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| Plutella copaquillaensis Vargas. 2024 |
Abstract
Background:
The moth genus Plutella Schrank, 1802 (Lepidoptera, Plutellidae) includes 26 described species. In addition to the diamondback moth, P. xylostella (Linnaeus, 1758), which is an important and widely distributed pest of cruciferous crops, only two species have been previously recorded in Chile, both with distribution ranges restricted to the southern temperate rainforests.
New information:
Plutella copaquillaensis sp. nov. is described and illustrated, based on adults reared from larvae collected on Neuontobotrys lanata (Walp.) Al-Shehbaz (Brassicaceae) in the arid highlands of the Andes of northern Chile. The new species resembles P. xylostella in wing pattern, but clearly differs in genitalia morphology.
Keywords: arid environments, diamondback moth, Neotropical Region, taxonomy, South America
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| Habitus of Plutella copaquillaensis sp. nov. A Holotype, dorsal; B Holotype head, lateral; C Holotype head, anterior; D Paratype male, dorsal; E Paratype female, dorsal; F Paratype female, dorsal; G Paratype female, dorsal. Scale bars 1, 0.5, 0.5, 1, 1, 1, 1 mm, respectively. |
Plutella copaquillaensis Vargas, sp. nov.
Diagnosis: Plutella copaquillaensis sp. nov. is recognised. based on genitalia morphology. The male lacks a gnathos and basal hook-like processes of the phallus ("lateral hooks" of Baraniak (2007)), has a triangular juxta and a cluster of spiniform setae on the sacculus near the convex part of the ventral margin of the valva and the female has the posterior projection on sternum VII arising between two small excavations. The forewing pattern of P. copaquillaensis sp. nov. is variable and closely resembles that of P. xylostella (Landry and Hebert 2013; figs. 10–16). Although the forewing of some specimens of P. copaquillaensis sp. nov. is more yellowish than that of P. xylostella, much of the variation overlaps between the two species. However, differences in genitalia morphology allow ...
Héctor A. Vargas. 2024. A New Species of Plutella Schrank (Lepidoptera, Plutellidae) from the Andes of northern Chile. Biodiversity Data Journal. 12: e139664. DOI: doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.12.e139664
