Taxonomy and biology of two seed-parasitic gracillariid moths (Lepidoptera, Gracillariidae), with description of a new species

Abstract

A new species and new record of gracillariid moths from China are reported: Conopomorpha fl ueggella Li, sp. n. and Epicephala relictella Kuznetzov, 1979. Specimens were collected on fl owers or leaves of Flueggea suff ruticosa (Pall.) Baill. (Euphorbiaceae) at night, and reared from fruits in captivity. Larvae of both species feed on the seeds of F. suff ruticosa, but they can be diff erentiated externally by the position of the red pattern on the thorax and abdomen. Morphology of the eggs, larvae, pupae and the life history of the two species are described and compared. Images of the life history and fi gures of the genital structures are provided.