Do leaf-mining Nepticulidae occur in the natural but so threatened Andean Polylepis forests?

  • Jonas R. Stonis
  • Arūnas Diškus
  • Andrius Remeikis
  • Ole Karsholt
Keywords: Polylepis, Nepticulidae, Stigmella Schrank, new species, leaf-mines, Peru, Ecuador

Abstract

Despite the  fact that Polylepis forests constitute the  natural but threatened vegetation in much of the  high Andes and are very important for their ecological functions, no leaf-mining Nepticulidae (Insecta: Lepidoptera, Nepticuloidea) associated with Polylepis Ruiz  &  Pav. as a  host-plant have been recorded previously. In this paper, for the first time, we report on four discoveries of Polylepis-feeding Nepticulidae species in Ecuador and Peru. From the high Andes of Peru, we describe a new species Stigmella polylepiella Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., whose larvae throughout all instars are leaf-miners in leaves of Polylepis racemosa Ruiz & Pav. and spin a unique shaped cocoon inside the leaf-mine. We also provide illustrations and short descriptions of male genitalia and leaf-mines of two other new Stigmella Schrank species, whose larvae are leaf-miners on Polylepis pauta Hieron. in Ecuador; these two taxa are documented but left unnamed because they are described from dissected developed pupae, not emerged adults. Additionally, we document leaf-mines of an unknown Nepticulidae taxon associated with Polylepis racemosa in the Peruvian Andes.
Published
2016-09-05
Section
General Biology