Cremastobombycia socoromaensis sp. nov., the first South American representative of the micromoth genus Cremastobombycia Braun (Lepidoptera, Gracillariidae, Lithocolletinae)

By

Vargas, Héctor A.

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2024

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

1218

Pages

333--342

Subjects

Andes , Chile , leaf miner , new record , new species , taxonomy

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1218.135606

 

Abstract

The micromoth Cremastobombycia socoromaensissp. nov. (Lepidoptera, Gracillariidae, Lithocolletinae) from the arid highlands of the western slope of the Andes of northern Chile is described and illustrated. Larvae construct bulged leaf mines on the shrub Baccharis tola Phil. (Asteraceae). Pupation occurs in a silk cocoon constructed by the last instar larva inside the mine. The cocoon and the mine surface are pierced by the frontal process of the pupa to allow adult emergence. This discovery represents the first record of Cremastobombycia Braun, 1908 in South America.