Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Xylorycta argentella



Xylorycta argentella (Walker, 1864)


QM

ANIC

Cryptolechia argentella Walker, 1864, Tineites. List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum. Vol. 29. 562–835 pp. [750]. Holotype BMNH ♀, Sydney, NSW.
Xylorycta argentella Walk. Meyrick, 1890: Descriptions of Australian Lepidoptera. Part I. Xyloryctidae. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 13: 23–81 [60].
Xylorycta argentella Walk. Lower, 1896: A catalogue of Victorian Heterocera. Part xix. The Victorian Naturalist, 12: 149-152 [151].
Xylorycta argentella Walk. Turner, 1898. The Xyloryctidae of Queensland. Annals of the Queensland Museum 4: 1–32 [14].
Xylorycta argentella (Walker, 1864). Common, in Nielsen, Edwards, & Rangsi, 1996, Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera, 4: i-xiv, 1-529 & CD-ROM [88].
Xylorycta argentella (Walker, 1864). Beccaloni, G. W., Scoble, M. J., Robinson, G. S. & Pitkin, B. (Editors). 2003. The Global Lepidoptera Names Index (LepIndex). World Wide Web electronic publication. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/entomology/lepindex [accessed 5 May 2010].
Xylorycta argentella (Walker, 1864). Edwards, E. D. (2003), Xyloryctinae. Australian Faunal Directory. Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra. http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/abrs/online-resources/fauna/afd/taxa/XYLORYCTINAE [accessed 19 June 2010].

Original description, Walker 1864
Cryptolechia argentella.
Foem. Argenteo-alba; caput apud oculos ochraceum; palpi pedesque anteriores nigricantes; abdomen fasciis auratis; tibiae posticae fimbriate; alae posticae nigro-cinereae, fimbria flavo-alba.
Female. Silvery white, shining. Head ochraceous about the eyes. Palpi smooth, mostly blackish, much longer than the breadth of the head; third joint setiform, a little shorter than the second. Abdomen with gilded bands, hardly extending beyond the hind wings. Anterior legs mostly blackish; hind tibiae fringed. Fore wings slightly acute; exterior border, straight, moderately oblique; under side and hind wings blackish cinereous, the latter with yellowish white fringe. Length of the body 6 lines [12.7mm]; of the wings, 16 lines [33.9mm].
a. Sydney. From Mr. Diggles’ collection.
 
Subsequent description, Meyrick 1890
Xyl. argentella, Walk.
(Cryptolechia argentella, Walk., 750.)
Both sexes 18-30 mm. Head pale yellowish-ochreous, sides of face light fuscous. Palpi white, second joint fuscous except on lower half beneath. Antennae whitish. Thorax white, becoming whitish-ochreous anteriorly. Abdomen white, anal tuft ochreous-tinged. Legs dark fuscous, apex of joints whitish, posterior pair whitish-ochreous. Forewings elongate, moderate, costa gently arched, apex. round-pointed, hindmargin straight, oblique; shining white, faintly ochreous-tinged, more distinctly on costal edge; costal edge very slenderly black on basal fourth: cilia ochreous-white. Hindwings light grey, becoming ochreous-whitish towards inner margin; cilia ochreous-whitish.
Sydney, New South Wales; Melbourne, Victoria; Deloraine and Hobart, Tasmania; from October to March, rather common.

X. argentella, Walk. (Cryptolechia argentella. Walk., 750; Xylorycta argentella, Meyr., Tr. Roy. Soc. S.A., 60, 1889).
Melbourne. (Lower, 1896).

X. argentella, Walk. (Cryptolechia argentella,
Walk. 750; Xylorycta argentella, Meyrick, 60.) Antennal ciliations of male, 2. Brisbane: one specimen. (Turner, 1898).

Diagnosis:
Description:
Head:
Thorax:
Abdomen:
Food plants:
Flight period: October, November, December, January, February, March.
Distribution: New South Wales. Endemic. (Edwards, 2003).

Remarks: