Immature stages of Galagete protozona (Lepidoptera: Gelechioidea: Autostichidae) from the Galapagos Islands: description and notes on biology

摘要

The morphology of the larva and pupa of Galagete protozona (Meyrick), an endemic of the Galapagos Islands, is described and illustrated. The immatures were observed feeding within droppings of the land iguana Conolophus subcristatus (Gray) (Iguanidae)on the island of Fernandina in 2005. Galagete protozona (Meyrick, 1926) was described in the genus Gelechia Hiibner (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) on the basis of three specimens from the Galapagos Islands. Landry (2002) transferred the species to the genusGalagete in the Autostichidae and provided a redescription of the adult. This genus, with a total of 12 species, represents an endemic insular radiation comparable in size to that of Darwin's finches. This group of microlepidoptera is a distinctive element of the moth fauna of the Galapagos Islands because it represents the largest endemic radiation of Lepidoptera in the archipelago and is present on all major islands at almost all elevations (Landry 2002). Several specimens of Galagete darwini Landry,2002 and Galagete levequei Landry, 2002 were reared from dead leaves and branches of Scalesia species, an endemic genus of the Asteraceae, and one specimen of Galagete gnathodoxa (Meyrick, 1926) was reared from the droppings of the endemic Galapagos tortoise, Geochelone nigra (Quoy and Gaimard, 1824) (Testudinidae) (Landry 2002). However, the immature stages have not been preserved or studied. Here, the morphology of the larva and pupa and the scavenger feeding habit of the larva of G. protozona are described.