A revision of Agonopterix lacteella (Lepidoptera: Depressariidae) and establishing A. pallidior Stringer, 1930 as a junior synonym

Abstract

Agonopterix lacteella (Caradja, 1920) was described on the basis of a single female specimen collected at Kasakewitsch, Russian Far East. Later on, A. pallidior (Stringer, 1930) was described, based on 6 specimens from Japan. Both descriptions where based only on the external appearance and published without illustrations, making subsequent accurate identification of both these species difficult. A subsequent comparison of A. lacteella holotype with the type series of A. pallidior revealed a perfect match. However, since the holotype of A. pallidior is a male whilst A. lacteella’s holotype is a female, a revision based on a direct comparison of the genitalia features of these two types is not possible. Hence, the female genitalia of A. lacteella holotype was compared with the genitalia of a female specimen identified as A. pallidior. A perfect match was found, which leaves no doubt that both taxa are conspecific. Details and consequences of this result for the systematic position of these two taxa, as well as for their relationship with other similar, cognate species are presented. In addition, new data regarding the distribution and biology of A. lacteella are presented.