Antennal sensilla in female Heterobathmia pseuderiocrania (Insecta, Lepidoptera, Heterobathmiina)

Resumen

The female antennae of Heterobathmia pseuderiocrania bear 9 types or subtypes of sensilla: multiporous sensilla trichodea of subtypes I and II, multiporous sensilla basiconica, multiporous sensilla auricillica of subtypes I and II, multiporous sensilla coeloconica, uniporous sensilla basiconica, uniporous sensilla chaetica, aporous Böhm’s bristles. Aporous sensilla styloconica are not observed. During evolution of Lepidoptera, it is in the suborder Heterobathmiina that typical sensilla auricillica appear for the first time. Moreover, it is the first description in Lepidoptera, on the one hand of two very different subtypes of sensilla auricillica in the same species and, on the other hand, of a sexual dimorphism related to one subtype of these sensilla. The sensory structures are compared with those of the three other suborders of Lepidoptera. The Heterobathmiina do not possess the specialized sensillar types which occur in the basal suborders Zeugloptera and Aglossata. They have three possible autapomorphies which concern the sensilla auricillica. Their sensilla are close to those of the suborder Glossata which group together all the higher lepidopterans.