Generic features: Antenna without pecten; Labial palps long and slender; Forewing elongate, termen oblique, no scale tufts; Hindwing broader than forewing, apex and tornus rounded, no emargination of termen
Male genitalia: uncus with a group of black pegs ventrally; aedeagus curved, at least as long as armature
Male genitalia: uncus with a group of black pegs ventrally; aedeagus curved, at least as long as armature
ID: A.temerella is grey to blackish with a black subterminal fascia and is confined to the NW coasts of England and Wales. A.populella and A.blattariella are very similar to each other and their forewing pattern is also similar to some Bryotropha species. Bryotropha species mostly have a furrowed brush of scales on S2 of the labial palps (more slender and without the furrowed brush in Anacampsis), and a single-bristle pecten on the antennal scape (no pecten in Anacamspsis). However B.galbanella and B.boreella both lack the furrowed brush and the pecten bristle.
ID to genus based on male genitalia: Abdominal S8 forming a complete ring; uncus not lobed; valvae symmetrical; gnathos present, simple; apex of aedeagus simple; uncus with a group of black pegs ventrally; aedeagus curved and at least as long as armature. Syncopacma also shows black pegs on the uncus but has a straight aedeagus shorter than the armature.
A.populella/blattariella are only reliably separable by genital examination. However, all the differences described in MBGBI4.2 are comparative, which makes it difficult to use it to identify a specimen of one species without access to reference material of the other species.
ID to genus based on male genitalia: Abdominal S8 forming a complete ring; uncus not lobed; valvae symmetrical; gnathos present, simple; apex of aedeagus simple; uncus with a group of black pegs ventrally; aedeagus curved and at least as long as armature. Syncopacma also shows black pegs on the uncus but has a straight aedeagus shorter than the armature.
A.populella/blattariella are only reliably separable by genital examination. However, all the differences described in MBGBI4.2 are comparative, which makes it difficult to use it to identify a specimen of one species without access to reference material of the other species.
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Review 24/11/2022
This section needs a rewrite - but requires fresh definite male A.blattariella material. 1. The gnathos of of A.populella is noticeably more robust than that of A.blattariella 2. The Moth Dissection images show a the uncus of A.blattariella to have broadly rounded lateral lobes with a studded central section produced a little posteriorly, but orientated more in the transverse than longitudinal axis; while in A.populella the uncus lacks obvious lateral lobes and the studded section is paramedian, in the long axis of the abdomen. 3. The valvae of both species may extend beyond the vinculum, though to greater extent in A.blattariella. 4. The aedeagal arc may vary in appearance with rotation of the aedeagus Male genitalia: "In A.populella the uncus is more conical, the valvae shorter and the aedeagus less curved" and "In A.blattariella the uncus is more flattened apically, the valvae longer and the aedeagus more strongly curved". From the drawings in MBGBI4.2 and the comparative images at Moth Dissection, I propose the following more absolute difference for further analysis:
1. Sclerotised arc in the apical half of the aedeagus a. Angular, L-shaped in A.populella; smoothly curved, C-shaped in A.blattariella b. In contact with dorsal surface of aedeagus from the apex of the aedeagus to ~1/4 of the length of the arc in A.populella; ~1/2 length in A.blattariella (A in image below right). c. Posterior portion of the arc (B in image) crosses 2/3 width of aedeagus in A.populella and almost entire width of the aedeagus in A.blattariella (compare position of arrowhead in image) 2. The uncus is smoothly rounded, apically flatted or squat in A.blattariella, while in A.populella it is truncately pointed or peaked. 3. In lateral view, the valvae project beyond the vinculum in A.blattatiella (A>B in image right); in A.populella the valvae reach the (ventral) margin of the vinculum but do not project beyond this point (A<=B). |
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Female genitalia: Differences between A.populella/blattariella are again described in relative terms in MBGBI4.2: A.populella - "the apophyses are shorter, the ostium plate less ovate and the apical projection less prominent" (it should be noted that what is described as the 'ostium plate' is actually a sclerotisation of the dorsal plate of S8). In the drawings in MBGBI4.2 the ovipositors are drawn with greater separation between the papilles anales and the sterigma but the apophyses are only drawn marginally longer in A.blattariella. The images of these species at dissection group do not show the whole ovipositor so this feature cannot be checked. Which has the more "ovate' ostial plate is a matter of opinion. The crucial difference between the species is in the shape of the posterior margin of the dorsal plate of S8 which is broadly rounded with a small apical pimple in A.populella and more conical with a distinct apical nipple in A.blattariella.
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Dorsal plate of S8 (females)
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