Hoploscopa kinabaluensis Léger & Nuss

Taxonomy

Hoploscopa kinabaluensis Léger & Nuss, 2020: 22-23, figs 8, 51, 92. The female paratype is from Sabah, Kinabalu Park HQ, Timpohon Gate, 700 m from Liwagu trail starting point, nr. Liwagu River. The morphospecies illustrated was first encountered by TMW as an unnamed morphotype in the MfNH, Berlin, and it is thought to be the female paratype. Three male and 4 female paratypes were designated.

Description

The FW is mottled with light and dark brown and a few larger pale cream patches. The HW is a very pale brownish grey. Caught at  Light Tower. Most verified specimens are from Mt. Kinabalu but another specimen from Mt. Trus Madi is reported. Léger & Nuss (2020: 22-23, figs 8, 51, 92) describe the sp. in detail including the male & female genitalia. H. pangrangoensis Léger & Nuss, 2020 &  H. parvimacula Léger & Nuss, 2020 are very similar, differing subtly in their FW patterning. All are best determined by genitalic examination.

Life History

Presumed to feed on ferns (Pteridophyta).

References

• Nuss, M. (1998) The Scopariinae and Heliothelinae stat. rev. (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea, Crambidae) of the Oriental Region - a revisional synopsis with descriptions of new species from the Philippines and Sumatra. Nachr. des entomol. Ver. Apollo, Frankfurt a. M. suppl. 17: 475-528.
• Léger, T., Kehlmaier, C., Vairappan, C.S. & Nuss, M. (2020) Twenty-six new species of Hoploscopa (Lepidoptera, Crambidae) from South-East Asia revealed by morphology and DNA barcoding. ZooKeys 907: 1-99. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.907.36563