciliate, the lashes being slightly longer than the middle antennae. The number of antennae is including the scapus and pedicellus 26 to 29. The forewings are black-gray and provided with irregular and variable light dots. The discoid spot can be seen in most cases. The cover scales have a wide, three-pointed or four-pointed shape. The fringed scales are two- or three-pointed and lanceolate. The wing veins are only visible after the scales have been removed. The hind wings are gray and have darker fringed scales. The wing veins are recognizable. The eighth and last body segment is hairy yellow, the rest of the body is hairy black-gray. The anterior tibia has no epiphysis . The middle tibiae have one pair of spurs and the posterior tibiae have two pairs of spurs. All legs have five tarsal links .
The genital apparatus has a distally flattened vinculum . The Tegumen roof is narrow, tapers and is provided with an indentation. The blades are elongated, the clavus is long and strong and drawn out to a point. The saccus is missing. The aedeagus is curved and has a support rod.
The females are yellowish light brown in color and wingless. They are about two millimeters long and less than a millimeter in diameter. The body is provided with a white thinning hair. The seventh abdominal segment is ventrally hairy and gray-white. The eyes are small and black, there are no ocelles. The interpupillary distance is three times the diameter of the eyes. The antennae are long and, including the scapus and pedicellus, consist of 16 to 17 segments. All legs have four tarsal links.
The sack is small and round and mostly two-edged. It is about five to six millimeters long and 1.5 to two millimeters in diameter. The dorsal edge is seldom visible, it is then a little darker. The sacks consist of small whitish yellow to yellowish brown rock particles that are mixed with a small amount of detritus particles . The sack itself is medium gray to grayish brown.
Similar species
The males of Dahlica latisquama are similar in color to Siederia listerella ( Linnaeus , 1758), but they can be distinguished by the lack of epiphyses on the front legs. The genus Dahlica includes other species with broadly developed cover scales. When comparing the widest scales of Dahlica latisquama , similarly shaped scales can only be found in Dahlica pangeoensis Weidlich , 2013 and Dahlica rianella Hättenschwieler , 1981. The first-named species is endemic in Greece , the last-named in Spain.
The females of Dahlica latisquama can hardly be distinguished from Dahlica nickerlii ( Heinemann , 1870), Dahlica wockii ( Heinemann , 1870) and Dahlica sauteri ( Hättenschwieler , 1977) on the basis of the number of antennae segments . The sack is very similar to those of D. sauteri .
distribution
Dahlica latisquama was found in eastern Slovakia near Sabinov at an altitude of 330 to 390 meters.
biology
Dahlica latisquama colonizes the soil layer. The species prefers sunny, open, grassy and sandy places and forms one generation per year. The last instar caterpillars and pupae were found from late March to April. Under breeding conditions, the males usually hatched in the evening hours, but some also hatched in the morning. The females left the pupa in the morning with the first light of day.
etymology
Dahlica latisquama was named after the characteristic wide covering scales on the front wings of the males ( Latin latitúdo = wide and squama = scale).