Introduction

Tortricidae family has approximately 11,365 species worldwide, consisting of 22 tribes within 3 subfamilies (Chlidanotinae, Olethreutinae and Tortricinae) ( Huang et al. 2023). This family includes many species that are economically harmful. Tortricidae are also notable for their use as biological agents and in genetic, evolutionary and pheromone studies ( Regier et al. 2012). Although many family- specific morphological characters have been described, the only known apomorphic character is the large flat papilla anales on the female genitalia ( Horak, 1999). In the first detailed molecular phylogenetic study of Tortricidae, Reiger et al. (2012) reported that the taxa Tortricinae and Olethreutinae are strongly monophyletic and are also sister groups, while the subfamily Chlidanotinae contains the earliest diverging tortricid lineages. Horak (1999) mentioned the following characters for the Olethreutinae subfamily in the key he created for the subfamilies within the Tortricidae family: Antennae are mostly short-ciliated and bear a ring of scales on each segment; juxta, caulis and aedeagus are fused in the male genitalia; sterigma is not connected to the anterior apophyses in the female genitalia and cubital pecten is usually visible.

Koçak & Kemal (2018) listed 507 taxa (505 species, 2 genera) belonging to the Tortricidae family from Türkiye. Kemal et al. (2019) added the species Eana andreana (Kennel, 1919) to the fauna of Türkiye. Then, in 2020, Kemal & Koçak (2020) described a new species ( Thiodia uyghurica) in the Tortricidae. In this case, the number of Tortricidae species can be expressed as 507 in Türkiye.

In this study, a new species Pelochrista huebneriana (Lienig, 1846 in Lienig & Zeller) is recorded for Tortricidae in the Turkish fauna.

Material and methods

The available material was collected from Central Anatolia of Türkiye, Sivas prov., in 2015. The sample was caught by UV light traps and equipment that consisted of UV LED strip lights, 12 volts and 7 ampere battery, killing bottle (ethyl acetate) and a funnel box. The trap was positioned at the trapping sites before sunset and were taken back in the early hours of the morning. After killing the specimen with ethyl acetate, it was pinned and labelled. Specimen was identified according to their external characters and genital structure. Genital dissection was performed following Robinson (1976). Approximately 10% potassium hydroxide (KOH) was used to macerate the entire abdomen. The cleaned abdominal segments and genital organs were dehydrated overnight in 96% ethanol before mounting on Euparal. Adult specimen of the species was photographed with a Nikon D7100 camera, and the genitalia of male was dissected and prepared under a Leica S8APO stereo microscope by the first author. The material was stored in the Zoology Research Laboratory of Bitlis Eren University.

Results

Family Tortricidae Latreille, 1803

Subfamily Olethreutinae Walsingham, 1895

Tribus Eucosmini Meyrick, 1909

Genus Pelochrista Lederer, 1859

Pelochrista Lederer, 1859, Wien. ent. Monats., 3, 331

= Callimosema Clemens, 1865; Eucosmoides Obraztsov, 1946; Pseudeucosma Obraztsov, 1946; Pygolopha Lederer, 1859 ( Gilligan et al. 2013).

Pelochrista larvae, most of the species of which are distributed in the Holoarctic region, feed commonly on species belonging to the Asteraceae family ( Gilligan et al. 2013). Koçak & Kemal (2006) listed 84 species belonging to this genus. Later, Gilliagan & Wright (2013) presented a total of 311 taxa, 85 of which were synonyms. In “Tortricid.net”, an important online platform for Tortricidae, there are 341 names in the genus Pelochrista ( Gilligan et al. 2018). Koçak & Kemal (2018) mentioned 12 species concerning Pelochrista genus in Türkiye. These are; Pelochrista agrestana (Treitschke, 1830); P. arabescana (Eversmann, 1844); P. caecimaculana (Hübner, [1799]); P. dagestana Obraztsov, 1949; P. griseolana (Zeller, 1847); P. hepatariana (Herrich-Schäffer, [1851]); P. infidana (Hübner, [1824]); P. invisitana Kuznetsov, 1986; P. labyrinthicana (Christoph, 1872); P. medullana (Staudinger, 1880); P. modicana (Zeller, 1847) and P. praefractana ( Kennel, 1901). The type locality of two of these species ( P. invisitana (type loc.: Mardin), P. medullana (type loc.: Izmir)) is Türkiye ( Gilliagan & Wright, 2013). The species Pelochrista praefractana listed by Koçak & Kemal (2018) was described by Kennel in 1901 in the genus Epiblema based on 1 female specimen in Staudinger’s collection. The type locality was stated as “Itmasia”. Gilliagan & Wright (2013) presented the species P. praefractana Kennel, 1901 under the title “Eucosmini unplaced” in their catalog of the genera Eucopina, Eucosma, Pelochrista, Phaneta and gave the type locality as Russia: Amasia. LEPIFORUM e. V. (2024) stated that the type locality of this species was mistakenly written as “Itmasia” and the correct one is Amasya and presented the species in the genus Epiblema. This species is currently included in the genus Epiblema in “Fauna Europaea” ( De Jong, 2016).

Pelochrista huebneriana (Lienig, 1846 in Lienig & Zeller) ( Figure 1)

Paedisca huebneriana Lienig, 1846 in Lienig & Zeller. Isis von Oken, 1846(3), 237-238

LT: [LATVIA, Livlandia (East Balticum).

=Grapholitha chanana Staudinger, 1900. Dt. ent. Iris, 12, 349

Material: 1 ♂ Türkiye, Sivas province, Mescidli village, 08-IX-2015. leg. Akın & Seven.

Distribution: China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Sweden, Finland, the Baltics, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Austria, and Türkiye (this study) (Razowski, 2003; Kopp & Brägger, 2017).

Considering European countries in the distribution of the species, the record in Türkiye constitutes the southernmost record in the distribution of the species.

Host-plant: Unknown, but as mentioned above, larvae of most species of this genus feed on Asteraceae plants.

Diagnosis: In the identification of the species, the dorso-postbasal blotch and the subtornal blotch on the forewing of the adult stand out. In the male genitalia, the shape of the cucullus and the spine it bears, the shape of the sacculus and the basal cavity are prominent.

As a result of this study, Pelochrista huebneriana (Lienig, 1846 in Lienig & Zeller) is presented as a new record for the Tortricidae fauna of Türkiye. According to the literature evaluated above, the species P. praefractana ( Kennel, 1901), which is included in the genus Pelochrista in the Lepidoptera list of Türkiye, should be included in the genus Epiblema. Together with the new record of P. huebneriana (Lienig, 1846 in Lienig & Zeller), the number of Pelochrista species in Türkiye should be considered as twelve.

Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Peter Huemer (Austria) for help in confirming the identification of the species and Dr. Mustafa Özdemir (Türkiye) for help in obtaining some sources.

References

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