ZooKeys 25:69-78 (2009) 
doi: I0.3897/zookeys.25.l97 
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RESEARCH ARTICLE ^ZooKeys 
First report of the old world genus Pelecystola 
in North America, with description of 
a new species (Lepidoptera,Tineidae) 
Steven R. Davis'4, Donald R. Davis24 
I Division of Entomology, Natural History Museum, and Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, 
University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 2 Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, 
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., U.S.A. 
Corresponding author: Donald R. Davis (davisd@si.edu) 
Academic editor: Christian Schmidt | Received 09 May 2009 | Accepted 15 September 2009 | Published 23 October 2009 
Citation: Davis SR, Davis DR (2009) First report of the old world genus Pelecystola in North America, with description 
of a new species (Lepidoptera, Tineidae). ZooKeys 25: 69?78. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.25.197 
Abstract 
The tineid genus Pelecystola, which was previously represented by six widely scattered species known only 
from the Palearctic, Indomalayan, and Ethiopian regions, is reported for the first time from the western 
hemisphere. The new species, Pelecystola nearctica, has been found to occur rather commonly over much of 
eastern North America from Quebec, Canada, south in the United States to Florida and west to Arkansas. 
The genus Pelecystola is partially characterized by the development of a pedunculate pectinifer which arises 
from the extreme base of the male valva, a character also shared by the austral South American genus 
Falsivalva. Although the genus has sometimes been referred to the Scardiinae, the subfamily affinities of 
Pelecystola as well as the larval biology remain unresolved. 
Keywords 
Biogeography, Falsivalva, genital morphology, pectinifer, Scardiinae 
Copyright S.R. Davis, D.R. Davis. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which 
permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. 
7%) 5<?'f7z^.Darw&Do7za^^.Dawf/2^oAiyf2J.69-7&(200^ 
Introduction 
Prior to this report, the tineid genus Pelecystola was known only from the Palearctic, 
Indomalayan, and Ethiopian regions where six species occur widely scattered from 
Europe {P. fmudulentella Zeller), Africa (P. decorata Meyrick, P. melanchares (Meyrick), 
P. polysticha (Meyrick), and P. tephrinitis (Meyrick)), eastward to India, Indonesia, 
and Japan,(P strigosa (Moore) (= P. hierophanta (Meyrick), P. maculella (Matsumura)) 
(Robinson and Tuck 1996, Robinson 2008, Sakai 2002). Although P. nearctica is now 
relatively common and widespread over much of the eastern United States, the first 
recorded collection of this rather easily recognized moth dates back to only 1961 from 
Florida. Ten years later it was collected in Delaware. Because of its relatively recent 
history and its distribution along the Atlantic seaboard, P. nearctica was first suspected 
of being introduced from the Old World. Comparisons of the male genitalia of all six 
previously named species, however, have confirmed its status as previously unnamed. 
The larval biology of Pelecystola is unknown. 
Pelecystola Meyrick 
Pelecystola Meyrick, 1920: 103. Type species: Pelecystola decorata Meyrick, 1920. 
Zularcha Meyrick, 1937: 75. Type species: Zularcha melanochares Meyrick, 1937. 
Neurozestis Meyrick, 1938: 25. Type species: Neurozestispolysticha Meyrick, 1938. 
Adult. Moderately large-sized tineid moths with forewing lengths 5.4?10 mm. 
Head (Figs 2-3): Vestiture rough; vertex and frons densely covered with erect, piliform 
scales with acute apices. Antenna simple, ciliate, bipectinate in P. strigosa Moore, - 0.5- 
0.6x length of forewing; scape slightly flattened, smoothly scaled, with pecten consisting 
of 6-25 bristles; flagellum with a single row of moderately broad scales dorsally on each 
segment. Eye moderately developed; interocular index - 0.6; frons broad. Ocellus absent. 
Pilifer undeveloped. Mandible vestigial. Galea reduced, - 0.9-1.Ox length of maxillary 
palpus. Maxillary palpus elongate, 5-segmented, with apical segment minute; length ratio 
of segments from base: 1.0: 0.9: 1.0: 3.75: 0.3-0.4. Labial palpus well developed; length 
ratio of segments from base: 1.0: 3.2: 1.7; vestiture relatively smooth dorsally, moderately 
rough ventrally with 2-8 dark, elongate bristles arising mostly laterally along segment 2. 
Thorax. Forewing (Fig. 4) moderately slender, W/L ratio - 0.35, apex moderately 
rounded. Venation well preserved with most veins distinct. Forewing venation variable, 
usually with all 5 branches of R present and separate; Rs2 absent in P. decorata, Rs3 and 
4 stalked in P. decorata and P. strigosa; accessory cell distinct, mostly closed; Ml-3 all 
separate; CuAl-2 well preserved; CuP indistinct for most its length; Al and 2 with basal 
fork, then fused nearly 2/3 their length; male retinaculum an elongate, basal, ventral fold, 
curled distally; female retinaculum consisting of a loose concentration of elongate hairs 
from ventral base of Sc. Hindwing W/L ratio - 0.4; Ml-3 all separate; CuAl and 2 well 
developed; 1A + 2A well preserved; 3A distinct; frenula a single stout bristle in male, 2 
First report of the old world genus Pelecystola in North America, with description of a new species...   71 
tightly appressed bristles in female. Legs with tibial spur pattern of 0-2-4; epiphysis well 
developed, more than half the length of foretibia; tibial spurs of unequal lengths. 
Abdomen: Without specialized structures; S2 apodemes slender, nearly straight, 
elongate, - 0.5-0.7x length of S2. Male coremata and female corethrogyne absent. 
Male genitalia: Uncus usually deeply bilobed, superficially bilobed in some African 
species. Gnathos absent. Vinculum and tegumen a relatively broad ring, with lateral 
fusion indistinct; saccus usually short, more elongate in P. polysticha. Valva deeply di- 
vided into two (cucullar and saccular) lobes; an elongate, slender stalk arising from 
extreme base of costal margin of valva which enlarges apically to form a spatulate tip 
bearing a pectinifer consisting of a single row of minute spines. Juxta absent. Aedoea- 
gus usually a slender, moderate to elongate cylinder; cornuti absent. 
Female genitalia: Ovipositor elongate, telescoping. Posterior apophysis - 1.7?1.9x 
length of anterior pair. Ventral pseudapophysis absent. Ostium bursae a sclerotized 
ring located near anterior margin of sternum 8. Ductus bursae slender, exceeding 
length of anterior apophysis, with lightly sclerotized antrum. Corpus bursae relatively 
large, - 0.5-0.7x the length of ductus bursae, mostly membranous, with a V-shaped 
signum consisting of a pair of slender arms converging and partially fused posteriorly. 
Discussion. The generic and subfamily relationships of this aberrant genus are 
uncertain. Gozmany and Vari (1973) suggested that Pelecystola could be included with- 
in the Scardiinae based on superficial characters, a conclusion also followed by Sakai 
(2002). A specimen of the new species, P. nearctica, along with numerous other genera 
ofTineidae, have been sequenced for five nuclear genes as part of the Lepidoptera Tree 
of Life project, supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation. Results from these 
sequences have yet to be analyzed, but it is hoped that they might provide better reso- 
lution of the subfamily relationships of Pelecystola. As pointed out by Gozmany and 
Vari (1973) and others, Pelecystola is largely characterized by the peculiar pedunculate 
pectinifers arising on long stalks from the costal base of the male valvae. As discussed 
by S. and D. Davis (2009), few tineid genera are known to possess a pectinifer on the 
valva. Of those that do, the slightly more complex pectinifers of the South American 
genus Falsivalva resemble those of Pelecystola the most in arising on slender stalks from 
the extreme base of the valvae. However, the two genera share little else in common. 
The male genitalia of Falsivalva differ from that of Pelecystola and all other Tineidae in 
the extreme development of a greatly lengthened and almost completely divided tegu- 
men (Davis and Davis 2009). In addition, the female genitalia of Falsivalva lack signa. 
Pelecystola nearctica S. Davis & D. Davis, sp. n. 
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:6l8FDlB6-A400-4D52-A4C4-6D77EC524DB7 
Figs 1-12 
Adult (Fig. 1) - Forewing length: $, 5.4-6.2 mm; $, 7.0-8.5 mm. 
Head: Mostly cream, with caudal most scales of occiput fuscous. Antenna dark 
brown to fuscous dorsally and ventrally; scape cream ventrally. Maxillary palpus mostly 
72 Steven R. Davis & Donald R. Davis I ZooKeys 25: 69-78 (2009) 
Figures 1-4. Pelecystola nearctica sp. n. I Holotype i 
Left maxilla 4 Wing venation. 
forewing length 7 mm. 2 Head, frontal view 3 
cream basally, grayish-brown over segments 4?5. Labial palpus cream mesally, dark gray- 
ish brown laterally, with - 2-5 long, fuscous bristles arising dorsolaterally on segment 2. 
Thorax: Pro- and mesonota fuscous; tegulae fuscous, sometimes with a few gray- 
ish white scales caudally; metanotum partially naked, light grayish-brown to brown; 
venter of thorax mostly white, suffused with gray. Forewing predominantly fuscous, 
lightly marked with several small cream spots as follows: a very small spot at basal 1/3 
of Cu - CuP; 1-2 spots at apex of discal cell and 3-5 small spots scattered beyond apex 
of cell between bases of Rsl-4; a variable series of 6-9 small subterminal spots between 
First report of the old Pelecystola in North America, with description of a new species...   73 
0,1mm 
Figures 5?11. Pelecystola nearctica sp. n. 5?8 Male genitalia: 5 Genital capsule, ventral view 6 Lateral 
view of fig. 5 7 Valva, mesal-lateral view 8 Aedoeagus 9-1 I Female genitalia: 9 Ventral view (scale 0.5mm) 
10 Detail of signum in fig. 9 I I Detail of serrated edge of one of the paired arms of signum in fig. 10. 
74 Sawm&DdMu&Dom^&DdMk/ ZW%c2J.-69-76 (200%) 
apices of Rsl and CuA2; terminal fringe dark gray. Hindwing mostly dark grayish 
brown; fringe mostly light grayish brown, with dark brown basal band. Fore- and mid- 
legs mostly fuscous dorsally, light brown to cream ventrally; hindlegs dark brown to 
steely-gray dorsally, light brown to cream ventrally; coxae of mid- and hindlegs mostly 
white; apices of all tibiae and tarsomeres cream to light brown. 
Abdomen: Fuscous to steely-gray dorsally and laterally; light brown to cream ventrally. 
Male genitalia (Figs 5-8): Uncus deeply lobed, with lobes widely separated a dis- 
tance slightly greater than length of lobes. Tegumen and vinculum forming a moderately 
broad, mostly fused ring; saccus moderately developed, broadly rounded. Valva divided 
approximately half its length to form subacute cucullar lobe and broader, more rounded 
saccular lobe; saccular lobe with a small subapical spine; a pedunculate pectinifer - half 
the length of valva arising on a slender stalk from costal margin at extreme base of valva; 
stalk gradually enlarging to a relatively broad apex bearing 18-20 reflexed spines. Ae- 
doeagus a slender tube -0.6x length of genital capsule, with base slightly broader. 
Female genitalia (Figs 9-11): Posterior apophysis elongate, - 1.8x length of anterior 
apohysis. Ductus bursae slender, densely covered internally with numerous, minute, 
short spinules; junction with ductus seminalis near caudal 1/3. Corpus bursae mem- 
branous except for V-shaped signum; forked arms of signum slender with minutely but 
coarsely serrated mesal edges (Fig. 11); arms loosely enclosed in a pair of membranous 
pockets (Fig. 10); walls of corpus bursae finely wrinkled. 
Distribution (Fig. 12). This species occurs widely across eastern North America 
from Quebec, Canada to northern Florida, and west to Arkansas. 
Holotype: S; USA: North Carolina: Buncombe Co: 4 km SW Black Mountain: 
21-27 Jun 1986, W. E. Steiner, (USNM). 
Paratypes (25 & 27 $ total): CANADA Quebec: Vercheres,45.0683N, 73.0433W: 
1 $,20 Jun 2005, C. Chanta, CNCLEP00028697 (CNC). USA: ARKANSAS: Johnson 
Co: 8 mi N Ckrksville, T10N R23W Sect. 2: 4 J 10-12 May 1987, R.L. Brown, 
(MEM). Washington Co: Fayetteville: 1 $, 17-18 May 1975, H. N. Greenbaum, at 
blacklight, J. B. Heppner, wing slide 28587 (USNM); 1 S, 5-7 June 1975, H. N. 
Greenbaum, malaise trap, J. B. Heppner, slide 30242 (USNM); 1 $, 19-21 July 1975, 
H. N. Greenbaum, malaise trap, slide 20304 (USNM); 1 S, 19/22 June 1975, H. N. 
Greenbaum, malaise trap (FSCA); 1 $, 17-21 July 1975, H. N. Greenbaum, malaise 
trap (FSCA); 1 $,1-5 July 1975, H. N. Greenbaum, malaise trap (FSCA). DELE- 
WARE: Newark: 1 $, 25 August 1971, D. H. Funk (USNM); 1 $, GF [Glen Farms]: 
4 Jun 1974, D. F Bray, (USNM). FLORIDA: Escambia Co: Pensacola: 1 $, 15 May 
1961, Shirley Hills (USNM). MARYLAND: Allegany Co: Green Ridge St. Forest: 1 $, 
15 June 1992, J. Glaser (USNM). Charles Co: Myrtle Grove WMA: 1 $, 5 June 2001, 
J. Glaser (USNM). Dorchester Co: 3 miles E. Hurlock: 1 $,10 Sept. 2004, J. Glaser 
(USNM). Montgomery Co: 4 mi southwest of Ashton, 39?06'30"N, 77?01'30"W 1 
S, 2 Jul 2007; 1 $,24 Jul 2008, 1 $,20 Aug 2009, G. Hevel (USNM); Laytonsville: 
Hoover Farm Woods: 1 S, 24 Jun 2000, D. R. Davis, DNA sample DRD-06-1340 
(USNM). Plummers Island: 1 $, 17 July 1999, J. Brown, head slide 33978, (USNM). 
Prince Georges Co: 1 $, Ft. Washington Park: 1 July 2002, J. Glaser, (USNM); Pretty- 
First report of the old Pelecystola in North America, with description of a new species...   75 
Figure 12. Distribution of Pelecystola nearctica sp. n. 
boy Reservoir: 2 $, 13 August 1998, J. Glaser (USNM); Piscataway Nat. Park: 1 ?, 30 
August 2002, J. Glaser (USNM); 1 $,13 July 2002, J. Glaser , slide 33095 (USNM); 
1 $, 8 July 2002, J. Glaser (USNM); 1 $, 8 Sept. 2002, J. Glaser (USNM). Wash- 
ington Co: 2 miles E. Smithsburg: 1 $, 3 July 1999, J. Glaser, (USNM). MISSISSIPPI: 
Franklin Co., Porter Creek, T5N R4E, Sec 8NW: 2&8 Apr. 1992, J. MacGown & 
T. Schiefer (MEM). Lowndes Co: Crawford, T17N R16E, Sec. 34, Hickory Grove 
in Black Belt Prairie: 1 $, 20 May 1992, RL. Brown (MEM). Oktibbeha Co: 5 mi 
SW Starkville: 1 $, 13 Sept. 1984, 1 & 15 Sept. 1984, 1 $, 19 Sept. 1984, 2& 28 
Apr. 1986, 1 S, 30 Apr. 1987, R.L. Brown (MEM). Winston Co: Tombigbee Nad. 
Forest, 33?10'20"N, 89?03'55"W: 1 c? 20 Apr. 1999, 1 $, 25 May 1999, R.L. Brown 
(MEM). NORTH CAROLINA: Buncombe Co: 4 km SE Black Mountain: 1 S, 21-27 
June 1986, W. E. Steiner, (USNM); Craven Co: Croatan National Forest road 1111, 
Brier Ck. Site: 1 8, 30 Apr 1997, J. B. Sullivan, UV trap, (FSCA). Croatan National 
76 Sawm&DdMu&Dom^&DdMk/ ZW%c2J.-69-76 (200%) 
Forest road 3046, Gum Branch Road: 1 $, 25 Apr 1996, J. B. Sullivan, UV trap, 
(FSCA). Croatan National Forest, Island Walk: 1 $, 30 Apr 1997, J. B. Sullivan, UV 
trap, hardwoods (FSCA). Croatan National Forest Road, 169 Little Deep Creek Road: 
1 $, 22 April 1999, J. Boiling Sullivan, (USNM). Jones Co: Oak Grove Air Station: 
1 Q, 12 Apr 2002, J. B. Sullivan, UV trap, Quercus, Vaccinium, xeric and Trent River 
bottomland (FSCA). TENNESSEE: Cooke Co: GSMNP, Foothills Pkwy, 2n" pullout, 
300m, 35?48'63"N, 83?14'05"W: 1 & 22 August 2001, D., M., and S. Davis, UV 
trap, (USNM); Cocke Co: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Albright Grove 
trailhead, 970m, 35?40'86"N, 83?16'77"W: 1 (^, 24 Jun 2000, D. & M. Davis, UV 
trap (USNM). Blount Co: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 200m SW Cades 
Cove, ATBI house, 35?36'N, 83?50'W, 515m: 1 & 19-20 Aug. 2001, D., M. & S. 
Davis, UV trap, slide 32411 (USNM). Sevier Co: Gatlinburg, Cobbly Nob, Green- 
brier Resort, 35?07'63"N, 83?03'55"W: 1 & 20 May 2005, JE Landry, P. Herbert, 
DNA-ATBI-3196 (CNC); Great Smoky Mountains National Park, University of Ten- 
nessee Field Station, 35.0739N, 83.0424W: 1 9,21 May 2005, JF Landry, P. Herbert, 
DNA-ATBI-3295 (CNC). 
Flight Period. Adults have been collected from April 8 to September 19 in Mis- 
sissippi, with most records over much of its broad range occurring from May through 
August. 
Etymology. The specific name is derived from the Greek neos (new) and arktos 
(north) in reference to the nearctic distribution of the species. 
Discussion. Pelecystola nearctica is most similar in general wing pattern to the 
European P. fraudulentella Zeller 1852, currently known from only the male holotype 
collected nearly 160 years ago in Slovenia and a recently discovered female from Swe- 
den (Lindeborg and Bengtsson 2008 ). The two species can be easily distinguished by 
male genital morphology: the valva of fraudulentella is distinct in possessing a more 
slender, greatly elongated saccular lobe which surpasses the apex of the cucullar lobe 
by nearly half its length, compared to being only slightly longer than the cucullar lobe 
in nearctica (Fig. 7). 
The two bristles comprising the frenulum of female P. nearctica appear superficial- 
ly to be fused as one. With slight pressure, however, these can be separated. Whether 
this peculiar condition of the frenulum is typical for all Pelecystola is not known. 
Acknowledgements 
We wish to acknowledge research assistant Patricia Gentili-Poole and illustrator 
Young Sohn of the Department of Entomology, Smithsonian Institution for their 
graphics assistance and line illustrations respectively. We thank Ole Karsholt, Uni- 
versitetes Zoologisk Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark and Gaden Robinson of the 
Natural History Museum, London, UK for bringing the little known genus Pelecys- 
tola to our attention, which assisted in determining the generic placement of the new 
North American species. We thank John Glaser, Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, 
First report of the old world genus Pelecystola in North America, with description of a new species...   77 
for the donation of a comprehensive collection of eastern North American Lepi- 
doptera to the Smithsonian Institution, which included specimens of Pelecystola ne- 
arctica. Richard Brown, Mississippi Entomological Museum, Mississippi State, MS, 
John Heppner, Florida State Collection of Arthropods, Gainesville, PL, and Jean- 
Francoise Landry, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada/Agriculture, Ottawa, Canada 
provided material and specimen data. Makoto Sakai, Hunan University, China and 
Toshiya Hirowatari, Osaka Prefecture University, Osaka, Japan provided descrip- 
tions and illustrations of the Asian species, Pelecystola strigosa. We are grateful to 
Keith Langdon, Great Smokey Mountains National Park (GSMNP), for assistance 
with collecting permits, and Jeanie Hilten, Discover Life in America (DLIA) for lo- 
gistic support of field work within GSMNP. DLIA and the Smithsonian Institution's 
Biodiversity Programs also provided funding for field work in the Great Smokey 
Mountains National Park during 2000 and 2001. Thanks also to David L. Wagner, 
University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT and Brian Scholtens, College of Charleston, 
Charleston, SC, for organizing and inviting us to participate in the Lepidoptera Bio- 
Blitzes held during 2000, 2002, and 2004 in GSMNP. Support for gene sequencing 
was provided by the U.S. National Science Foundation's Assembling the Tree of Life 
program, award numbers 0531626 and 0531769. 
Finally we acknowledge the cooperation of the staff and institutions listed below 
and list their acronyms as used in this study: 
BMNH The Natural History Museum (formerly the British Museum (Natural His- 
tory)), London, United Kingdom. 
CNC Canadian National Collections of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes, Agri- 
culture and Agri- Food Canada, Ottawa, Canada. 
FSCA       Florida State Collection of Arthropods, Gainesville, Florida, USA. 
MEM       Mississippi State Entomological Museum, Mississippi State, Mississippi, USA. 
USNM Collections of the former United States National Museum, now deposit- 
ed in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, 
Washington, D.C, USA. 
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