Philarista

Philarista Meyrick, 1917

Philarista Meyrick, 1917, Exotic Microlepidoptera. 2 (2–3): 33–64, 65–96 [54]. Type species: Cryptolechia porphyrinella Walker, 1864 by original designation.

Philarista Meyrick, 1917 [Cryptophasidae]. Fletcher, T. B., 1929, A list of generic names used for Microlepidoptera. Memoirs of the Department of Agriculture of India,  11: 1-244 [172].

Philarista Meyrick, 1917. Common, in Nielsen, Edwards, & Rangsi, 1996, Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera, 4: i-xiv, 1-529 & CD-ROM [88].

Philarista Meyrick, 1917. 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 24 April 2010].

Philarista Meyrick, 1917. 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 1917

Head with dense appressed hairs; ocelli very small, inferior; tongue developed. Antennae 2/3, in ♂ ciliated, basal joint moderate, without pecten. Labial palpi long, recurved, second joint thickened with dense appressed scales, rather roughly expanded at apex beneath, terminal joint as long as second, moderate, acute. Maxillary palpi very short, filiform, appressed to tongue. Prosternum with long appressed hairs. Anterior tarsi stout, longer than tibiae; middle and posterior tibiae clothed with loose rough hairs above. Forewings with 1b furcate, 2 from 2/3, 3 from angle, 7 and 8 stalked, 8 to apex, 11 from middle. Hindwings over 1, trapezoidal-ovate, cilia ¼; 3 and 4 connate, 5 nearly parallel, 6 and 7 approximated at base.

Type porphyrinella, Walk.

Description:

Head:

Thorax:

Abdomen:

Immature stages:

Philarista porphyrinella, pupal cases, Toowoomba,  24 November 1936. ANIC.

Distribution: New South Wales, Queensland. Endemic. (Edwards, 2003).

Remarks:

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Philarista porphyrinella (Walker, 1864)

♂ - NSW, Como West, 10. Dec. 1972, L.S. Willan leg. (LWC). [AMO].

♂ - NSW, Cambridge Plateau, Richmond Range, 8. Mar. 1986, J.C. Keast L.S. Willan leg. (LWC). [AMO].

Philarista porphyrinella, holotype, BMNH, London. Photo by Patrick Strutzenberger.

Cryptolechia porphyrinella Walker, 1864 [Gelechidae]. Tineites. List of the Specimens of Lepidopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum. Vol. 29. 562–835 pp. [771]. Holotype BMNH ♂, Australia.

Brunia intersecta T.P. Lucas, 1890, [Arctiidae], On Queensland and other Australian macro-lepidoptera, with localities, and descriptions of new species. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 2 4(4): 1065–1099 [1070]. Holotype QM ♀, Brisbane, Qld.

Cryptophaga porphyrinella, Walk. Meyrick 1890: Descriptions of Australian Lepidoptera. Part I. Xyloryctidae. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 13: 23–81 [32].

Cryptophaga porphyrinella, Walk. Lucas, 1894: Descriptions of new Australian Lepidoptera, with additional localities for known species. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 8: 133–166 [163].

Xylorycta porphyrinella Walk. Lower, 1894: New Australian Heterocera. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 18: 77-113 [91].

Telecrates porphyrinella Walsingham, 1898: Proceedings of the Entomological Society of London, vii-xii.

Xylorycta porphyrinella Walk. Turner, 1898: The Xyloryctidae of Queensland. Annals of the Queensland Museum 4: 1–32 [12].

Philarista porphyrinella, Walk. Meyrick, 1917. Exotic Microlepidoptera. 2 (2–3): 33–64, 65–96 [54].

Xylorycta porphyrinella Tillyard, R.J., Insects of Australia and New Zealand. Sydney, Angus & Robertson, 1926. 1-560. [425, Pl. 27:16].

Philarista porphyrinella, Wlk. [Cryptophasidae]. Fletcher, T. B., 1929, A list of generic names used for Microlepidoptera. Memoirs of the Department of Agriculture of India,  11: 1-244 [173].

Philarista porphyrinella, Walk. Common, Australian Moths, Jacaranda Press, 1963, 1-128 (50-54) [52, 71, fig C3].

Philarista porphyrinella, Walk. Common, 1990, Moths of Australia, Melbourne University Press. 227-230

Philarista porphyrinella, (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 [87].

Philarista porphyrinella, (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 17 June 2010].

Xylorycta porphyrinella, (Walker 1864). (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 17 June 2010]. [Synonymy not noted].

Philarista porphyrinella, (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 17 June 2010].

Original description, Walker, 1864

Cryptolechia porphyrinella.

Mas. Alba; palporum articulus 2us nigricans, squamosus; antennae pubescentes; tibiae posteriores fimbriatae; abdomen aurato-fiavum; alae anticae vitta purpurea anticae emittente apud marginem exteriorem dilatata; posticae aurato-flavae.

Male. White. Under side, abdomen and legs gilded yellow. Palpi much longer than the breadth of the head; second joint squamous, blackish, except at the tip: third setiform, a little shorter than the second. Antennae minutely pubescent. Abdomen extending beyond the hind wings. Posterior tibiae fringed. Fore wings, rather narrow, rounded at the tips, with a purple stripe, which occupies the costa at the base, forms an angle towards the, costa before the middle, and is dilated along the exterior border to the tip of the wing and to the interior angle; exterior border slightly convex, very oblique, Length of the body 7 lines [14.8mm]; of the wings 14 lines [29.6mm].

a. — ?

Synonymic description, T.P. Lucas, 1890

Brunia intersecta, n. sp.

♀. 32 mm. Head, palpi and thorax creamy-ochreous. Antennae grey. Abdomen in specimen wanting. Forewings elongate, dilate, costa arched, hindmargin rounded, creamy-ochreous; a purplish dark grey band from costal half of base of wing, filling centre third of wing, upper border from costa at 1/10 to near costa at 2/5where it forms a prominent angle, thence abruptly to near middle of wing at 7/8, thence reflected forming an angle to costa just before apex; under border from base in centre of wing to near inner border at ¾, then reflected as an angle to inner border, veins on this band black, a sub-marginal line of black angular dots, bounded by a light ochreous fine line and by a deep black hindmarginal fine line: cilia purple-grey. Hindwings yellow-ochreous, hindmargin near apex, black with short fine transverse black lines; cilia yellow-ochreous, near apex purple-grey.

Queensland. In Museum collection, Brisbane; believed to be from North Queensland.

Subsequent description, Meyrick 1890

Crypt. porphyrinella, Walk.

(Cryptolechia porphyrinella, Walk. 771.)

Female 29 mm. Head and thorax white, sides of face dark fuscous. Palpi white, second joint dark fuscous except apex. Antennae dark fuscous. Abdomen ochreous-yellow. Legs deep ochreous-yellow, anterior pair dark fuscous. Forewings elongate, moderate, posteriorly somewhat dilated, costa gently arched, apex rounded, hind margin somewhat oblique, gently rounded; 2 from 2/3; white; a broad, straight, dark purple-fuscous longitudinal median streak from base of costa, dilated towards posterior extremity so as to extend on hind margin from above middle to anal angle, upper edge with a broad triangular projection before middle; a rather narrow purple-blackish fascia along hind margin from apex to beneath anal angle, marked with seven small semi-oval golden-ochreous spots on hind margin: cilia rather dark grey, basal half whitish with a broad black subbasal line. Hindwings with veins 6 and 7 separate; ochreous-yellow; a narrow dark fuscous streak along upper half of hindmargin, dilated at apex; cilia ochreous-yellow, round apex grey with a black subbasal line.

Newcastle and Sydney, New South Wales, in February; two specimens.

Other references

Cryptophaga porphyrinella. Walk.

Brisbane; bred from Exocarpus Cunninghami (?) (Lucas, 1894).

Xylorycta porphyrinella, Walk.

Cryptolechia porphyrinella, Walk., 771; Cryptophaga porphyrinella Meyr., T. Roy. Soc., S.A., p. 32, 1890; Lithosia bisecta, Lucas.

Mr. R. Illidge having bred males of this species I am enabled to make the above correction. Meyrick was led into placing it in Cryptophaga through only possessing a female. Dr. Lucas has made the astonishing error of describing it as a new Lithosia. (Lower, 1894).

Xylorycta porphyrinella, Walk. (Cryptolechia porphyrinella, Walk., 771; Cryptophaga porphyrinella Meyrick, 32; Brunia intersecta, Lucas, Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. W., 1889; Xylorycta porphyrinella Lower, Proc. Roy. Soc. S.A. 1894, 91.) Male, 27-30 mm. antennae slightly serrate towards extremity; ciliations, 2/3. Female, 31-35 mm.

Brisbane: a series bred by Mr. Illidge from larvae tunnelling the stems of Excocarpus cupressiformis (Native Cherry), and dragging in leaves for food. (Turner, 1898).

Philarista porphyrinella, Tillyard, 1926

In the genus Xylorycta, the most beautiful species is X. porphyrinella Walk. (pl. 27, fig. 16); its larva feeds in Native Cherry (Exocarpus). (Tillyard, 1926).

Philarista porphyrinella, fig C3, Common 1963

One of the most striking species is Philarista porphyrinella (Walk) ( C3, male 1.3 inches), whose host plant is Exocarpus ( native cherry). (Common, 1963).

Philarista porphyrinella, Pl. 6.6: Common, 1990

The handsome Philarista porphyrinella (Walk.) (Pl. 6.6) occurs from southern Queensland to southern New South Wales, inland as well as near the coast. The larva bores in Exocarpos cupressiformis (Santalaceae), mainly at the bases of branches, and covers the entrance with a small web of silk and faecal material. It is the only species in Philarista Meyrick. (Common, 1990).

Diagnosis:

Description:

Head:

Philarista porphyrinella, ♀ head. IM11-0071, 29 November 2011, Imbil, Queensland.

Thorax:

Philarista porphyrinella, wing venation

Abdomen:

Food plants: Larva boring in stem. Larval foodplant: Exocarpos cupressiformis (Santalaceae). (Edwards, 2003).

Flight period: December, February, March.

Distribution: New South Wales, Queensland. Endemic. (Edwards, 2003).

Remarks: Philarista porphyrinella has a very close relationship, revealed by barcoding, with Xylorycta heliomacula. It may be no coincidence that both species feed as larvae on parasitic plants, P. porphyrinella on Exocarpus and X. heliomacula on Loranthus. The close relationship is also revealed by the wing markings that have an underlying structural similarity. I have yet to dissect the genitalia of either species, but I would expect them to be very similar. Perhaps X. heliomacula would be better placed in the genus Philarista.

Philarista sp. 1

Philarista sp. 1, BOLD

Philarista sp. 1, BOLD

Thorax:

Philarista sp. ANIC 1,♀wing venation , K-0706, collected by David Rentz, Kuranda.

Remarks: This species has been provisionally placed in Philarista, but has not been described. The wings are soft, thin, and lighter and broader than the wings of most Xyloryctines of this size. It should be noted the labial palpi are very different from those of the type species. There is reason to be uncertain about the relationship between these two species, which may be only superficially similar.