Andrius Remeikis

First discovery of Quercus feeding Nepticulidae (Lepidoptera) in Central America.

Despite the high taxonomic diversity of oaks in Mexico and Central America, no Quercus feeding Nepticulidae have ever been recorded from the region. Here, we present seven species whose larvae are leaf-miners of Quercus (section Lobatae) in Guatemala. Except Stigmella nigriverticella (Chambers 1875), which was previously known from the United States, all other discovered species are new. We describe and name five new species (Stigmella jaguari Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov., S. lauta Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., S. sublauta Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov., S. aurifasciata Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov. and S. guatemalensis Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov.); the remaining new species is described but left unnamed because of lack of adults (i. e. moths and genitalia are described from developed pupae). All seven treated species are illustrated with photographs of the leaf-mines, adults, and genitalia.

New Nepticulidae species (Insecta: Lepidoptera) from the Yucatán Peninsula

Thirty-eight species of Nepticulidae are known from the Yucatán Peninsula and adjacent areas (mainland Mexico and Be-lize). This paper describes two new species: Stigmella maya Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov. (a leaf-miner of Karwinskia hum-boldtiana, Rhamnaceae), and Acalyptris yucatani Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov. (a leaf-miner of Schinus sp., Anacardiaceae). S. maya is among the smallest Lepidoptera in the world. In its male genitalia S. maya resembles a sizeable group of undescribed species occurring in the Andes (Patagonia: Argentina). The adults of both new species are illustrated with photographs of adults, genitalia and leaf-mines.

Description of new species of oak leaf-miners (Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae), with notes on the species groups of Stigmella Schrank associated with Quercus as a host-plant.

Stigmella acuta Diškus, Navickaitė & Remeikis, sp. nov., a new species of oak-feeding leaf-miner belonging to the S. hemargyrella group, and S. cornuta Rocienė & Stonis, sp. nov., belonging to the newly designated S. cornuta group, are described from Asia and, for the first time, the S. hemargyrella group is associated with Quercus as a host-plant. The new species are illustrated with photographs of the leaf mines, adults, and genitalia. Diagnostics and host-plant preferences of seven Stigmella species groups associated with oaks (the S. caesurifasciella, S. saginella, S. quercipulchella, S. ruficapitella, S. castanopsiella, S. hemargyrella and S. cornuta groups) are discussed.

Ten new species from the Patagonian Andes (Argentina and Chile), mostly belonging to a newly designated Stigmella purpurimaculae group (Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae)

Ten new Stigmella Schrank species are described: Stigmella purpurimaculae Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov., S. cana Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov., S. truncata Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov., S. sceptra Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov., S. concreta Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov., S. pseudoconcreta Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov., S. quadrata Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov. (all belonging to the newly designated S. purpurimaculae group), and S. semilactea Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov., S. brutea Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov., S. pseudodigitata Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov. (not attributed to a species group) are described from the Andes (Patagonia: Argentina and Chile). For the species of the purpurimaculae group, a partial reduction of phallus, dentate cornuti, and strong development of utriculus (which can be equal or longer of the corpus bursae) are characteristic. Some of the species of the purpurimaculae group were collected near Nothofagus pumilio (Poepp. & Endl.) Krasser, Nothofagaceae, but there is still no confirmation that Nothofagus is a host-plant. All new Stigmella species are illustrated with photographs and drawings of the adults and genitalia.

Four new leaf-mining Acalyptris species from Guatemala and Belize, with new data on bionomics of Stigmella pruinosa (Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae).

This paper describes four new species: Acalyptris basicornis Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov., A. peteni Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., A. caribbicus Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov. (host-plant: Lantana involucrata L., Verbenaceae), and A. statuarius Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov. Another species, Stigmella pruinosa Puplesis & Robinson, is re-described, with new distribution records in Guatemala and with the first documentation of leaf-mines on Guazuma ulmifolia Lam. (Malvaceae). All five species are illustrated with photographs of the leaf-mines, adults, and genitalia.

Southern Andean Stigmella sinuosa complex (Lepidoptera, Nepticulidae): unraveling problematic taxonomy with a pictorial key of adults?

On the basis of morphological studies of a collection sample from the southern Andes of Argentina and Chile, we describe and name two new species of Stigmella Schrank (Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae): S. sinuosa Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov. and S. mevia Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov. Other two new species are documented but left unnamed. All treated taxa belong to a newly designated S. sinuosa complex that belongs to the S. salicis group. The S. sinuosa complex contains cryptic species. We also discuss the differentiation of the species of the complex by using morphological characters.

The first record of Baccharis L. (Asteraceae) as a host-plant genus for Nepticulidae (Lepidoptera), with description of new Stigmella species from South America

We record the first Nepticulidae species found to feed on Baccharis L. (Asteraceae). Despite the high species richness of Baccharis in the Western Hemisphere, no nepticulid has ever been recorded feeding on Baccharis. In this paper we describe six new Stigmella Schrank species feeding on Baccharis: S. emarginatae Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., S. bipartita Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., S. tripartita Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., S. latifoliae Remeikis, Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., S. baccharicola Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., and S. confertae Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov. The remaining two taxa are left unnamed. All taxa are illustrated with photographs of adults, their genitalia, and their leaf-mines. Additionally, leaf-mines on Baccharis salicifolia are documented.

The first records on the genus Acalyptris from the Caribbean (Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae)

In this paper we describe three new species of Acalyptris Meyrick (Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae): Acalyptris nigrisignum Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov. from the Country of Curaçao (formerly the Netherlands Antilles), A. trigonijuxtus Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov. from British Virgin Islands, and A. dominicanus Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov. from Dominica. A pictorial key is provided for two newly established species complexes: bicornutus and tenuijuxtus. The newly described species are illustrated with photographs of the adults and the genitalia.

The first description of the leaf-mining Nepticulidae (Lepidoptera) feeding on the South American plant genus Liabum, Asteraceae.

First Liabum Adans. (Asteraceae) feeding Nepticulidae are reported. Two new new species from the Andes (Ecuador) are described: Stigmella serpantina Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov. and S. pangorica Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov. The male genitalia of both species and the female genitalia, as well the leaf-mines of S. serpantina sp. nov. are illustrated.

Leaf-mining Nepticulidae (Lepidoptera) from record high altitudes: documenting an entire new fauna in the Andean páramo and puna

The monograph treats 29 species of leaf-mining pygmy moths (Insecta, Lepidoptera, Nepticulidae) discovered in the northern Andean bush and grass páramo and the central Andean puna at altitudes above 3700 m. They represent the worlds highest-altitudinal Nepticulidae fauna known. The height record belongs to Stigmella nivea sp. nov. from Peru collected at an elevation of 4700 m. Except for one species, all belong to Stigmella Schrank. Twenty-two of the species recorded are new and are named and described in the current paper: Stigmella paramica Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov.; S. lachemillae Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov.; S. gynoxyphaga Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov.; S. calceolariae Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov.; S. rigida Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov.; S. altiplanica Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov.; S. robusta Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov.; S. pseudorobusta Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov.; S. auriargentata Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov.; S. altimontana Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov.; S. pandora Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov.; S. ampla Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov.; S. evanida Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov.; S. mustelina Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov.; S. angusta Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov.; S. alticosma Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov.; S. nivea Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov.; S. kristenseni Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov.; S. lobata Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov.; S. ageratinae Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov.; S. clinopodiella Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov.; and S. calceolarifoliae Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov. Some of these species are leaf-miners on Asteraceae (Pentacalia, Baccharis, Gynoxys, and Ageratina plants), Calceolariaceae (Calceolaria), Lamiaceae (Clinopodium), and Rosaceae (Lachemilla). Twenty species are known only from adults with no data on their biology and host-plants. In addition, we present data and discuss recently discovered nepticulid taxa associated with Polylepis forests that is the natural vegetation in much of the High Andes. All High-Andean Stigmella species treated are illustrated with photographs of the adults and genitalia, distribution maps, including some with photographs of the leaf-mines and habitats.