Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology

88 Pages·1991·4.8 MB·English

by  British Museum (Natural History)

Bulletin
Museum
British
(Natural History)
Entomology
Series
VOLUME NUMBER DECEMBER
60 2 19 1991
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WorldListabbreviation: Bull. Br. Mus. nat. Hist. (Ent.)
© British Museum (Natural History), 1991
ISBN 565 06042 2 Entomology Series
ISSN 0524-6431 Vol60,No.2,pp.205-288
British Museum (Natural History)
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London SW7 5BD Issued 19 December 1991
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Bull. Br. Mus.nat. Hist. (Ent.)60(2):205-241 Issued19December1991
Sattleria: a European genus of brachypterous
alpine moths (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)
LINDA M. PITKIN & K. SATTLER
DepartmentofEntomology, The NaturalHistory Museum, CromwellRoad, London SW75BD
CONTENTS
Synopsis 205
Introduction 205
MaterialandMethods 207
Abbreviations 208
Acknowledgements 209
ThesystematicpositionofSattleria 209
SattleriaPovolny 210
ChecklistofthespeciesofSattleria 214
KeytothespeciesofSattleria 215
References 240
Index 241
SYNOPSIS.ThegenusSattleriaPovolny(Gelechiinae,Gnorimoschemini),endemictothe
alpine zone of European mountains, is revised. Eight species, including four newly
described, are recognized as valid; one species is recalled from synonymy, one taxon
reverts from subspecific to specific status, one subspecies is transferred to a different
speciesandone synonym is newlyestablished. Separate keysfor males and females are
provided,basedoncharactersofthegenitalia. Maleandfemalemothsandtheirgenitalia
are describedand illustrated.
the disposal of refuse add to the pressure on the
INTRODUCTION environment. At the same time the agricultural
sector's drive for greater profitability contributes
through excessive application of fertilizers to
In many parts ofEurope the alpine zone was the reduced biodiversity even on remote alpine pas-
last natural ecosystem almost undisturbed by tures, whilst long-range industrial air pollution
man's activities and, as long as the mountains appearstoberesponsiblefordramaticdie-backof
were remote and inaccessible, their unique flora alpine forests with resultant soil erosion (see, for
andfaunacouldbeconsideredrelativelysafefrom example, B\ab etal., 1987: 170-177; Diem, 1988:
destruction bymasstourism,intensiveagriculture 2-8).
or industrial processes. Increasing recreational Amongst the insects likely to be threatened by
useofthemountainsbyalarge,evermoreaffluent such degradation of their habitats a number of
population, encouraged by commercial interests Lepidoptera species are particularly vulnerable,
eagertoexploit Europe'slasttouristicfrontier, is because their females are flightless and they are
now causing widespread overdevelopment and often confined to small disjunct colonies. An
simultaneousdestructionorfragmentationofsen- increasedtrendtowardsflightlessnesswithamore
sitive natural habitats. Thus, numerous areas orlesspronouncedreductionofthewingshaslong
previously inaccessible to a wider public have been known tooccurinthefemalesofLepidoptera
been opened up totourism through the construc- inhabiting the alpine zone of high mountains in
tion ofnewroads, hotels, holidaychalets, ski lifts many parts of the world. Such abortion of flight
andpistes,cablecarsandotherfacilities,andwith and reduction ofthe flight organs as an apparent
the growing number ofvisitors such problems as responsetothe ecologicalconditionsin an extreme
206 LINDAM. PITKIN&K.SATTLER
environment is not confined to high altitude representing one variable species, but would not
speciesbut is also observed in many Lepidoptera exclude the possibility that some of the more
endemic to small remote oceanic islands and in extreme morphologically separable forms might
species which are"active as adults during the cold be distinctspecies. Atthesametime hedismissed
season; the whole phenomenon is extensively Gelechia pyrenaica Petry as falling within the
reviewed by Sattler (1991). range of variation of dzieduszyckii, and sub-
IntheEuropean AlpsexamplesofLepidoptera sequently synonymized it formally with the latter
species with wing reduction in the female sex are (Povolny, 1967: 175), although Petry had been
foundin atleastsevendifferentfamilies(Huemer emphatic that both were distinct. As Povolny's
& Sattler, 1989: 257) but the total number of views had never been challenged it came as a
species, which is in excess of20, is still uncertain surprise when, during a field trip by members
BMNH
becauseseveralunresolvedspecies-complexesare of the Microlepidoptera Section (G. S.
involved. Onesuchcomplexisthegelechiidgenus Robinson, K. Sattler & K. R. C. Tuck) in 1981,
SattleriaPovolny(Gelechiinae: Gnorimoschemini), Petry'sobservations in the central Pyreneeswere
which is endemic to Europe and inhabits the fully confirmed. On the slopes of Pic du Midi de
highermountainsfromthePyreneesinthewestto Bigorre twoSattleria species, clearly separable in
theCarpathiansintheeastinanumberofdisjunct bothsexesexternally(Fig. 1)andbytheirgenitalia,
populations. It is likely that, together with their werefoundtoflytogetherin the samebiotope. In
habitats, many of its taxa are endangered; how- the light of these findings it was decided to re-
ever, to obtain meaningful data for assessing the assessthe taxonomicstatusofallSattleriapopula-
impactofadversefactorson the alpine ecosystem tions because it is not unreasonable to assume
and its constituent parts, it is imperative first to that, iftwo undisputed species occur side by side
understand the taxonomy of the organisms in- in the central Pyrenees, other morphologically
volved. It is therefore a purpose ofthis paper to separable forms elsewhere may also represent
elucidatethehithertounresolvedtaxonomyofthe distinct species.
known Sattleria populations and summarize the Preliminary results of our studies were pre-
limited available ecological data. sented at the Sixth Innsbrucker Lepidopterolo-
WhenheproposedthegenusSattleria, Povolny gengesprach, held on 20-21 October 1984 at the
(1965:490-492)wasambivalentaboutthesystem- TirolerLandesmuseumFerdinandeum,wherewe
atic status ofthe included taxa. He regarded the producedevidencetosupportourviewthatSattleria
genusasmonotypic,withS. dzieduszyckii(Nowicki) comprisesacomplexofseveralcloselyrelatedbut
Fig. 1 Males (left) andfemales (right) oftwospeciesofSattleriafromthe Pyrenees: S. arcuata (top), S.pyrenaica
(bottom).
SATTLER1A AEUROPEANGENUSOFBRACHYPTEROUSALPINEMOTHS 207
:
morphologically distinguishable species. A second- most of the material recorded in earlier publica-
handreportonourpresentationpromptedPovolny tions, usually as Gelechia dzieduszyckiiNowicki,
(1987) to pre-empt our planned publication by a wasre-assessed, includingseveral ofthe specimens
hastily produced paper in which he reiterated his illustratedorotherwise itemizedby Povolny(1965;
beliefindzieduszyckiiasasinglevariablespecies. 1967; 1983; 1987). We were unable to trace any
In essence he recognized several geographical examplesfrom Bulgaria(Rebel, 1903: 329)whilst
forms, variously referred to as 'Rassenkomplex', the only known specimens from Montenegro
'Rassenkreis', 'Populationsgruppe'orsubspecies, (Rebel, 1913: 330) and Albania (Rebel & Zerny,
butemphasizedthat,forthetime being, theseare 1931; 146),whichbelongtoNM,Vienna,havenot
to be taken as representing merely statistical yet been returned by Povolny and were not
trends. At the same time he stated that it is examined.
impossibletoassign individual mothsofunknown We studied 117 genitalia slides (84 males, 33
geographic origin unambiguously to any ofthose females), most of which were specifically pre-
subspecific groups. A key factor in his argument pared for this work. The male genitalia were
was the strong variation in size, coloration and 'unrolled' in accordance with the technique pre-
genitalia structures he believed to have observed viously described (Pitkin, 1986). Originally
in his specimens from the Pyrenees; however, developed for the gelechiid genus Mirificarma
from his illustrated examples it is clear that he Gozmany, this method also proved ideal for
misinterpreted as intraspecific variation the dif- Sattleria males; without sacrificing any critical
ferences between the widespread 5. pyrenaica characterit allowsthetwo-dimensional displayof
(Pctry) and two geographically more restricted all taxonomically important structures - a pre-
and hithertoundescribedspecies. Thushiscolour requisite for successful photomicrography. The
figures, intended to demonstrate a remarkable advantagesofthe unrollingtechnique forinterpret-
range ofvariation in '5. dzieduszyckiipyrenaica ing complex genitalia structures are immediately
,
represent two males ofS. pyrenaica (Pctry) (figs obviouswhen ourillustrationsarc comparedwith
14, 15) from Picdu Midi and MtCanigou respect- those of Povolny (1987, figs 1-13), which are
ively,flankedbyS. arcuatasp. n. (fig. 13)from Pic based on conventional preparations ofthe 'entire',
du Midi and S. angustispina sp. n. (fig. 16) from strongly three-dimensional genital armature.
Mt Canigou. It may have further misled Povolny As a result of a literature survey over 70
thatapparentlyhe hadtransposed thegenitaliaof referencesto nominal taxaofSattleriawere traced;
his specimens from Mt Canigou; the genitalia in however, most of them arc faunistic records or
text-fig. 12belongtothemothincolour-fig. 16and entries in catalogues and check-lists of little
those in text-fig. 13 to the moth in colour-fig. 15, information value. Only a limited number of
not the other way round as the accompanying papers contain worthwhile biological observa-
label data would suggest. tions (e.g., Burmann, 1954; 1977) or discuss
Due to lack of material from several under- taxonomic aspects (e.g. Povolny, 1965; 1967;
collectedareasinthewestern Alpsandmountains 1987) and are recorded in the systematic part of
inYugoslaviaandBulgariatherestillremainsome our work.
unresolvedproblems. Nevertheless,we believeto In the past, collecting of Sattleria was mostly
have shown in our study that Sattleria comprises sporadic and only one lepidopterist ever made a
several clear, morphologically distinguishable special study (Burmann, 1954) in the course of
species. which heaccumulatedappreciable seriesofspeci-
mens. Many of the mountains where Sattleria
populations occur were rarely visited by microle-
pidopterists and minimal materialexistsin collec-
MATERIAL AND METHODS tions; for example, only one male each is known
fromKorab(Albania)andDurmitor(Montenegro)
and very few specimens, all males, were ever
Our study of Sattleria is based on over 400 collected in the Julijske Alpe (Slovenija) and
specimens (6:9 ratio 6: 1), about 200 of which Abruzzo (central Italy). Even in the much better
originated from various museums and private exploredAlpscollectingwaspreviouslyextremely
collections whilst a similar number was collected difficult in the higher regions. Many suitable
by us. All specimens recorded under 'Material habitatscouldonly be reached afterlongstrenuous
BMNH
examined' are in unlessstatedotherwise. hikesand, astheyusually lackedovernightshelter,
Theprimarytypesofthreeofthesevenpreviously fieldworkwaslimitedtojustafewdaytimehours,
described nominal t«xa were examined, together often further curtailed by the notoriously un-
with topotypical specimensoftheotherfour, and predictable weather conditions. Thus, like many
208 LINDAM. PITKIN&K.SATTLER
otherMicrolepidopteraofthealpinezone,Sattleria 1954: 349; Klimesch, 1961: 650). The standard
specimens are comparatively rare in collections, technique of running a mercury vapour light in
particularly the brachypterous females, and front ofa white sheet can therefore be employed
Povolny"s claim to have examined 'ample series' butappearstoproduceonlymodestresults,dueto
A
('reichliche Serien') or 'extensive material' the limited motility of the moths. night search
('ausgedehntes Material') from 'all European betweenaboutmidnightand01.00hrswiththeaid
mountain ranges, where [Sattleria] occurs' ('aus of a Petromax paraffin lantern was found to be
alien europaischen Gebirgen, wo sie vorkommt') much more fruitful. A lantern placed on the
(Povolny, 1965:492; 1987:85)isclearlyexaggerated. ground during that time in a suitable habitat will
In recenttimescollectingandfieldstudies have attractthemalesinthenearvicinity.Theapproach-
becomeverymucheasier,because morelocalities ingmothscan then be nettedorcollecteddirectly
arenowfreelyaccessible by roadorcable carand into glass tubes, and every ten minutes or so the
there are more facilities forspending the night in lantern is moved to a new location. In spite of a
or near suitable habitats. We carried out field specific search no females were located with that
work in the central and eastern Pyrenees (K. S., method and few other Microlepidoptera were
1981), southern Carpathians (L. M. P. & K. S., attracted at that time.
1984) and Lechtaler Alpen (K. S., 1987) whilst On occasions when a night search proved im-
unsuccessful searches for Sattleria were made in practical or it was intended to sample different
theeasternAlps(Raxalpe;K.S., 1985)andsouth- spots simultaneously, a Common trap was
eastern Alps (Alpi Giulie/Julijske Alpe: Canin, employed. This trap is equipped with a 6 watt
Montasio, Mangrt; L. M. P. & K. S., 1987). actinic tube operated by a 12 volt car battery and
Duringtheday, Sattleriamalesareoccasionally chargedwith tetrachloroethane asakillingagent.
flushed out of their hiding places, particularly in It is specifically designed to collect the larger
earlymorningandlateafternoon,andcanthenbe and small moths in separate compartments and
netted. Disturbed males fly only short distances, thus prevent damage to the Microlepidoptera
unlessthey arecarriedawayby strongwinds, and (Common, 1986). Only the males were caught in
as they stay close to the ground they are some- this trap, and inspections during its operation
times difficult to see against the background of indicated that they were not usually attracted
rocks and vegetation. before midnight.
In suitable habitats with sparse vegetation and Rearingfromtheegghasnotyetbeentriedand
many fiat stones a search of the ground can be may be difficult if larvae overwinter twice as
mostproductive. Stonesinthe immediatevicinity suggested by Burmann (1954: 350), but a search
of plant cushions can be turned over to expose for larvae and pupae was found to be successful.
specimens of both sexes, either sitting on the
ground or on the underside ofsuch stones.
As for other insects hidden in inaccessible
substratessuch asdeepscreeordensevegetation,
a beesmoker can be used successfully to drive ABBREVIATIONS
Sattleria males and females out of hiding. This
wmhetehnotdheissmpoarkteicluilnagrelrys eofnfetchteivgeroounndd.aSmmpokdeayiss BMNH British Museum (Natural History), London,
usually produced from cartridges made ofcorru- BURM EBnugrlmaannd.n collection, Innsbruck, Austria.
gatedcardboard; however, locally available com- ETH Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule,
bustiblessuchasdryplantmaterialorsheepdung
Zurich. Switzerland.
can be substituted. During field work in the HUEM Huemercollection, Innsbruck, Austria.
central Pyrenees on Pic du Midi de Bigorre a MCSN Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Milan,
locally common lichen proved a most effective, Italy.
longlastingfuelondampdayswhenithadthefeel MINGA MuzeuldeIstorieNaturala'GrigoreAntipa',
ofgood pipe tobacco, whilst on dry days it dried MM Bucharest, Rumania.
oaudtvaqnuticakgleyo,usbetcooimmipnrgegbnriattteleoannedeunndsuoiftatbhlee.caIrtdi-s MNHN MMoursaevusmkeNaMtuiosneaulmd,'HBisrtnooi,reCzNaetcuhroesllloev,aPkairai.s,
France.
boardcartridgewithpotassium nitrate forgreater NM NaturhistorischesMuseum, Vienna, Austria.
ease oflightinginwindyweather. Careshouldbe NMB NaturhistorischesMuseum, Basle,Switzerland.
taken not to cause fires when emptying the TM Termeszettudomanyi Muzeum, Budapest,
beesmoker; in dry habitats it may be safer to Hungary.
restrict its use to damp days. WHIT Whitebreadcollection, Magden, Switzerland.
BothsexesofSattleriarespondtolight(Burmann, ZI Zoological Institute, Leningrad. U.S.S.R.
SATTLERIA AEUROPEANGENUSOFBRACHYPTEROUSALPINEMOTHS 209
\
AlthoughitisuniversallyacceptedthatSattleria
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS belongstotheGelechiinae, tribeGnorimoschemini,
thishasnotyetbeendemonstratedbeyonddoubt.
The main synapomorphy of the subfamily Gele-
Wearemostgratefultothefollowingspecialistsforloan chiinae is the division of the male abdominal
ofmaterialandforhelpful information: Dr K. Burmann, segment 8 along the pleural line, which enables
Innsbruck; DrRGacdike, Deutsches Entomologisches tergite and sternite to operate as independent
Institut, Ebcrswalde,Germany; DrP. Hucmer,Tiroler coversforthegenitalia.Thisarrangementseparates
Landesmuscum Ferdinandeum, Innsbruck; Mr O.
Karsholt, Zoologisk Museum, Copenhagen; Dr J. the Gelechiinae from other subfamilies in which
Klimesch, Linz; the late Dr F. Kasy, and Dr M. Lodl, segment 8 forms a continuous ring into which the
NM; DrC. Leonardi, MCSN; Dr G. Luquet, MNHN; genitalia are usually withdrawn. In the Sattleria
DrA. Lvovsky, ZI; DrA. Popescu-Gorj, MINGA; Dr male the structure of segment 8 (Figs 48-50)
J. Razowski, Polish Academy of Sciences, Krakow; clearly shows the gelechiine condition.
Prof. W. Sauter, ETH; Frau Dr I. Schatz, Innsbruck; The Gelechiinae are currently divided into the
Prof. Sir Richard Southwood FRS, Department of tribesGelechiini,TeleiodiniandGnorimoschemini.
Zoology,OxfordUniversity;MrS.Whitebread,Magden. Whilstthereappearstobeagreementthatmostof
We also thank our colleagues, for helpful advice and the 40 genera united in the Gnorimoschemini
criticism during the preparation of this paper. Our form a monophyletic group, this has yet to be
fpioerltdewdobrykRionyRaulmSaonciieaty(1s9c8i4e)ntaifnidcAeuxscthrainage(1p98r7o)gwraamsmseusp.- establishedanditisheresuggestedthatthethorn-
The photographs were taken by the Photographic likesignumbursaeofthefemaleisasynapomorphy
Unit, BMNH. of this tribe. Regrettably, in the Sattleria female
the signum is secondarily lost and, until further
synapomorphies arc found, its gnorimoschemine
statuscan onlybe deduced fromoverallsimilarities
THE SYSTEMATIC POSITION OF in conjunction with a specialized anellus character
SATTLERIA (seebelow)whichSattleriashareswithasubgroup
of undisputed Gnorimoschemini.
No classification of the Gnorimoschemini has
S. dzieduszyckii (Nowicki), the typc-specics of ever been proposed, but an attempt was made by
Sattleria Povolny, has had a chequered history Povolny (1967) toexpress hisviewson the phylo-
with regard to its generic position. Originally geneticrelationshipsofthegenerawithinthetribe
described in 'Gelechia (AnacampsisHS.)\ where it in a diagram, although it was not in the form of
wasplaced nexttoAcompsiamaculosella(Hcrrich- a cladogram. A recent idiosyncratic numerical
Schaffer) (Gelechiidae: Dichomerinac), it was analysis of phylogcnctic relationships in Gnori-
subsequently transferred to Doryphora Heine- moschemini by Povolny & Sustek (1988) is less
mann (= Xystophora Wocke) and within that helpful because it does not provide clear results
genusassociatedwithspecieswhicharcnowaccom- and merely demonstrates the unsuitability of the
modated in Monochroa Hcinemann (Gelechiidae: chosentechniqueforresolvingsuch relationships.
Aristoteliinae) (Wocke, 1871: 298). Rebel (1901: In Povolny'sdiagramof 1967theGnorimoschemini
145) placed dzieduszyckii in Gelechia (subgenus are divided intothe gnorimoschemoid, scrobipal-
Gelechia) amongst a group ofspecieswhich were puloid and scrobipalpoid branches, the last of
later separated as Teleiopsis Sattler, a position in which issubdivided into the scrobipalpoid, ephy-
which it was also retained by Mcyrick (1925: 77). steridandcaryocolidgroupsofgenera.Theplace-
Following a revision ofthe collective genus Gele- ment of Sattleria in the scrobipalpoid group next
chia, dzieduszyckii was removed to the Gnori- toScrobipalpopsisPovolnyandScrobipalpaJanse
moschema group (Gelechiinae: Gnorimoschemini) wasbasedprimarilyon similaritiesofthe Sattleria
(Sattler, 1960: 69), where a separate genus, fore wing pattern with that of Scrobipalpopsis
Sattleria Povolny, was eventually proposed for petasitis(Pfaffenzeller) (Povolny, 1965: 490, text-
it. fig.; 1967: 174); however, the mere presence of
Sattleriaisestablishedasmonophyleticbyseveral the three typical stigmata in both genera is
autapomorphies: inthe malegenitaliathe presence irrelevant for establishing phylogenetic relation-
of the usually forked posterior processes of the ships, because it is a groundplan character of at
vinculum, andtheanellusintheshapeofapairof least the ditrysian Lepidoptera, and no syna-
perforated disks; in the female genitalia the pre- pomorphies were found to confirm Povolny's
sence of characteristic sternal pockets. A likely view.
further autapomorphy is the reduction of the In contrast to Povolny it is here believed with
wings in the female sex. Huemer(1988:445)thatSattleriaiscloselyrelated
210 LINDAM. PITKIN&K.SATTLER
to the so-called caryocolid genera Agonochaetia SATTLERIA Povolny
Povolny, Pogochaetia Staudinger, Tila Povolny,
Lutilabria Povolny, Klimeschiopsis Povolny, Sattleria Povolny, 1965: 490. Type-species:
Caryocolum Gregor & Povolny and Cosmardia GelechiadzieduszyckiiNowicki, 1864,byoriginal
Povolny, which are characterized morphologically designation and monotypy.
by a reduction ofthe gnathos hook and develop- 6 6.5-11.5 mm. Frons evenly convex. Ocellus
ment ofsclerotized anellusstructures in the male .
present but small. Proboscis well developed,
genitalia andbiologically bythe exclusive utiliza-
longer than labial palpus, squamose at base.
tion of Caryophyllaceae as host-plants of the
Maxillarypalpuswith foursegments, foldedover
larvae (host-plants ofAgonochaetia and Lutilabria
base of proboscis. Labial palpus recurved, seg-
unknown).
A hooked gnathos is probably a groundplan ment 3 acute, about as long as 2. Antenna two-
thirdstothree-quarterslengthofforewing, scape
characterofthe Gelechiidae andiswidespreadin withoutpecten. Forewing broadestin distal half,
the Gnorimoschemini; its reduction in the caryo- length about 4.5-5 times greatest width; costa
colid genera is here considered a synapomorphy straight to weakly concave, weak indication of
of that group, and the well developed gnathos
tornus. Coloration various shades of grey, with
hook ofSattleria is a plesiomorphic character. In diffuse light transverse line extended between
Agonochaetia (Fig. 65), Pogochaetia, Tila and
distal fifth of costa and tornus, stigmata black:
Caryocolum(Fig. 64)theanellusisequippedwith short plical dash sometimes extended to base,
a pair of needle-like or peg-like sclerotizations,
a structure unknown in other Gelechiidae. In discal often small but distinct, discocellular sagit-
tate; usuallycomplete rowofmarginalspotsfrom
the first three genera they are striking needles distal fifthofcostaaroundapex andalongtermen
of considerable size, sometimes exceeding the
totornus. Costaofforewing(Fig. 2)withvariably
aedeagus in length (Povolny, 1965: figs 8, 10, developedweak pterostigmabetween Sc andR5.
11; 1974: figs 1-3; Sattler, 1968: fig. 11), whilst
Discal cell about three-fifths to two-thirds length
ilnikeCaarnydomcaolyubme,arifaptreersmeinnta,ltsheetya(aHreuesmheorrt,,1p9e88g:- opafrawlilnegl,tdoistceorcmeellnu;laRrlvefirnomoblmiiqdudel,e,moRr2e—oRr4l+es5s
figs 102, 123). The anellus of Sattleria, a pair freefromcell,freeendsofR4andR5one-quarter
ofsclerotized disks with perforated centres (Fig. to one-third length ofcommon stalk; Ml close to
66), an autapomorphy of this genus, is here or connate with R4+5; distance at base M1-M2
interpretedasanextremereductionofsuchstruc- usually greater than M2-M3; distance CuAl-
ture and thus a synapomorphy with caryocolid CuA2 variable, halfto twice distance M3-CuAl.
genera.
Hindwing(Fig. 2) aboutfour-fifthslengthoffore
Our view that Sattleria is closely related to wing, broad, costa almost straight, termen more
caryocolid Gnorimoschemini is also supported or less straight, very weakly concave beneath
bythe host-plants ofthe larvae. Although, based apex. Sc+Rl to distal third of costa, Rl distinct
on observations by Burmann (1954), it was between RsandSc; RsandMl separate, distance
assumed that Sattleria larvae were Saxifragaceae at base M1-M2 about twice M2-M3; M3 and
feeders, there is now increasing evidence that CuAl connateoronshortstalk;CuA2fromabout
they live primarily on Caryophyllaceae, a plant distal third of cell. 9. 5.0-8.5 mm. As 6 but
family rarely utilized by Gelechiidae other than
the caryocolid Gnorimoschemini. As far as can antenna little shorter than fore wing. Fore wing
(Fig. 3) broadly lanceolate, costa distinctly con-
be ascertained from published and unpublished
vex, no tornus, fringe very short. Coloration and
sources only five other gelechiid species can
markings similar to those of 8 but discocellular
beassociatedwithCaryophyllaceae: Eulamprotes
stigma rarely sagittate, marginal spots always
wilkella (L.) on Cerastium; Bryotrophafigulella absent. All veins present and tubular as in 8 but
(Staudinger) and B. tachyptilella (Rebel) pos- muchclosertogether. Hindwing(Fig. 3) narrow,
sibly feeding on Silene; Teleiodes myricariella
lanceolate, only about one-third length of fore
(Frey) normally feeding on Tamaricaceae but
wing,veinsstronglyreduced,nottubular;frenulum
once reared on Silene (Huemer, pers. comm.);
triple.
and Scrobipalpa salinella (Zeller) on Cheno-
podiaceae but occasionally found feeding on Genitalia 6 (Figs 27, 48-50). Tergite and
Spergularia. sternite8separate,tergitenarrowerthansternite,
No study has been made to resolve the phylo- posteriorly rounded; sternite broad, posteriorly
geny within the caryocolid genera and it is not rounded orwith V-shaped median emargination;
possibleatthisstagetoidentifythesister-groupof coremata absent. Uncus narrowerthan tegumen,
Sattleria. distallymore orless rounded. Gnathoswithlarge
SATTLERIA AEUROPEANGENUSOFBRACHYPTEROUSALPINEMOTHS 211
;
Figs2, 3 WingvenationofSattleriamelaleucella. 2, 6. 3, $ (differentscale).
spiculate culcitula and strong, sharply pointed than tegumen, slender, straight; coecum hardly
hook. Anterior margin of tegumen with broad inflated, base sometimes splayed; ventral surface
emargination,pedunculilong. Valvausuallyslen- sometimes with median projection; apical arm
der, digitate; sacculus clearly separated, always with sclerotized hook, usually at right angles to
shorter, shape variable. Posterior margin ofvin- longitudinal axis ofaedeagus; ductus ejaculatorius
culum with pair of characteristic, frequently enters dorsally near base.
forked, strongly sclerotized processes; saccus
of moderate width, with more or less parallel Genitalia 9 (Fig. 28). Papillaanalislongerthan
margins. Anelluswithpairofcentrallyperforated wide, unspecialised; apophysis posterior about
sclerotized disks. Aedeagus as long as or longer three-quarters to four-fifths length of abdomen;
212 LINDAM PITKIN&K SATTLER
. .
telescopic membranous part of ovipositor appa- observedinthedensegrassofalpine pasturesand
rentlywithoutdorsalinvaginationorsac. Segment amongstlowgrowingRhododendron. Thefreshly
8 dorsally membranous, sclerotizations confined emergedmoths,withtheirwingsstill undeveloped,
to ventral and ventrolateral surface. Sternite 8 have been observed in the early hours of the
withpairofcharacteristicpockets, sternalsurface morning (Burmann, 1954: 348). Later in the day
mediallyoftenwithconspicuousirregularfoldsor theyusuallyhidedeeperin scree, rockcrevicesor
longitudinal ridges. Apophysis anterior rod-like, vegetation. Intheearlymorningand atdusk, less
about one-third length of apophysis posterior; frequently in the daytime, males are sometimes
sclerotized area at base extended into ostium disturbed from their hiding places and fly short
bursae, sometimes fused with posterior end of distancesbefore settlingagain in ashelteredspot.
antrum; narrow, strongly sclerotized band from Theyarerelativelypoorfliersbutcanrunwelland
base to sternal pockets. Long tubular sclerotized on rare occasions make shortjumps. The brachy-
antrum,moreorlesslengthofapophysisanterior. pterous females are incapable of flying but can
Membranous ductus bursae usually shorter than alsorun and,when disturbed,jumpshortdistances
antrum, corpus bursae spherical or oval, without ofup to 50 mm.
signum. According to our observations in the Pyrenees
Ductusseminalis arisingdorsallyfrom anterior (S.pyrenaica,S. arcuata)andsouthernCarpathians
endofsclerotizedantrum, short,withoutpseudo- (5. dzieduszyckii) the males have a period of
bursaorbullaseminalis. Vestibulumwithpapilla. particular activity between about midnight and
Canalis spiralis short, about length of canalis 01.00hrs. Itseemslogicaltoassumethatthisflight
receptaculi;vesiculaofmoderatesize;spermatheca is in search of the females and that the latter
(receptaculum seminis) with small lagena, utri- should at the same time move from their hiding
culus about three to four times length of lagena, placesto more exposedsites in ordertoawaitthe
glandula receptaculi very long, filiform. Accessory males; however, no females were noticed by us
glands with short ductus sebaceus, its half nearest duringnocturnalsearches.Thecourtshipbehaviour
junctionofsaccisebaceianinflatedreservoir;pair has never been observed, but a mating pair was
ofnarrowtubularsaccisebaceiterminatinginlong found in the early afternoon under a stone, with
filiformglandulaesebaceae. Oviductuscommunis the male halfeaten by a spider. Burmann (1954:
inferiormergedwithanaltubeshortlybeforeanal 349) suspected that a female he had seen walking
opening to form cloaca. [Description of ductus from oneplantto anotherin the afternoonwasin
seminalis - cloaca based on an examination of a the process ofdepositing her eggs.
single female ofS. melaleucella.] The flight period of Sattleria can vary greatly
from one year to the next and probably also
Remarks. There isconsiderable individual varia- between different localities, depending to a con-
tion in some genital characters of Sattleria,
siderable extent on local conditions such as alti-
notablythesaccusandthebaseoftheaedeagusin
tude, exposure to the elements, and the weather
themale, andanunusuallyhighlevelofdeformity
conditionsinagivenyear. Adultsexaminedbyus
was observed in the relatively small number of
werecollectedorbredbetweenlateJuneandmid-
females examined. For example, two females of
September;however,themainflightperiodappears
melaleucella have a strongly reduced apophysis
to be mid-July to mid-August, unless these dates
anterior whilst the genitalia of one female of
merely reflect the most populartime forentomo-
aAngbuasrteilsypidniascaerrenisbtlreonfgelaytuarseylmemssetvreisctaiglia(lFisgi.g5n5u)m. lEoxgciecpatliovinsailtlsyt,ostohmeehriegahreerdEaudrulotpsedaindmnootunetmaeirngse.
was found in two individuals of pyrenaica; its until late September-early October.
presenceisanindicationthatthelossofthisorgan The ovum, which is probably laid singly or in
in Sattleria is secondary but it is too strongly smallclustersonpartsofthehost-plant,hasnever
reducedtodrawinferencesastoitsoriginalshape. been observed and the duration of the egg stage
Biology. Our knowledge of the biology of andthenumberoflarvalinstarsareunknown. Itis
Sattleria is still sketchy, the only significant pub- alsounknownwhetherthefirstinstarlarvamines,
lishedobservationsbeingthosemadebyBurmann like the early instars of many other Gelechiidae
(1954) in the Austrian Lechtaler Alpen. Sattleria includingsome Caryocolum species. Larvae have
species are restricted to the alpine zone of the been found in July-August, living singly in a
European mountains where they can be found loosely spun silken tube that is often extended
between 1500 m and 3500 m, although they fromtheupperpartsofthe host-planttotheroots
usuallyoccurupwardsof2000m. Typical habitats or nearby stones, where the larva seeks shelter
are open slopes with coarse scree and sparse when disturbed. The frass is deposited in a small
vegetation, but several species have also been heapoutsidethelarvaltube. Pupationtakesplace