ON A COLLECTION OF SOME FAMILIES OF MICRO- LEPIDOPTERA FROM SRI LANKA (CEYLON) by A. DIAKONOFF Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie, Leiden With 65 text-figures and 18 plates CONTENTS Preface 3 Cochylidae 5 Tortricidae, Olethreutinae, Grapholitini 8 „ „ Eucosmini 23 „ „ Olethreutini 66 „ Chlidanotinae, Chlidanotini 78 „ „ Polyorthini 79 „ „ Hilarographini 81 „ „ Phricanthini 81 „ Tortricinae, Tortricini 83 „ „ Archipini 95 Brachodidae 98 Choreutidae 102 Carposinidae 103 Glyphipterigidae 108 A list of identified species no A list of collecting localities 114 Index of insect names 117 Index of latin plant names 122 PREFACE The microlepidopterous fauna of Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, is famous for its richness and variety, due, without doubt, to the diversified biotopes and landscapes of this beautiful island. In spite of this, there does not exist a survey of its fauna — except a single contribution, by Lord Walsingham, in Moore's "Lepidoptera of Ceylon", already almost a hundred years old, and a number of small papers and stray descriptions of new species, in various journals. The authors of these papers were Walker, Zeller, Lord Walsingham and a few other classics — until, starting with 1905, a flood of new descriptions 4 ZOOLOGISCHE VERHANDELINGEN I93 (1982) and records from India and Ceylon appeared, all by the hand of Edward Meyrick. He was almost the single specialist of these faunas, until his death in 1938. To this great Lepidopterist we chiefly owe our knowledge of all groups of Microlepidoptera of Sri Lanka. After his death this information stopped abruptly. In the later years great changes have taken place in the tropical countries. We are now facing, alas, the disastrously quick destruction of natural bio- topes, especially by the reckless liquidation of the tropical forests. The result• ing drastic changes all over tropical Asia make it necessary to hasten our faunistic studies, before it is too late. It is a favourable and welcome under• taking of the United States National Museum of Washington, D.C., in collaboration with the Department of National Museums, Sri Lanka, to have organized a series of collecting expeditions from 1970 to 1980, in order to gain insight into the contemporary situation of the insect fauna of the island by a general faunistic study. The present paper presents a survey of a part of the collected material and partly records of the existing fauna. The survey is limited because of the relatively short periods of collecting, which is much dependent on season, weather, location, and the chief methods of collecting used: black light and Malaise traps. In the following pages a survey is given of the identified genera and species of the following families: Cochylidae, Tortricidae, Brachodidae, Choreutidae, Carposinidae and Glyphipterigidae. In total 131 species have been recorded, belonging to 85 genera; of these 12 genera, one subgenus, 24 species and one subspecies have been described as new to science. The identified material will be divided between the US National Museum of Natural History and the Department of National Museums, Sri Lanka, and the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. Under the name of each species are recorded: a list of references, distribu• tion, known food plants and a list of the present collecting localities, with numbers of specimens, divided according to sex. These localities are indicated by the leading locality name only; an alphabetical list of these names, with dates, collectors, and, as far as possible, geographical coordinates, is given separately. The author is indebted to the first mentioned Museum for the invitation to study this interesting material and for the permission to retain certain duplicates for the Leiden Museum collection. For help, interest and advice, he is grateful to the following colleagues: Dr. Karl V. Krombein, Senior Scientist and Principal Investigator of the project, to Dr. J. F. Gates Clarke, Research Associate and Dr. Donald R. Davis, Chairman, Department of DIAKONOFF, MICROLEPIDOFTERA FROM SRI LANKA 5 Entomology, Smithsonian Institution; all these colleagues have also parti• cipated in the collecting of the material; to Professor Dr. W. Vervoort, Direc• tor of the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie, Leiden, the author is greatly obliged for granting permission and the facilities of the museum for the carrying out of this study, without which facilities it would not have been possible; furthermore, to the Netherlands Organisation for Pure Science, for a grant, covering the costs of the drawings of the genitalia, executed by Mr. A. C. M. van Dijk of The Hague with his usual skill. Sketches of wing neuration and photographs have been made by the author, the latter some• times assisted by the Museum photographer, Mr. E. van Esch. A list of contents and indices to insect and plant names is given at the end of this series. COCHILIDAE Phalonidia permixtana (Denis & Schiffermiiller) Phalaena Tortrix permixtana Denis & Schiffermuller, 1775, Schmett. Wiener Gegend: 129, no. 19. Phalonia permixtana; Kennel, 1913, Zoologica, 54: 281, pi. 12 fig. 80. Phalonidia permixtana; Hannemann, 1964, Tierwelt Deutschl., 50: 26, figs, na-b, pi. 1 fig. 15. Razowsky, 1970, Microlep. Pal., 3, Cochylidae: 227, no. 138, pi. 12 fig. 138, pi. 64 fig. 138, pi. 134 figs. 138 1-2. Cochylis mussehliana Treitschke, 1835, Schm. Eur., 10 (3) : 141. Cochylis dymotana Treitschke, 1835, loc. cit.: 142. (Further very extensive Palaearctic literature on this quite common species may be omitted here.) Distribution. Widely distributed throughout Europe, from England to Ural, except the high North; the Mediterranean region; E Afghanistan; Manchu• ria; Mongolia; China; C Asia: Bukhara; Asia Minor (After Razowsky, 1970). Food plants (in Europe). In stalks of Pedicularis, Euphrasia, Rhinanthus, Butomus umbellatus, Alisma plantago and Gentiana lutea. New collecting data in Sri Lanka: Inginiyagala 1 ?. Mannar Id. 2 $, genit. slide 10180. Wilpattu 2 ?, genit. slide 10179. Eupoecilia charixantha (Meyrick) comb. nov. Clysia charixantha Meyrick, 1928, Exot. Microlep., 3: 435. Clysiana charixantha; Clarke, 1963, Meyrick's Types, 4: 11, pi. 5 figs. i-ib. Distribution. Ceylon. India, Coorg. New collecting data in Sri Lanka: Rakwana 1 <5, genit. slide 10176. Upper Hantana Hill 1 ?, genit. slide 10178. 6 ZOOLOGISCHE VERHANDELINGEN I93 (1982) Eupoecilia cracens spec. nov. [cracens = graceful] (pi. 1 figs. 1-2) <3 13 mm. Head and thorax pale ochreous, frons becoming white. Palpus whitish-ochreous, little dilated, moderately long. Antenna pale ochreous, faintly ringed with light brown. Abdomen pale ochreous. Fore wing oblong, hardly dilated, costa curved at base, almost straight posteriorly, apex pointed and appearing rather produced because of the very oblique straight termen. Pale golden ochreous, more than anterior half of costa suffused with greyish, becoming brown at extreme base; central fascia from before middle of costa to about 1/3 of dorsum, costal half triangularly dilated upwards, suffused grey, top of triangle above middle, ill-defined, almost interrupted, touched with pinkish-orange, lower half of fascia dark fuscous, not dilated, except slightly on dorsal edge; apex of wing touched with faintest orangeish. Cilia glossy whitish-ochreous. Hind wing pale ochreous, towards cell becoming whitish and subpellucent, towards marginal third, especially towards apex, with faintest and sparse blackish dusting. Cilia as in fore wing. Male genitalia as characterised for the genus. Valva rather narrow, oblique, moderately narrowed, sacculus rolled, its top about opposite 1/4 of costa, so cucullus very oblique; apex rounded. Uncus an oval sclerotic strongly bristled knob. Socius long, with triangular base, thence but gradually and little nar• rowed, ribbon-like, top rounded. Transtilla in middle with a massive sclerotic triangle, on apical half densely spined throughout. Aedeagus characteristical for the genus, inverted-oblong-clavate, moderate, lower surface of orifice sclerotic; cornutus, a single slightly sinuate spine, shorter than half aedeagus. Sri Lanka, NE District, Kanda-ela Reservoir, 5.6 mi SW Nuwara Eliya, 6200 ft, 10-21.ii.1970 (Davis & Rowe), 1 (3, holotype, genit. slide 10175. Eupoecilia anisoneura spec. nov. [aviaovsupos = with unequal veins] 6 6 mm. Head whitish. Antenna and palpus pale ochreous. Thorax pale ochreous. Abdomen whitish. Fore wing sublanceolate, rather narrow, not dilated, costa almost straight, gently curved before apex, apex pointed, termen faintly sinuate, strongly oblique, dorsum convex, forming with dorsum an almost gradual curve, tornus ill-defined. Whitish-ochreous, towards costa becoming suffused with a trifle DIAKONOFF, MICROLEPIDOPTERA FROM SRI LANKA 7 Fig. i. Eupoecilia anisoneura sp. n., $ genitalia, type. brighter ochreous. Basal 3/4 of costa with a dark brown-fuscous streak, strongly suffused along lower edge; central fascia median, strongly inwards- oblique, blackish-fuscous, wider in costa, gradually constricted in middle, anterior edge concave and well defined, posterior irregular, oblique and suf• fused; traces of dark fuscous scattered points beyond fascia and towards termen. Hind wing pellucent, white, strewn with light fuscous scales, moderately dense along apex and termen, thinly elsewhere, cell and space between veins 2 and 3+4 with only a few scales. Cilia whitish-hyaline, thinly suffused with light fuscous along apical third and a subbasal moderate band; posterior half of edges of cell, discoidal and veins 2, 3+4 and 5 denser suffused