Friday, July 2, 2010

Scieropepla


Scieropepla Meyrick, 1885


Scieropepla Meyrick, 1885 [Gelechiadae]. Descriptions of New Zealand Microlepidoptera. Gelechiadae VIII. Tineina (part). New Zealand Journal of Science 2: 589–592 [590]. Type species: Scieropepla typhicola Meyrick, 1885 by monotypy.
Scieropepla Meyrick, 1885. Meyrick, 1886: Description of New Zealand Micro-Lepidoptera, Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 18, 162-183 (165).
Scieropepla Meyr. Meyrick, 1890, Descriptions of Australian Lepidoptera. Part I. Xyloryctidae. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 13: 23–81 (67).
Scieropepla Meyr. Turner, 1898. The Xyloryctidae of Queensland. Ann. Qd Mus. 4: 1–32 [25].
Aulacomima Meyrick, 1904. Descriptions of Australian Micro-lepidoptera. XVIII. Gelechiadae. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 29: 255–441 [256]. Type species: Aulacomima trinervis Meyrick, 1904 by monotypy.
Scieropepla Meyr. Meyrick, 1915, Descriptions of New Zealand Lepidoptera, Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute, XLVII, 205-244 (221).
Scieropepla. Philpott, 1927. The Maxillae in the Lepidoptera. Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Vol. 57, 721-745 [735].
Scieropepla Meyrick, 1885 [Cryptophasidae]. Fletcher, T. B., 1929, A list of generic names used for Microlepidoptera. Memoirs of the Department of Agriculture of India,  11: 1-244 [200].
Aulacomima Meyrick 1904 [Gelechiidae], junior subjective synonym of Brachmia Hübner, [1825]. Fletcher, T. B., 1929, A list of generic names used for Microlepidoptera. Memoirs of the Department of Agriculture of India,  11: 1-244 [28]. [Synonymy not noted].
Scieropepla. Common, 1970: Lepidoptera (Moths and Butterflies), The Insects of Australia, Melbourne University Press, 765-866 (824).
Aulacomima Meyrick, 1904. Sattler, K., 1974, A catalogue of the family-group and genus-group names of the Gelechiidae, Holcopogonidae, Lecithoceridae and Symmocidae (Lepidoptera), Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology, Vol. XXVIII, 153-282 (175).
Scieropepla Meyrick, 1886. Sattler, K., 1974, A catalogue of the family-group and genus-group names of the Gelechiidae, Holcopogonidae, Lecithoceridae and Symmocidae (Lepidoptera), Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology, Vol. XXVIII, 153-282 (248).
Scieropepla Meyrick, 1885. Common, in Nielsen, Edwards, & Rangsi, 1996, Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera, 4: i-xiv, 1-529 & CD-ROM [88].
Scieropepla. Hodges, 1998, The Gelechioidea, in Kristensen, 1999, Handbook of Zoology, Volume IV, Arthropoda: Insecta, Part 35, Lepidoptera , Moths and Butterflies Vol, 1, Evolution, Systematics, and Biogeography, 131-158 (157).
Scieropepla [xyloryctid assemblage] Kaila, 2004, Phylogeny of the superfamily Gelechioidea (Lepidoptera: Ditrysia): an exemplar approach, Cladistics 20 (2004) 303–340
Scieropepla [Oecophoridae, Hierodoris Group). Hoare, Robert J. B., 2005, Hierodoris (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Gelechioidea: Oecophoridae), and overview of Oecophoridae, Fauna of New Zealand, Ko te Aitanga Pepeke o Aotearoa, 54 (1-102) [12.14].
Scieropepla Meyrick, 1885. 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 1 May 2010].
Scieropepla Meyrick, 1885. 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 17 June 2010].

Original description, Meyrick 1885
Scieropepla, n. g.
Head smooth; no ocelli; tongue well-developed. Antennae 2/3, in male shortly ciliated (1), with angularly projecting joints, basal joint moderately elongate, without pecten. Labial palpi moderately long, recurved, smoothly scaled, second joint somewhat thickened terminally, terminal joint rather shorter than second, acute. Maxillary palpi short, appressed to tongue. Posterior tibiae clothed with dense long hairs above. Forewings with vein 1 furcate, upper fork partially obsolete, 2 from 4/5 of cell, 3 and 4 approximated at base, 7 and 8 stalked, 7 to costa, 11 from middle of cell. Hindwings as broad as forewings, tolerably trapezoidal, apex round-pointed, hindmargin hardly sinuate, cilia 2/3; 3 and 4 short-stalked, 5 from nearer 4 than 6, 6 and 7 stalked.
An early type, represented by several species in Australia. The larvae of two are known, both feeding in seed-heads.

 Subsequent description, Meyrick 1890
Scieropepla, Meyr.
Head smooth; ocelli absent; tongue well developed. Antennae moderate, in male serrate, moderately ciliated (½ - 1), basal joint moderate, without pecten. Labial palpi moderately long, recurved, second joint smooth-scaled, somewhat thickened terminally, terminal joint shorter than second (½ to nearly 1), acute. Maxillary palpi very short, appressed to tongue. Thorax smooth. Abdomen moderate. Posterior tibiae densely roughhaired above.Forewings with vein 1 furcate towards base, 2 from 4/5, 7 and 8 stalked, 7 to costa, 11 from middle. Hindwings 1 or somewhat over, trapezoidal, apex roundpointed, 1b densely haired towards base, shortly furcate at base, 3 and 4 short-stalked, 5 tolerably parallel, 6 and 7 stalked, 8 connected with cell by bar before or beyond middle, cell sometimes bent up on bar. 

Synonymic description, Meyrick 1915
Aulacomima, n. g.
Antennae 4/5, in ♂ - (?), basal joint moderate, without pecten. Labial palpi long, recurved, second joint with appressed scales, hardly roughened beneath, terminal joint shorter than second, acute. Forewings : 2 and 3 connate, 7 and 8 stalked, 7 to apex. Hindwings hardly over 1, trapezoidal, apex obtuse, termen hardly sinuate, cilia 3/5; 3 and 4 connate, 5 rather approximated to 4, 6 and 7 stalked.
Probably nearly correlated to the preceding [Phloeograptis, Oecophorinae]. Imago with forewings elongate, apex obtuse.

Other references

Scieropepla Meyr.
Scieropepla Meyr., Trans. N.Z. Inst, xviii, 165 (1886); type, typhicola Meyr.
Forewings with 7 and 8 stalked, 7 to costa.
A small Australian genus.
S. typhicola Meyr., Trans. N.Z. Inst, 1885, 165.
Christchurch; also occurs in south-east Australia, which isprobably its home. Larva in seed-heads and stems of Typha. (Meyrick, 1915).

Good examples, of progressive reduction in the maxillary palpi are exhibited in this large family. Lichenaula has a five-segmented palp; the genera Telecrates, Odites, Procometis, Agriophora [sic], Chalarotona, Scieropepla, Eschatura, Uzucha, and Catoryctis have each lost a segment; Xylorycta and Maroga have only three remaining; Cryptophaga rubescens has two, with a third represented by a minute papilla, while in C. nubila this papilla has been lost. (Philpott, 1927).

Scieropepla larvae tunnel in flower spikes, usually on Banksia, but those of S. typhicola Meyr. burrow amongst the seeds of Typha. (Common, 1970).

AULACOMIMA Meyrick, 1904, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 29: 256 [key], 395.
Type-species: Aulacomitna trinervis Meyrick, 1904, ibid. 29: 395, by monotypy.
Currently considered to be a junior subjective synonym of Brachmia Hiibner, [1825]
(Meyrick, 1925, Genera Insect. 184: 248). (Sattler, 1974).

SCIEROPEPLA Meyrick, 1886, Trans. N.Z. Inst. 18: 162 [key], 165.
Type-species: Scieropepla typhicola Meyrick, 1886, ibid. 18: 165, by monotypy.
Originally described in the Gelechiadae [= Gelechiidae]; subsequently transferred to the Xyloryctidae (Meyrick, 1890, Trans. R. Soc. S. Aust. 13: 67). (Sattler, 1974).

Xyloryctidae. Sister-group to clades 11-36. Defined by 3 apomorphies: 10 larval segments A1-8 with pinaculum ring around SD1; 2) a pore posterad/ventroposterad of SD1; 3) segments 3-7 with secondary SV setae. Worldwide: 86 genera, 1200 + species.
Xyloryctinae (fig. 9.2.I). Within Xyloryctidae possess autapomorphy, abdomen with band of spiniform setae on posterior part of terga 2-6. ♂ antenna simple, ciliate, bipectinate. Larva: head with bordered submental plate (a submental pit in some Cryptophasa), subgenal sclerite triangular, short, stemmata with gap between ½, 4/5, 5/6; A1 with 3 SV setae; A3-6 with 5-7 SV setae. Pupa: abdominal terga often with crenulate raised ridge near anterior margins, becoming spined in some species; metathoracic legs exposed distally. Wings reduced in Thyracopa apatela. Larval hosts 21 plant families (47% Protaceae + Myrtaceae), some on lichens. Subsaharan Africa, Indoaustralia, Polynesia: 60 + genera, 500 + species (Cryptophasa, Lichenaula, Metathrinca, Ommatothelxis, Pansepta, Phthonerodes, Scieropepla, Telecrates, Uzucha, Xylorycta).
Common (1900) Duckworth (1973), Hodges (1978), Moriuti (1982), Powell (1980), Zimmerman (1978).
(Hodges, 1998).

The oecophorid lineage is formed from a family complex here referred to as the autostichid assemblage including the (sub)families Holcopogoninae, Symmocinae,
Glyphidocerinae, the genus Odites, Autostichinae and Lecithocerinae; xyloryctid assemblage, including the New Zealandian ‘‘oecophorids’’ Hierodoris, Izatha and Phaeosaces, and with Deuterogoniinae and Blastobasinae nested among ‘‘true’’ xyloryctids, i.e., Scieropepla, Nemotyla, Uzucha, Tymbophora, Lichenaula and Xylorycta; a narrowly delimited ‘‘core’’ Oecophoridae; Amphisbatidae s.s.; Carcinidae; Stenomati[n ⁄ d]ae; Chimabachidae and Elachistidae. Elachistidae contains Hypertrophinae as delimited by Minet (1990), Depressariinae, Ethmiinae (with Orophia included), miscellaneous ‘‘amphisbatids’’ and ‘‘depressariids’’ sensu authors, Aeolanthinae, Parametriotinae, Agonoxeninae
and Elachistinae. (Kaila, 2004).

All species in the Hierodoris group are endemic, with the exception of Scieropepla typhicola Meyrick, which is shared with Australia. (Hoare, 2005).

The following Australian genera are tentatively assigned to the Hierodoris group: Scieropepla (14 described species,
including 1, S. typhicola Meyrick, shared with New Zealand), Nemotyla (1 Tasmanian alpine species, N. oribates Nielsen, McQuillan & Common) and Athrotaxivora (1 Tasmanian species, A. tasmanica McQuillan). The inclusion of Scieropepla and Nemotyla is
based on their position in Kaila’s (2004) cladogram, where together with Izatha + Phaeosaces they form a monophyletic group basal to the core Xyloryctinae + Blastobasinae. Athrotaxivora was provisionally associated with Xyloryctinae by McQuillan (1998), who noted however that it lacked characters of the core Xyloryctinae. In characters illustrated by McQuillan (loc. cit.) it matches the diagnosis of the Hierodoris group given here. (Hoare, 2005).

Description:
Head:
Thorax:
Abdomen:
Scieropepla typhicola, ♂, genitalia. From T. latifolia, emerged 28 February 1937, Griffith, NSW, collected by R.W. Prunster. ANIC slide no. G278, dissected by I.F.B. Common, 1958. Photomicrograph taken at ANIC, Canberra.

Scieropepla typhicola, ♂, aedeagus. From T. latifolia, emerged 28 February 1937, Griffith, NSW, collected by R.W. Prunster. ANIC slide no. G278, dissected by I.F.B. Common, 1958. Photomicrograph taken at ANIC, Canberra.

Immature stages:

Distribution: Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia. New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Madagascar. (Edwards, 2003).

Remarks: Scieropepla Meyrick was again proposed in Meyrick (1886) and the type species was correctly spelled typhicola. (Edwards, 2003).

Scieropepla more properly belongs in the Hierodoris Group, which I would place in an extended Xyloryctidae.

_____________________________________

Constituent species

Scieropepla acrates Meyrick, 1890.


Scieropepla acrates, ANIC

Scieropepla acrates Meyrick, 1890, Descriptions of Australian Lepidoptera. Part I. Xyloryctidae. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia  13: 23–81 [68]. Syntype(s) BMNH number unknown ♂♀, Blackheath and Mittagong, NSW; Albany and Geraldton, WA.
Scieropepla acrates Meyr. Common, 1990, Moths of Australia, Melbourne University Press. 227-230 [228].
Scieropepla acrates Meyrick, 1890. Common, in Nielsen, Edwards, & Rangsi, 1996, Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera, 4: i-xiv, 1-529 & CD-ROM [88].
Scieropepla acrates Meyrick, 1890. 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 17 June 2010].
Scieropepla acrates Meyrick, 1890. 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 13 April 2011].

Original description, Meyrick 1890
Scier. acrates, n. sp.
Both sexes 14-17 mm. Head and thorax light ochreous-grey. Palpi white, second joint with upper half ochreous-grey except at apex, terminal joint 2/3. Antennae, abdomen, and legs whitish, anterior legs grey. Forewings elongate, costa gently arched, apex round-pointed, hindmargin faintly sinuate, very oblique; pale ochreous-greyish; costa suffused with whitish from base to 2/3: cilia whitish. Hindwings light grey or whitish-grey, apical edge whitish-ochreous; cilia white, sometimes ochreous-tinged.Blackheath (3,500 feet) and Mittagong (3,000 feet), New South Wales; Geraldton and Albany, West Australia; in October, March, and April, not uncommon, Larva feeds in the seedcones of Banksia collina, burrowing among the seeds.

Other references

The pinkish larvae of at least three species, S. acrates, Meyr., S. reversella (Walk.) and S. rimata Meyr. tunnel in the flower spikes of Banksia (Protaceae) producing areas of brown flocculent material on the outside. (Common, 1990).

Diagnosis:
Description:
Head:
Thorax:
Abdomen:
Food plants: Larva boring in seeding spikes of Banksia collina (Proteaceae). (Edwards, 1984).
Flight period:
Distribution: New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia. Endemic. (Edwards, 1984).

Remarks:



Scieropepla argoloma Lower, 1897


Scieropepla argoloma Lower, 1897. New Australian Lepidoptera. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 22: 263–274 [271]. Holotype whereabouts unknown ♀, Victoria.
Scieropepla argoloma, Lower. Lower, 1899, Descriptions of new Australian Lepidoptera. Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 24: 83-116 (104).
Scieropepla argoloma Lower, 1897. Common, in Nielsen, Edwards, & Rangsi, 1996, Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera, 4: i-xiv, 1-529 & CD-ROM [88].
Scieropepla argoloma Lower, 1897. 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 13 April 2011].
Scieropepla argoloma Lower, 1897. 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 13 April 2011].

Original description, Lower 1897
Scieropepla argoloma, n. sp.
♀. 30 mm. Head, palpi, antenna, thorax and abdomen fuscous, terminal joint of palpi ¾ of second, second joint sharply white on basal half beneath, basal joint of palpi white beneath. Legs white, tibiae and tarsi infuscated, posterior legs ochreous-fuscous. Abdomen with greyish segmental rings. Forewings elongate, moderate, costa gently arched, apex round-pointed, hindmargin oblique, 7 and 8 stalked, 7 to costa; dark fuscous, suffusedly mixed with grey-whitish, lighter in disc; a moderate snow-white costal streak from very near base to 3/4, attenuated at extremities; veins towards hindmargin suffusedly outlined with fuscous: cilia fuscous, with a darker line at base. Hindwings dark fuscous; cilia as in forewings.Victoria; one specimen (Coll. Kershaw).Rather an abnormal looking species, but undoubtedly rightly referred.

Other references

[Procometis heterogama [Procometis hylonoma, Autosichinae]]     It recalls Scieropepla argoloma, Lower, in general appearance. (Lower, 1899).

Diagnosis:
Description:
Head:
Thorax:
Abdomen:
Food plants:
Flight period:
Distribution: Victoria. Endemic. (Edwards, 1984).

Remarks:



Scieropepla liophanes Meyrick, 1890


Scieropepla liophanes, ANIC

Scieropepla liophanes Meyrick, 1890. Descriptions of Australian Lepidoptera. Part I. Xyloryctidae. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 13: 23–81 [68]. Syntype(s) BMNH 5♂♀, York, WA.
Scieropepla liophanes Meyrick, 1890. Common, in Nielsen, Edwards, & Rangsi, 1996, Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera, 4: i-xiv, 1-529 & CD-ROM [88].
Scieropepla liophanes Meyrick, 1890. 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 13 April 2011].
Scieropepla liophanes Meyrick, 1890. 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 13 April 2011].

Original description, Meyrick 1890
Scier. liophanes, n. sp.
Both sexes 14-15 mm. Head and thorax ochreous-grey, speckled with white. Palpi white, second joint with upper half dark grey except at apex, terminal joint 2/3, interior edge grey. Forewings elongate, costa gently arched, apex pointed, hindmargin extremely obliquely rounded; glossy ochreous-grey; costa narrowly suffused with white from base to ¾: cilia grey-whitish, base greyer. Hindwings light grey; cilia grey-whitish.York, West Australia; in October, five specimens.

Diagnosis:
Description:
Head:
Thorax:
Abdomen:
Food plants:
Flight period:
Distribution: Western Australia. Endemic. (Edwards, 2004).

Remarks:



Scieropepla megadelpha Lower, 1899



Scieropepla megadelpha, ♀ - NSW, Broken Hill, 2. Nov. 1897, O.B. Lower leg. (ANIC). [AMO].

Scieropepla megadelpha, ANIC

Scieropepla megadelpha Lower, 1899, Descriptions of new Australian Lepidoptera, Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 24: 83–116 [103]. Syntype(s) SAMA 12♂♀, Broken Hill, NSW.
Scieropepla megadelpha Low. Lower, 1917, The Lepidoptera of Broken Hill, New South Wales, Part III, Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 41, 369-377 [370].
Scieropepla megadelpha Lower, 1899. Common, in Nielsen, Edwards, & Rangsi, 1996, Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera, 4: i-xiv, 1-529 & CD-ROM [88].
Scieropepla megadelpha Lower, 1899. 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 13 April 2011].
Scieropepla megadelpha Lower, 1899. 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 13 April 2011].

Original description, Lower 1899
Scieropepla megadelpha, n. sp.
♂♀. 18-24 mm. Head and thorax shining snow-white. Antennae and palpi fuscous, palpi internally and base of second joint whitish. Anterior and middle legs fuscous; coxae shining snow-white; posterior legs whitish. Abdomen yellowish. Forewings elongate, moderate, costa gently arched, apex round-pointed, hindmargin very obliquely rounded, 7 and 8 long-stalked, 7 to costa; shining snow-white; a tine fuscous line along costa from middle to apex, attenuated anteriorly; a moderate fuscous streak along inner margin, from near base to hindmargin, posteriorly attenuated: cilia shining snow-white. Hindwings pale whitish-ochreous; cilia as in forewings.Broken Hill, N.S.W.; twelve specimens, mostly taken at electric light, from August to November.This species furnishes another instance of remarkable mimicry; in general appearance it resembles Chalarotona craspedota, Meyr., so closely that one could easily be persuaded into considering it that species, but the neuration affords a safe distinguishing test. I have examined no fewer than nine specimens, in which each and every one was structurally identical with the genus Scieropepla, Meyr. A species named by Dr. Turner (Annals Queensland Museum, No. 4, 1897) as Lichenaula dissimilis [Xylorycta candescens Lower, 1896] must be (according to description) very similar in appearance, but the termination of vein 7, which is hindmarginal, and the larger size should be sufficient characters to distinguish it from the two species previously mentioned.

Other references

Scieropepla megadelpha, Low. Taken occasionally, August to November. (Lower, 1917).

Diagnosis:
Description:
Head:
Thorax:
Abdomen:
Food plants:
Flight period: August, September, October, November.
Distribution: New South Wales. Endemic. (Edwards, 2003).

Remarks:


Scieropepla monoides Turner, 1906

Scieropepla monoides, ♀ - SA, Bridgetown, 1. Apr. 1905 (ANIC). [AMO].

Scieropepla monoides Turner, 1906. New Australian Lepidoptera, with synonymic and other notes. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia  30: 118–142 [142]. Syntype(s) NMV 2♀, Bridgetown, WA.
Scieropepla monoides Turner, 1906. Common, in Nielsen, Edwards, & Rangsi, 1996, Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera, 4: i-xiv, 1-529 & CD-ROM [88].
Scieropepla monoides Turner, 1906. Canberra. http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/abrs/online-resources/fauna/afd/taxa/XYLORYCTINAE [accessed 13 April 2011].

Original description. Turner 1906
Scieropepla monoïdes, n. sp.
(Monoeides, simple.)
Female, 20 mm. Head, palpi, antennae, thorax, and abdomen dark-grey. Legs dark-grey; posterior pair whitish. Forewings narrow-elongate, costa moderately arched, apex tolerably acute, termen very obliquely rounded; uniformly dark-grey; cilia dark-grey. Hindwings with termen gently rounded; pale grey; cilia pale grey.Type in Coll., Lyell.W.A., Bridgetown, in April; two specimens.

Diagnosis:
Description:
Head:
Thorax:
Abdomen:
Food plants:
Flight period: April.
Distribution: Western Australia. Endemic. (Edwards, 2003).

Remarks:



Scieropepla orthosema (Lower, 1893)


 Scieropepla orthosema, ANIC

Scieropepla orthosema, ANIC

Procometis (?) orthosema Lower, 1893, New Australian Lepidoptera, Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia  17 146-185 [173]. Syntype(s) whereabouts unknown number unknown ♀, Parkside, SA; Gippsland, Vic.
Procometis orthosema, Low. Lower, 1896: A catalogue of Victorian Heterocera. Part xix. The Victorian Naturalist, 12: 149-152.
Scieropepla orthosema (Lower, 1893). Common, in Nielsen, Edwards, & Rangsi, 1996, Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera, 4: i-xiv, 1-529 & CD-ROM [88].
Procometis orthosema Turner [sic], 1893. 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 13 April 2011].
Scieropepla orthosema (Lower, 1893). 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 13 April 2011].

Original description, Lower 1893
Procometis (?) orthosema, n. sp.Female, 19 mm. Head, palpi, antennae, thorax, abdomen and legs snow-white, two basal segments of abdomen orange, other segmental margins fuscous. Forewings elongate, rather narrow, costa gently arched, apex pointed, hindmargin strongly oblique; shining snow-white; a golden-ochreous line along costa from base to near apex, finely attenuated anteriorly; a broad golden-brown longitudinal line in centre of wing from base to apex, attenuated posteriorly; cilia snow-white, except on streak. Hindwings and cilia shining snow-white.One specimen, Parkside, in October; also from Gippsland, Victoria, in February; a fine and distinct species. I think it is rightly referred to this genus, but absence of male makes it doubtful. 
Other references


P. orthosema, Lower (loc. cit., 173, 1893). Gippsland.

Diagnosis:
Description:
Head:
Thorax:
Abdomen:
Food plants: Larva boring in old flower spike of Banksia sp. (Proteaceae).
Flight period: February.
Distribution: South Australia, Victoria. Endemic.

Remarks: Evidently synonymous with Xylorycta argyrota, q.v.



Scieropepla oxyptera Meyrick, 1890


Scieropepla oxyptera Meyrick, 1890. Descriptions of Australian Lepidoptera. Part I. Xyloryctidae. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia  13: 23–81 [70]. Syntype(s) BMNH number unknown ♂♀, Sydney, NSW; Mt Lofty, SA; Albany, WA.
Scieropepla oxyptera Meyrick, 1890. Common, in Nielsen, Edwards, & Rangsi, 1996, Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera, 4: i-xiv, 1-529 & CD-ROM [88].
Scieropepla oxyptera Meyrick, 1890. 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 13 April 2011].
Scieropepla oxyptera Meyrick, 1890. 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 13 April 2011].

Original description, Meyrick 1890
Scier. oxyptera, n. sp.
Both sexes 12-18 mm. Head whitish, sometimes partially greyish or ochreous-tinged. Palpi white, generally more or less grey anteriorly, terminal joint ½ -2/3. Antennae grey. Thorax ochreous-whitish. Abdomen whitish. Legs dark fuscous, posterior pair whitish. Forewings elongate, narrow, costa gently arched, apex very acute, produced, hindmargin sinuate, extremely oblique; fuscous-grey, darker on costal half, in male more ochreous-tinged, dorsal third in male paler and whitish tinged throughout; a moderate snow-white streak along costa from base to near apex, leaving costal edge fuscous from near base to ¾; cilia pale whitish-fuscous, white on costa above apex of streak. Hindwings grey or grey-whitish; cilia pale grey or whitish, in male pale greyish-ochreous.Sydney, New South Wales; Mount Lofty, South Australia; Albany, West Australia; in October and December, five specimens.My materials for this species are somewhat discordant, and I may have possibly confused more than one; they comprise three small dark females with grey hindwings from Sydney, one large female with whitish hindwings from Albany, and one more ochreous-tinged male from Mount Lofty; further discoveries will show whether these are anything more than slight geographical forms. I regard the first-mentioned form as the type.

Diagnosis:
Description:
Head:
Thorax:
Abdomen:
Food plants:
Flight period:
Distribution: New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia. Endemic. (Edwards 2003).

Remarks: Meyrick mentioned a type but used the term in the sense of 'form of the species' and not as a 'type specimen'. (Edwards 2003).



Scieropepla photinodes Lower, 1897

ANIC, © BIO Photography Group, Biodiversity Institute of Ontario

ANIC, © BIO Photography Group, Biodiversity Institute of Ontario

Scieropepla (?) photinodes Lower, 1897. Descriptions of new species of Australian Lepidoptera, with notes on synonymy. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 22 (1): 10–32 [publication date] [21]. Syntype(s) SAMA 2♀, Hoyleton, SA.
Scieropepla photinodes Lower, 1897.  Common, in Nielsen, Edwards, & Rangsi, 1996, Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera, 4: i-xiv, 1-529 & CD-ROM [88].
Scieropepla plotinodes [sic] Lower 1897. 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 13 April 2011].
Scieropepla photinodes Lower, 1897. 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 13 April 2011].


Original description, Lower 1897
Scieropepla (?) photinodes, n. sp.
♀. 22 mm. Head and thorax blackish-fuscous, abdomen fuscous, segmental rings broad, reddish-ochreous, sides and under side silvery-white, palpi fuscous, internally snow-white, terminaljoint nearly 1, basal joint slightly roughened externally. Anterior legs dark fuscous, coxae sprinkled with white; posterior legs greyish- ochreous. Antennae whitish, basal joint fuscous. Forewings elongate, costa strongly arched towards base, thence nearly straight, apex hardly pointed, hindmargin obliquely rounded; shining brassy-metallic, iridescent in some lights; a narrow snow-white costal streak edged beneath with fuscous, from about 1/3 to near apex, broadest in middle, attenuated at extremities; veins towards hindmargin outlined with dark fuscous; a large dark fuscous discal spot in middle at about 1/3, preceded by a dark fuscous dot; a similar but smaller roundish spot in a line with the two preceding dots at about 2/3; a suffused streak along inner margin throughout; all these markings more or less mixed with whitish scales: cilia shining fuscous, with a whitish basal line and a darker fuscous median line. Hindwings shining grey, lighter towards base; cilia grey-whitish, with a dark ochreous basal line, more pronounced round apex.Hoyleton, S.A.; two specimens taken by Mr. E. Guest in November.

Diagnosis:
Description:
Head:
Thorax:
Abdomen:
Food plants:
Flight period:
Distribution: South Australia. Endemic. (Edwards 2003).

Remarks:



Scieropepla polioleuca (Turner, 1919)


Scieropepla polioleuca, ANIC

Hemiarcha polioleuca Turner, 1919, [Gelechiidae] The Australian Gelechianae (Lepidoptera). Proc. R. Soc. Qd. 31: 108–172 [133]. Holotype ANIC ♀, Brisbane, Qld.
Scieropepla polioleuca (Turner, 1919). Common, in Nielsen, Edwards, & Rangsi, 1996, Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera, 4: i-xiv, 1-529 & CD-ROM [87].
Hemiarcha polioleuca Turner, 1919 [Gelechiidae]. 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 13 April 2011].
Scieropepla polioleuca (Turner, 1919). 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 13 April 2011].

Original desription, Turner, 1919
Hemiarcha polioleuca n. sp.πολιολευχος, grey-white.
♀. 13 mm. Head and thorax pale-grey. Palpi pale-grey; apex and inner surface of second joint whitish. Antennae grey, towards base whitish. Abdomen grey-whitish. Legs pale-grey; posterior pair whitish. Forewings with costa strongly arched, apex pointed, termen very oblique; pale-grey; costa suffusedly whitish from base to ¾; cilia pale-grey. Hindwings with termen scarcely sinuate; whitish; cilia whitish.Q., Brisbane, in September; one specimen.

Diagnosis:
Description:
Head:
Thorax:
Abdomen:
Food plants:
Flight period:
Distribution: Queensland. Endemic. (Edwards 2003).

Remarks:



Scieropepla polyxesta Meyrick, 1890


Scieropepla polyxesta, QM

Scieropepla polyxesta, ANIC

Scieropepla polyxesta Meyrick, 1890, Descriptions of Australian Lepidoptera. Part I. Xyloryctidae. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia  13: 23–81 [67]. Syntype(s) BMNH 8♂♀, Bathurst and Blackheath, NSW; Deloraine and Launceston, Tas.
Scieropepla polyxesta Meyr. Lower, 1896, A catalogue of Victorian Heterocera. Part xix. The Victorian Naturalist, 12: 149-152 [152].
Xylorycta polyxesta, Meyrick, 1915. Exotic Microlepidoptera. 1 (10–15): 289–320, 321–352, 353–384, 385–416, 417–448, 449–480 [376].
Scieropepla polyxesta Meyrick, 1890. Common, 1990, Moths of Australia, Melbourne University Press. 227-230
Scieropepla polyxesta Meyrick, 1890. Common, in Nielsen, Edwards, & Rangsi, 1996, Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera, 4: i-xiv, 1-529 & CD-ROM [88].
Scieropepla polyxesta Meyrick, 1890. 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 13 April 2011].
Scieropepla polyxesta Meyrick, 1890. 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 13 April 2011].

Original description, Meyrick 1890
Scier. polyxesta, n . sp.
Both sexes 14-21 mm. Head white, sides of face dark fuscous. Palpi white, second joint dark fuscous except towards base, terminal joint ½. Antennae fuscous. Thorax very pale whitish-ochreous. Abdomen ochreous-whitish. Legs dark fuscous, posterior pair ochreous-whitish. Forewings elongate, costa moderately arched, apex pointed, hindmargin very obliquely rounded; shining ochreous-white, apex and inner margin more ochreous-tinged: cilia ochreous· white. Hindwings rather light grey, apex somewhat ochreous-tinged; cilia pale whitish-ochreous.Bathurst (2,500 feet) and Blackheath (3,500 feet), New South Wales; Deloraine and Launceston, Tasmania; in January and March, eight specimens. 

SCIEROPEPLA. Meyr.
S. POLYXESTA, Meyr. loc. cit., 67, 1889).
Gisborne and Melbourne. (Lower, 1896)

[Liparistis]      Type lioxera Meyr. Differs from Xylorycta by the parallel veins 6 and 7 of hindwings, which are quite exceptional in the family, but the relationship to X. polyxesta is close. (Meyrick, 1915).

This [S. serina] and S. polyxesta are the only members of the Xyloryctinae known to depend on dead Eucalypt foliage. (Common, 1990).

Diagnosis:
Description:
Head:
Thorax:
Abdomen:
Scieropepla polyxesta, ♂, genitalia. 8 km N of Narooma, NSW, emerged 18 December 1970, collected by I.F.B. Common. ANIC slide no. 1462, dissected by D. Adamski. Photomicrograph taken st ANIC, Canberra.

Scieropepla polyxesta, ♂, aedeagus. 8 km N of Narooma, NSW, emerged 18 December 1970, collected by I.F.B. Common. ANIC slide no. 1462, dissected by D. Adamski. Photomicrograph taken st ANIC, Canberra.

Food plants: Larva in silken tube in dead leaves on fallen branches of Eucalyptus sp. (Myrtaceae). (Edwards 2003).
Flight period:  January, March.
Distribution: Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria. Endemic. (Edwards 2003).

Remarks:



Scieropepla reversella (Walker, 1864)


Scieropepla reversella, ♂ - NSW, Burrewarra Point, 2. Sep. 1985, M. Horak leg. (ANIC). EMERGED [AMO].

Scieropepla reversella, ♀ - Qld, Wyberba, 24. Mar. 1957, I.F.B. Common leg. (ANIC). [AMO].

Cryptolechia reversella Walker, 1864, Tineites. List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum. Vol. 29. 562–835 pp. [752]. Holotype BMNH ♂, Sydney, NSW.
Cryptolechia abrosella Walker, 1864. Tineites. List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum. Vol. 29. 562–835 pp. [752]. Holotype BMNH ♂, Sydney, NSW.
Scieropepla reversella (Walk). Meyrick, 1890. Descriptions of Australian Lepidoptera. Part I. Xyloryctidae. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia  13: 23–81 [68].
Scieropepla reversella (Walk). Philpott, 1927: The Maxillae in the Lepidoptera. Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 57, 721-745 [735].
Scieropepla reversella (Walk). Common, 1990, Moths of Australia, Melbourne University Press. 227-230 [228]. Nielsen, E.S., Edwards, E.D. & Rangsi, T.V. 1996.
Scieropepla reversella (Walker, 1864). Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monogr. Aust. Lepid. 4: i–xiv, 1–529 & CD–ROM [346: Note #132].
Scieropepla reversella (Walker, 1864). B. Pitkin and P. Jenkins, Butterflies and Moths of the World: Generic Names and their Type-species, 2004. World Wide Web electronic publication. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/research/projects/butmoth/ [accessed 13 April 2011]
Scieropepla reversella (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 13 April 2011].

Original description, Walker 1964
Cryptolechia reversella.Foem. Nivea; palpi capitis latitudine duplo longiores; alae anticae subacutae subtus nigricantes; posticae ciinereae.Female. Pure while. Palpi smooth, curved, rising higher than the vertex, about twice longer than the breadth of the head); third joint setiform, about half the length of the second. Antennae about half the length of the fore wings. Abdomen extending very little beyond the hind wings. Legs smooth. Wings moderately broad. Fore wings slightly acute; exterior border very oblique; under side blackish, except the fringe. Hind wings cinereous, except the fringe. Length of the body 2 ½ lines [5.3mm]; of the wings 8 lines [16.9mm].
a. Sydney. From Mr. Lambert's collection.
 Synonymic description, Walker 1864
Cryptolechia abrosella.Alba; palpi ascendentes, subarcuati, capitis  latitudine valde longiores,. alae anticae longae, sat angustae, vix acutae, ubtus fuscentesWhite. Palpi slightly curved, nearly vertical; very much longer than the breadth of the head; third joint setiform, much shorter than the second. Antennae smooth, about half the length of the fore wings. Legs smooth. Fore wings long-, rather narrow, hardly acute, brownish beneath; fringe long. Length of the body 4 ? lines [c. 8.5mm]; of the wings 10 lines [21.2mm].a. Sydney. From Mr. Lambert's collection.
 Subsequent description, Meyrick 1890
Scier. reversella, Walk.
(Cryptolechia reversella, Walk. 752; C. abrosella, ib. 752.)Both sexes 15-20 mm. Head, antennae, thorax, and abdomen white. Palpi white, second joint with an ochreous subapical band irrorated with dark fuscous in front, terminal joint 2/3. Legs whitish-ochreous, posterior pair white. Forewings elongate, costa gently arched, apex round-pointed, hindmargin extremely obliquely rounded; snow-white: cilia white. Hindwings whitish-grey, apex slightly ochreous-tinged; cilia white.
Sydney, New South Wales; Perth, West Australia; in October, November, January, February, June, and July, common.

Other references

Good examples, of progressive reduction in the maxillary palpi are exhibited in this large family. Lichenaula has a five-segmented palp; the genera Telecrates, Odites, Procometis, Agriophara, Chalarotona, Scieropepla, Eschatura, Uzucha, and Catoryctis have each lost a segment; Xylorycta and Maroga have only three remaining; Cryptophaga rubescens has two, with a third represented by a minute papilla, while in C. nubila this papilla has been lost. (Philpott, 1927).

The pinkish larvae of at least three species, S. acrates, Meyr., S. reversella (Walk.) and S. rimata Meyr. tunnel in the flower spikes of Banksia (Protaceae) producing areas of brown flocculent material on the outside. (Common, 1990).

132. Scieropepla reversella (Walker, 1864) and S. abrosella (Walker, 1864) were published simultaneously. Priority was given to S. reversella (Walker) by Meyrick (1890a) as first reviser. (Common, 1996).

Diagnosis:
Description:
Head:
Thorax:
Abdomen:
Food plants: Larva boring in old flower spikes of Banksia integrifolia (Proteaceae). (Edwards 2003).
Flight period: September, October, November, January, February, March, June, July.
Distribution: New South Wales, Queensland. Endemic. (Edwards 2003).


Remarks:



Scieropepla rimata Meyrick, 1890.


Scieropepla rimata, ♂ - Qld, Brisbane, 6. Oct. 1946, I.F.B. Common leg. (ANIC). [AMO].

Scieropepla rimata, ♀ - NSW, Church Point, 14 Sept 1966, I.F.B. Common leg. (ANIC). [AMO].

Scieropepla rimata Meyrick, 1890. Descriptions of Australian Lepidoptera. Part I. Xyloryctidae. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia  13: 23–81 [69]. Syntype(s) number unknown ♂♀, Sydney and Bathurst, NSW; Campbell Town and Georges Bay, Tas; Port Lincoln, SA.
Scieropepla rimata Meyr. Lower, 1896, A catalogue of Victorian Heterocera. Part xix. The Victorian Naturalist, 12: 149-152 [152].
Scieropepla rimata Meyr. Common, 1990, Moths of Australia, Melbourne University Press. 227-230 [228].

Original description, Meyrick 1890
Scier. rimata, n. sp.
Both sexes 15-17 mm. Head in male whitish, in female tinged with ochreous-greyish. Palpi white, second joint grey except at apex and towards base, terminal joint 2/3- ¾, anterior edge grey. Antennae in male whitish, in female grey. Thorax pale greyish-ochreous. Abdomen grey-whitish. Legs grey, posterior pair whitish. Forewings elongate, costa gently arched, apex roundpointed, hindmargin extremely obliquely rounded; rather light greyish-ochreous, in male more or less suffusedly irrorated with white, especially in disc, in female irrorated with fuscous; costa suffused with white from base to ¾; a distinct dark fuscous dot in disc at 2/3; cilia whitish-ochreous, on costa whitish. Hindwings light grey, apical margin whitish-ochreous; cilia whitish-ochreous.Sydney and Bathurst (2,500 feet), New South Wales; Campbelltown and Georges Bay, Tasmania; Port Lincoln, South Australia; common from November to January, and in March.

SCIEROPEPLA. Meyr.
S. RIMATA, Meyr. (loc. cit., 69, 1889).
Sandringham. (Lower, 1896).

Other references

The pinkish larvae of at least three species, S. acrates, Meyr., S. reversella (Walk.) and S. rimata Meyr. tunnel in the flower spikes of Banksia (Protaceae) producing areas of brown flocculent material on the outside. (Common, 1990).

Diagnosis:
Description:
Head:
Thorax:
Abdomen:
Food plants: Larva boring in old flower spikes of Banksia integrifolia, B. oblongifolia (Proteaceae). (Edwards 2003).
Flight period: September, October, November, December, January, March.
Distribution: New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania. Endemic. (Edwards 2003).

Remarks:



Scieropepla serica (Turner, 1944)


Scieropepla serica QM, holotype.

Tanyzancla serica Turner, 1944, Revision of Australian Lepidoptera. Oecophoridae. XI. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 69: 49–61 [60]. Holotype QM ♀, Carnarvon Range, Qld.
Scieropepla serica (Turner, 1944). Common, in Nielsen, Edwards, & Rangsi, 1996, Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera, 4: i-xiv, 1-529 & CD-ROM [88].
Tanyzancla serica Turner, 1944. 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 13 April 2011].
Scieropepla serica (Turner, 1944). 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 13 April 2011].

Original description, Turner 1944
Tanyzancla serica, n. sp. (sericus, silken.)
♀. 18-20 mm. Head ochreous-whitish., Palpi with terminal joint two-thirds; white, anterior edge fuscous. Antennae fuscous. Thorax fuscous, apices. of tegulae and a posterior spot whitish. Abdomen grey. Legs fuscous; posterior pair ochreous-whitish. Forewings rather narrow, costa, slightly arched, apex obtusely pointed, termen, very oblique; glossy ochreous-whitish; a narrow fascia from tornus towards but not reaching two-thirds costa; followed by a varying amount of fuscous suffusion; cilia grey. Hindwings and cilia  grey. This should follow T. ocularis (1513) [? Philobota ocularis].Queensland: Carnarvon Rge. in December (W. B. Barnard); two specimens. Type in Queensland Museum.

Diagnosis:
Description:
Head:
Thorax:
Abdomen:
Food plants:
Flight period: December.
Distribution: Queensland. Endemic. (Edwards 2003).


Remarks:




Scieropepla serina Meyrick, 1890


Scieropepla serina, ♂ - NSW, 8 miles ESE of Nimmitabel 3600 ft alt, emerged 16 December 1969, I.F.B. Common leg. (ANIC). [AMO].

Scieropepla serina, ♀ - Vic, 8 miles NW of Orbost,  Emerged18 December 1970, I.F.B. Common leg. (ANIC). [AMO].

Scieropepla serina Meyrick, 1890. Descriptions of Australian Lepidoptera. Part I. Xyloryctidae. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia  13: 23–81 [70]. Holotype BMNH ♂, Bathurst, NSW.
Scieropepla serina Meyr. Lower, 1917, The Lepidoptera of Broken Hill, New South Wales, Part III, Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 41, 369-377 [370].
Procometis trispora Turner, 1939. A second revision of the Lepidoptera of Tasmania. Papers and Proceedings of The Royal Society of Tasmania, 1938: 57–115 [85]. Holotype ANIC ♀, Hobart, Tas.
Scieropepla serina. Common, 1990, Moths of Australia, Melbourne University Press. 227-230 [228].
Scieropepla serina Meyrick, 1890. Common, in Nielsen, Edwards, & Rangsi, 1996, Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera, 4: i-xiv, 1-529 & CD-ROM [87].
Scieropepla serina Meyrick, 1890. 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 13 April 2011].
Procometis trispora Turner, 1939. 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 13 April 2011]. (Synonymy not noted.)
Scieropepla serina Meyrick, 1890. 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 13 April 2011].

Original description, Meyrick 1890
Scier. serina, n. sp.
Male 20 mm. Head, palpi, antennae, thorax, and legs dark grey; face and posterior legs grey-whitish; terminal joint of palpi almost 1. Forewings elongate, costa, gently arched, apex roundpointed, hindmargin extremely obliquely rounded; dark grey; some blackish scales, tending to form an ill-defined dot in disc at 2/5, a second on fold obliquely beyond it, and a third in disc at 2/3: cilia dark grey. Hindwings grey, becoming darker towards hindmargin; cilia grey.Bathurst (2,500 feet), New South Wales; in March, one specimen.
 Synonymic description, Turner 1939
Procometis trispora, n. sp.
τρισπορος, three-spotted.
♀. 22mm. Head and thorax, fuscous-grey; face, grey-whitish. Palpi, smooth, slender, second joint reaching base of antennae; terminal joint 4/5, grey. Antennae, fuscous. Abdomen, grey; tuft, pale brownish. Legs, grey; posterior pair grey-whitish. Forewings, narrow; costa, moderately arched; apex, pointed; termen, extremely  oblique; 7 to apex, grey with slight whitish irroration; markings, dark fuscous; a sub-basal dot just above fold; a large transverse spot at 1/3, apparently a fusion of a discal and a plical spot; a smaller spot in disc at 2/3; cilia, grey. Hindwings, 1 ½, grey; cilia, grey.Hobart, in March; one specimen received from Capt. D. C. Pearse.

Other references

Scieropepla serina, Meyr.
Taken occasionally, April. (Lower, 1917).

Scieropepla serina, Fig. 23.3: Common, 1990

S. serina Meyr (Fig. 23.3) occurs in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, where the larvae feed on dead Eucalypt leaves still adhering to fallen branches. This and S. polyxesta are the only members of the Xyloryctinae known to depend on dead Eucalypt foliage. (Common, 1990).

Diagnosis:
Description:
Head:
Thorax:
Abdomen:
Food plants: Larva in silken tunnel in dead leaves of Eucalyptus sp. (Myrtaceae). (Edwards, 2003).
Flight period: December, March, April.
Distribution: Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria. Endemic. (Edwards, 2003).

Remarks:



Scieropepla trinervis (Meyrick, 1904)


Scieropepla trinervis, ANIC

Aulacomima trinervis Meyrick, 1904 [Gelechiadae] Micro-lepidoptera. XVIII, Gelechiadae, Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 29: 255–441 [395]. Holotype BMNH ♀, Sydney, NSW.
Aulacomima trinervis Meyrick, 1904. Sattler, K., 1974, A catalogue of the family-group and genus-group names of the Gelechiidae, Holcopogonidae, Lecithoceridae and Symmocidae (Lepidoptera), Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology, Vol. XXVIII, 153-282 (175).
Brachmia trinervis (Meyrick, 1904) [Gelechiidae, Brachmiinae]. Common, in Nielsen, Edwards, & Rangsi, 1996, Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera, 4: i-xiv, 1-529 & CD-ROM [87].
Brachmia trinervis Meyrick, 1904 [Gelechiidae]. 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 13 April 2011].
Scieropepla trinervis [Xyloryctidae]. Zborowski and Edwards, 2007, A Guide to Australian Moths, CSIRO, 1- 214 [77].
Scieropepla trinervis (Meyrick, 1904). 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 13 April 2011].

Original description, Meyrick, 1904
A. trinervis, n. sp.
♀. 13 mm. Head whitish, back of crown with a central blackish spot. Palpi whitish, second joint with a dark fuscous streak externally on apical half, terminal joint suffused with dark fuscous. Antennae whitish, basal joint dark fuscous above. Thorax whitish, with dark fuscous subdorsal stripes, patagia fuscous-tinged. Abdomen and legs whitish. Forewings with costa gently arched, termen nearly straight, rather strongly oblique; pale fuscous, suffusedly mixed with dark fuscous, forming interneural streaks towards costa posteriorly; four fuscous-white moderate longitudinal streaks, first along costa from base to 2/3, second median, from base to termen, third out of second before middle along fold to termen, fourth along dorsum from base to near tornus: cilia whitish, with faint traces of fuscous-tinged bars. Hindwings whitish-grey, paler towards base; cilia grey-whitish.Sydney, New South Wales, in February; one specimen, taken at a lamp.

AULACOMIMA Meyrick, 1904, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 29: 256 [key], 395.
Type-species: Aulacomitna trinervis Meyrick, 1904, ibid. 29: 395, by monotypy.
Currently considered to be a junior subjective synonym of Brachmia Hiibner, [1825]
(Meyrick, 1925, Genera Insect. 184: 248). (Sattler, 1974).

This small, striking moth, a species of Scieropepla, is found in Western Australia from Busselton to Albany. Its biology is unknown but the closely related S. trinervis from south-eastern Australia has larvae that bore in the flower cones of Banksia (Protaceae). (Zborowski and Edwards, 2007).

Diagnosis:
Description:
Head:
Thorax:
Abdomen:
Scieropepla trinervis, ♂, genitalia. Depot Beach, 10 miles NE of Batemans Bay, NSW, 29 December 1957, collected by I.F.B. Common. ANIC slide no. G3022, dissected by E.D. Edwards, 1983. Photomicrograph taken at ANIC, Canberra.

Scieropepla trinervis, ♂, aedeagus. Depot Beach, 10 miles NE of Batemans Bay, NSW, 29 December 1957, collected by I.F.B. Common. ANIC slide no. G3022, dissected by E.D. Edwards, 1983. Photomicrograph taken at ANIC, Canberra.

Food plants: Larva boring in old flower spikes of Banksia ericifolia, Banksia sp. (Proteaceae). (Edwards, 2004).
Flight period: December, February.
Distribution: New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria. Endemic. (Edwards, 2004).

Remarks:



Scieropepla typhicola Meyrick, 1885


Scieropepla typhicola, ♀ - ACT, Botanic Gardens, Canberra, 2. Mar. 1977, I.F.B. Common leg. (ANIC). [AMO].

Scieropepla typhicola, ♀ - ACT, Molonglo Gorge, 20. May. 1966, M.S. Upton leg. (ANIC). [AMO].

Scieropepla typicola Meyrick, 1885 [Gelechiadae], Descriptions of New Zealand Microlepidoptera. Gelechiadae VIII, Tineina (part), New Zealand Journal of Science 2: 589–592 [590] [original misspelling]. Syntype(s) CMNZ 1 ♂, 3♀, Christchurch, New Zealand. Dugdale (1988: 110) accepted typhicola as the correct spelling.
Scieropepla typhicola Meyrick, 1885 [Gelechiadae]. Description of New Zealand Micro-lepidoptera. VIII. Tineina (Part). Trans. N.Z. Inst. 18: 163–183 [165] [justified emendation of Scieropepla typicola Meyrick, 1885 with same syntypes].
Scieropepla typhicola Meyr., 1885. Meyrick, 1890: Descriptions of Australian Lepidoptera. Part I. Xyloryctidae. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 13: 23–81 [68].
Scieropepla typhicola Meyr., Meyrick, 1914, Descriptions of New Zealand Lepidoptera, Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute, XLVII, 205-244 (221).
Scieropepla typhicola Meyr., Common, 1970: Lepidoptera (Moths and Butterflies), The Insects of Australia, Melbourne University Press, 765-866 (824).
Scieropepla typhicola Meyr., Common, 1990, Moths of Australia, Melbourne University Press. 227-230 [228].
Scieropepla typhicola Meyrick, 1885. Nielsen, E.S., Edwards, E.D. & Rangsi, T.V. 1996. Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monogr. Aust. Lepid. 4: i–xiv, 1–529 & CD–ROM [346: Note #133] Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland. New Zealand.
Scieropepla typhicola Meyrick, 1885. 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 13 April 2011].
Scieropepla typhicola Meyrick, 1885. 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 13 April 2011].

Original description, Meyrick 1885
Scier. typhicola, n. sp.
Male, female.—17-19 mm. Head, palpi, antennae, thorax, abdomen, and legs pale whitish-ochreous, centre of thorax often fuscous; tarsi, and second joint of palpi towards apex, infuscated. Forewings elongate, acutely pointed; whitish-ochreous, sometimes thinly irrorated with brownish-ochreous, costa paler: cilia whitish-ochreous. Hindwings grey-whitish; cilia ochreous-whitish. Larva 16-legged, stout, cylindrical; whitish, sometimes slightly suffused with pale flesh-colour; dorsal slender, dark flesh-colour; subdorsal and spiracular lines broader, indistinct, flesh-colour; head pale amber, mouth fuscous; second segment with a faint pale amber shield, black-margined on sides; anal segment speckled with black. Feeds in seed-heads of Typha angustifolia, burrowing amongst the seeds and causing the down to hang out in large loose masses; sometimes also boring down stems, eating the pith and making many small holes in the sides; found throughout June.Christchurch; also occurs in New South Wales; bred freely in June, July, and August, but rarely seen at large. The species must be regarded as an immigrant from Australia.
 Subsequent description, Meyrick 1890
Scier. typhicola, Meyr.
(Scieropepla typhicola, Meyr. Trans. N.Z. Inst, 1885, 165.)Both sexes 15-19 mm, Head and thorax light brownish-ochreous, face ochreous-whitish. Palpi ochreous-white, second joint fuscous except at apex and towards base, terminal joint 2/3, interior edge fuscous. Antennae whitish-ochreous. Abdomenochreous-whitish, Anterior legs dark brown, middle legs ochreous-brownish, posterior legs ochreous-whitish. Forewings elongate, costa gently arched, apex round-pointed, hindmargin extremely obliquely rounded; light ochreous, irrorated with dark fuscous; costa suffused with pale whitish-ochreous from base to ¾: cilia pale whitish-ochreous. Hindwings whitish-ochreous, paler anteriorly; cilia pale whitish-ochreous.Sydney, New South Wales; bred commonly from June to August; occurs also in New Zealand. Larva 16-legged, stout, cylindrical; whitish, sometimes pinkish-tinged; dorsal slender, dark flesh-colour; subdorsal and spiracular lines broader, indistinct, flesh-colour; head pale amber, mouth fuscous; second segment with a faint pale amber shield, black-margined on sides; anal segment speckled with black. Feeds in seed-heads of Typha angustifolia, burrowing amongst seeds and causing the down to hang in large loose masses, or sometimes boring down the stems, eating the pith and making many small holes in sides, in June. As this insect is quite isolated in New Zealand, whilst it is closely allied to the preceding and following species which are confined to Australia, it is safe to infer that it is truly an indigenous Australian insect, and has incidentally succeeded in making its way to New Zealand. I conjecture that the eggs, attached to the light down of the plant, would be very readily transmissible by the wind; and I have pointed out elsewhere that the wide distribution of Limnaecia phragmitella, a species of Elachistidae which occurs in Australia, New Zealand, and Europe, and of which the larva feeds also on Typha in precisely the same way, is confirmatory of this suggestion.

Scieropepla larvae tunnel in flower spikes, usually on Banksia, but those of S. typhicola Meyr. burrow amongst the seeds of Typha. (Common, 1970).

Scieropepla typhicola, Fig 23.2: Common, 1990

S. typhicola Meyr, (Fig 23.2), from Queensland and New South Wales, tunnels in the flower spikes of bulrushes (Typha) (Typhaceae), the activities of the larva producing conspicuous mass of a brown flocculent material. (Common, 1990).

S. typhicola Meyr., Trans. N.Z. Inst, 1885, 165.
Christchurch; also occurs in south-east Australia, which is probably its home. Larva in seed-heads and stems of Typha. (Meyrick, 1914).

133. Scieropepla typhicola Meyrick, 1885. The specific name was originally rendered as ‘typicola’ but, as Meyrick stated that the larvae were in seedheads of Typha angustifolia, it is clear that the spelling ‘typicola’ was a typographical error for ‘typhicola’. Dugdale (1988: 110) accepted typhicola as the correct spelling. (Common, 1996, in Nielsen, E.S., Edwards, E.D. & Rangsi, T.V. 1996. Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monogr. Aust. Lepid. 4: i–xiv, 1–529 & CD–ROM [346: Note #133]).

Diagnosis:
Description:
Head:
Thorax:
Abdomen:
Scieropepla typhicola, ♂, genitalia. From T. latifolia, emerged 28 February 1937, Griffith, NSW, collected by R.W. Prunster. ANIC slide no. G278, dissected by I.F.B. Common, 1958. Photomicrograph taken at ANIC, Canberra.


Scieropepla typhicola, ♂, aedeagus. From T. latifolia, emerged 28 February 1937, Griffith, NSW, collected by R.W. Prunster. ANIC slide no. G278, dissected by I.F.B. Common, 1958. Photomicrograph taken at ANIC, Canberra.

Food plants: Larva boring in flower head of Typha angustifolia, Typha spp. (Typhaceae).
Flight period: March, May, June, July, August.
Distribution:

Remarks:



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