Search

The genus Poeonoma (Tams & Bowden, 1953) is revised to include two species P. serrata (Hampson, 1910) and P. ugandensis Le Run. sp., from the Congolian bioregion. Several new synonyms are introduced for Poeonoma serrata: Conicofrontia sjoestedti (Aurivillius, 1925) n. syn. for Poeonoma serrata (Hampson, 1910), Poeonoma similis (Tams & Bowden, 1953) n. syn. for Poeonoma serrata (Hampson, 1910), and Poeonoma nigribasis (Laporte, 1974) n. syn. for Poeonoma serrata (Hampson, 1910). A new genus, Nyaluteme Le Run. gen., is proposed for two species formerly included in Poeonoma, N. acantha (Tams & Bowden, 1953) n. comb. and N. inermis (Laporte, 1973) n. comb., and N. nigra Le Run. sp., described from the Congolian bioregion. Host-plants for three of the species are recorded:Pennisetum purpureum Schumach. for P. serrata and P. ugandensis, and Miscanthus violaceus (K. Schum) Pilg. for N. nigra. A key to species, descriptions, illustrations of adults and genitalia, and distribution maps are included. Results of previously published phylogenetic analyses also allow the status of the new genus to be confirmed and to infer the phylogenetic placement of the two genera.; Le genre Poeonoma (Tams & Bowden, 1953) est révisé ; deux espèces, P. serrata (Hampson, 1910) et P. ugandensis Le Ru n. sp., de la biorégion Congolaise, y sont incluses et plusieurs nouvelles synonymies sont proposées pour Poeonoma serrata : Conicofrontia sjoestedti (Aurivillius, 1925) n. syn. de Poeonoma serrata (Hampson, 1910), Poeonoma similis (Tams & Bowden, 1953) n. syn. de Poeonoma serrata (Hampson, 1910), et Poeonoma nigribasis (Laporte, 1974) n. syn. de Poeonoma serrata (Hampson, 1910). Un nouveau genre, Nyaluteme Le Ru n. gen., de la biorégion Congolaise, est proposé pour deux espèces précédemment décrites dans le genre Poeonoma, N. acantha (Tams & Bowden, 1953) n. comb., et N. inermis (Laporte, 1973) n. comb., et une espèce nouvellement décrite N. nigra Le Ru n. sp. Les plantes-hôtes de trois espèces sont répertoriées : Pennisetum purpureum Schumach. pour P. serrata et P. ugandensis, et Miscanthus violaceus (K. Schum) Pilg. pour N. nigra. Une clé de détermination des espèces est présentée ainsi que l’illustration des adultes et des génitalia et, des cartes de distribution. Les résultats d’analyses de reconstruction phylogénétique déjà publiées permettent également de confirmer le statut du nouveau genre et d’inférer la position phylogénétique des deux genres. http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:6ED4AC9E-043C-4A04-A92D-807066943002

The Ituri-Epulu-Aru landscape (IEAL) is experiencing deforestation and forest degradation. This deforestation is at the root of many environmental disturbances in a region characterized by endemism in biodiversity. This article focuses on the triangulation of spatialized prospective scenarios in order to identify future trajectories based on the knowledge of historical dynamics through the diachronic analysis of three satellite images (2003-2010-2014-2016). The scenarios were de-signed in a supervised model implemented in the DINAMICA EGO platform. The three scenarios Business-As-Usual (BAU), Rapid Economic Growth (REG) and Sustainable Management of the Environment (SME), extrapolating current trends, show that by 2061 this landscape will always be dominated forests (+ 84%). Old-growth forests occupy 74.2% of the landscape area in the BAU scenario, 81.4% in the SEM scenario and 61.2% in the REG scenario. The SEM scenario gives hope that restoration and preservation of biodiversity priority habitats is still possible if policy makers become aware of it.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has recently emerged as an alternative to morphological and molecular tools to identify tick species. In this study, we set out to evaluate and confirm the ability of MALDI-TOF MS to identify different species of ticks collected in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and preserved in 70% ethanol. A total of 575 ticks, of which 530 were collected from domestic pigs and 45 from wild animals, were subjected to MALDI-TOF MS analysis to evaluate the intraspecies reproducibility and interspecies specificity of MS profiles obtained from the different species. Morphologically, the ticks belonged to seven different species, namely Rhipicephalus complanatus, Rhipicephalus congolensis, Haemaphysalis muhsamae, Ixodes cumulatimpunctatus, Amblyomma exornatum, Amblyomma compressum and an unidentified Rhipicephalus sp. A total of 535/575 (93%) of the spectra obtained were of good enough quality to be used for our analyses. Our home-made MALDI-TOF MS arthropod database was upgraded with spectra obtained from between one and five randomly selected specimens per species. For these reference specimens, molecular identification of the ticks was also made using 16S, 12S rDNA genes and the Cox1 mtDNA gene sequencing. The remaining good quality spectra were then queried against the upgraded MALDI-TOF MS database, showing that 100% were in agreement with the morphological identification, with logarithmic score values (LSVs) between 1.813 and 2.51. The consistency between our morphological, molecular and MALDI-TOF MS identification confirms the capability and precision of MALDI-TOF MS for tick identification. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10493-021-00629-z.

The evaluation of deforestation by optical remote sensing remains a challenge in the humid tropical region due to high cloud cover. This paper develops a simple and reproducible method for mapping deforestation of the old-growth forest using open access software. A map of old-growth forest depletion was created using composites from three different dates (2003, 2010, 2016). Four models were tested: the first model using spectral bands (nir, swir1, swir2 and red), the second model was based on the association of spectral bands and spectral indices (NDVI, B54R, NDWI and NBR), the third model was constructed using spectral bands and geomorphological indices (DEM, Slope and Roughness) and the last model combined spectral bands, spectral indices and geomorphological indices. The optimal random forest ntrees and Mtry parameters were determined for each model to optimize the mapping in each model. The out-of-bag error for these four models was 2.15 %, 2.05 %, 1.86 % and 1.85 %, respectively. The fourth model had the lowest error and was hence used to predict deforestation of the old-growth forest. The annual rates of deforestation amounted 0.26 % (69861 ha) and 0.66 % (145768 ha) between 2003 – 2010 and 2010 – 2016, respectively. The area of the old-growth forest in 2016 was 3601607 ha and 215629 ha of forest lost between 2003 and 2016. These results showed that the Random Forest Classification (RFC) model was able to effectively map the reduction of old-growth forests.

Figs 2F, N, 3D, 7A–E Poecopa mediopuncta Bowden, 1956: 418 –420, fgs 6–9. Poecopa mediopuncta – Poole 1989: 818 (catalogue). Diagnosis Male easily separated from males of other species of the group by the broadly based, stout, strongly curved cornutus, pointed downward at a right angle (Fig. 2N); female easily separated from females of other species of the group by the small sclerotized area at the base of the ductus bursae and the weakly sclerotized antrum (Fig. 3D). Material examined Holotype GHANA: ♂, Gold Coast, Kwadaso, near Kumasi, 25 Jun. 1952, ex larva (in stems of Rottboellia compressa L.), J. Bowden leg. (BMNH 1953/9, Agrotidae genitalia slide 1338). Allotype GHANA: ♀, Gold Coast, mile 19–20 on Kumasi-Mampong Road, 31 Aug. 1951, ex larva (in stems of Setaria megaphylla (Steud) Dur. & Schinz.), J. Bowden leg. (BMNH 1953/11, Agrotidae genitalia slide 1337). Paratype GHANA: 1 ♂, same locality and date as allotype; 12 paratypes of both sexes were recorded in the original description; only one was found in BMNH. Other material CAMEROON: 1 ♂, Southwest Region, Limbe, Wete Wete, 04°04.417' N, 09°01.250' E, 30 m a.s.l., 2 Feb. 2007, ex larva (in stem of Setaria megaphylla (Steud) Dur. & Schinz.), B. Le Ru leg. (MNHN, gen. prep. LERU Bruno/G284). Description The descriptions of the external features of the male holotype and female allotype by Bowden (1956) were accurate. The male looks very similar to the female; however, the general colour of the fore wing is a little bit darker in the male than in the female (Fig. 7A–D). WINGSPAN. 20–32 mm (3 ♂♂); 33 mm (1 ♀). MALE AND FEMALE GENITALIA (Figs 2F, N, 3D). The genitalia of both sexes were described by Bowden (1956) with suffcient detail; however, it should be added that the vesica of the aedeagus is hand-shaped with a stout, broadly based, strongly curved cornutus, pointed downward at a right angle. Bionomics Acrapex mediopuncta is a markedly forest species inhabiting open patches of grasses along forest roads. Larvae collected in Ghana were reported from P. purpureum, R. compressa, S. arundinaceum and S. megaphylla (Bowden 1956) (Table 3). The few larvae collected in Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo by our group were all from S. megaphylla; unfortunately, no pictures were taken before pupation. Larvae were collected at the bottom of young stems and were always solitary. Typically, plants exhibiting signs of infestation by A. mediopuncta larvae have a curled, brown, central leaf. No pupae were found in the stems, and therefore the borers probably pupate in the soil near exit holes. Distribution Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana and the Republic of the Congo. The records are from Guineo-Congolian rain forests, lowland rain forests and secondary grassland vegetation mosaics (Mosaics #1–3) (White 1983) (Fig. 4), belonging to the Congolian bioregion (Linder et al. 2012) (Fig. 5).

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:B727D00A-7E31-4B44-9B33-E6DC82D548B2 Figs 1G–J, 2B, J, 3B Diagnosis Male easily separated from males of other species of the group by the shovel-shaped uncus (at the apex) and the distal part of the aedeagus (grooved-shaped), with the vesica having a basal tuft of needleshaped cornutus, pointed downward (Fig. 2B, J). Female easily separated from females of other species of the group by the very short ductus bursae, with a strongly sclerotised funnel-shaped connection with the ostium; antrum sclerotized, with a large, broad ventral plate, slightly bilobate, widening to the front, the anterior part shaped like a thin lip and more sclerotized than the posterior part, slightly concave (Fig. 3B). Etymology Named after the village of Kafulo in Zambia. Type material Holotype ZAMBIA: ♂, Western Province, Kafulo, 14°08.726' S, 23°27.638' E, 1056 m a.s.l., 20 Mar. 2012, ex light trap, B. Le Ru leg. (MNHN, gen. prep. LERU Bruno/G595). Paratypes CAMEROON: 1 ♀, Central Region, Sanaga River, 04°22.387' N, 11°15.162' E, 388 m a.s.l., Dec. 2013, ex light trap (MNHN, gen. prep. LERU Bruno/G603). KENYA: 2 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀, Nyanza Province, edge of Ruma Park, 00°36.293' S, 34°16.046' E, 1221 m a.s.l., 14 Nov. 2012, ex light trap, B. Le Ru leg. (MNHN, gen. prep. LERU Bruno/G511-G513-G529); 1 ♂, Central Province, Ruiru Aukland, 01°05.063' S, 36°55.621' E, 1595 m a.s.l., Jun. 2011 (MNHN). REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: 1 ♂, Plateau Region, Lefni River, 02°54.501' S, 15°37.776' E, 320 m a.s.l., 13 Apr. 2013, ex light trap (MNHN, gen. prep. LERU Bruno/G584). TANZANIA: 1 ♂, Iringa Region, Lukumburu, 09°40.048' S, 35°16.892' E, 1299 m a.s.l., 17 Apr. 2015, ex light trap, B. Le Ru leg. (MNHN, gen. prep. LERU Bruno/G799). UGANDA: 2 ♂♂, Western Region, Itojo, 00°50.546' N, 30°13.131' E, 1070 m a.s.l., 22 May 2014, ex light trap (MNHN, gen. prep. LERU Bruno/G714). ZAMBIA: 1 ♂, same date and locality as holotype, ex. light trap, B. Le Ru leg. (MNHN, gen. prep. LERU Bruno/G178); 1 ♀, same date and locality as holotype, ex light trap (MNHN, gen. prep. LERU Bruno/G165). Description Both sexes look similar; however, general shape of female fore wing more elongated at apex than in male and fore wings paler in females (Fig. 1G–J); antennae bright fuscous dorsally and ochreous ventrally, fliform in female and slightly ciliate in male; fagellum adorned dorsally with black scales, palpus cupreous brown, eyes fuscous. Head and base of thorax brown, thorax becoming gradually fuscous; legs brown-ringed with buff, buff on inner surface; abdomen fuscous, irrorated with buff scales. FORE WING. Ground colour ochreous in both sexes, suffused with fuscous scales, more heavily along veins and costal area, particularly in males; reniform indicated by a few white scales, preceded by some brown scales; longitudinal brown median fascia along lower external margin of cell, ending obliquely at apex; veins below cell adorned with white, fuscous and brown scales; postmedial row of white spots on veins; row of black elongated spots between veins on margin; fringe whitish externally, fuscous suffused with brown internally. Underside of fore wing with ground colour fuscous, densely suffused with brown scales. HIND WING. Ground colour white, veins slightly irrorated, with fuscous scales, costa and apex more heavily suffused with fuscous scales; hind wing of males much more suffused with fuscous scales than in females; fringe white, suffused with fuscous and adorned with narrow fuscous line. Underside of hind wing white, suffused with fuscous scales but much more heavily on costa and apex; veins slightly irrorated, with fuscous scales. WINGSPAN. 18–22 mm (6 ♂♂); 21–25 mm (5 ♀♀). MALE GENITALIA (Fig. 2B, J). Uncus long, widening in distal third, shovel-shaped at apex, tufted with long hairs on upper side. Tegumen with medium-sized rounded penniculi, vinculum pointed, with mediumsized triangular saccus, valves short and broad, cucullus rounded and tufted with medium-sized hairs, coastal margin slightly broadened on inner side and produced into strong, tooth-shaped spine, strongly sclerotized at apex, pointed and slightly curved inwardly; juxta large, plate-like, without sclerotisation. Aedeagus short, slightly curved, with two lateral areas adorned with short setae; hand-shaped vesica with basal tuft of needle-shaped cornutus, pointed downward. FEMALE GENITALIA (Fig. 3B). Corpus bursae elongated ovoid and globular without signa; ductus bursae very short, with strongly sclerotised, funnel-shaped connection with ostium; antrum sclerotized, with large, broad ventral plate, slightly bilobate, widening to the front, anterior part shaped like a thin lip, more sclerotized than posterior part, slightly concave; dorsal plate small, weakly sclerotized. Ovipositor lobes relatively short (2.2 times as long as wide), with pointed apex, dorsal surface bearing numerous short and stout setae. Bionomics Biology unknown. The moths were caught in a light trap in grasslands near marshes. Distribution Cameroon,Kenya,theRepublicoftheCongo,Tanzania,UgandaandZambia.Mothswerefoundinamosaic of lowland rainforest and secondary grassland (Mosaic #11), in a mosaic of Zambezian dry evergreen forest and wetter miombo woodland (Mosaic #21), in a mosaic of East African evergreen bushland and secondaryAcacia wooded grassland (Mosaic #45) and in undiffentiated montane vegetation (Mosaic #19) (White 1983) (Fig. 4), belonging to the Congolian and Zambezian bioregions (Linder et al. 2012) (Fig. 5).

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:A4657886-D162-4D14-BCD4-46C7A02CC426 Figs 3E, 7F–G Diagnosis Female easily separated from females of other species of the group by the strongly curved and toothshaped ovipositor lobes (Fig. 3E). Etymology Named after the host-plant Miscanthus violaceus (K.Schum.) Pilg. in Uganda. Material examined Holotype UGANDA: ♀, Occidental Province, Kyenjojo, Kazizi, 00°33.865' N, 30°49.117' E, 1251 m a.s.l., 24 May 2014, ex larva (in stems of Miscanthus violaceus), B. Le Ru leg. (MNHN, gen. prep. LERU Bruno/G734). Description (Fig. 7F–G) Antennae fuscous dorsally and ochreous ventrally, fliform; fagellum adorned dorsally with black scales, palpus fuscous, eyes black. Head and base of thorax black, thorax ochreous; legs fuscous suffused with white scales, ringed with white; abdomen fuscous, dorsally suffused with grey scales, black ventrally, suffused with grey scales. FORE WING. Ground colour dark ochreous, suffused with fuscous, black and white scales, more heavily along veins and costal area; reniform indicated by few white scales, surrounded by some black scales; irrorated ochreous median area extended on distal side to termen; longitudinal grey median fascia along lower external margin of cell, ending obliquely at apex, adorned with two black elongated spots between veins; veins below cell adorned with grey, white and black scales; fringe grey white, slightly suffused with fuscous. Underside of fore wing with ground colour grey white, suffused with fuscous and some brown scales, more heavily on costa and close to termen. HIND WING. Ground colour white, strongly suffused with fuscous scales; veins slightly irrorated with fuscous scales, costa and apex more heavily suffused with fuscous scales; fringe grey white, suffused with fuscous. Underside of hind wing grey-white, suffused with fuscous scales, but much more heavily on costa and apex; veins slightly irrorated with fuscous scales. WINGSPAN. 22 mm (1 ♀). FEMALE GENITALIA (Fig. 3E). Corpus bursae elongated ovoid and globular, without signa; ductus seminalis from base of bursae; ductus bursae about one third length of corpus bursae, not sclerotised on bursa side, widening and sclerotised on ostial side; antrum narrow, band-like, slightly sclerotised, leaning on back and adorned with very narrow and strongly sclerotised plate divided in two in the middle. Ovipositor lobes relatively short (2 times as long as wide), with dorsal surface bearing numerous short and stout setae, apex of each lobe strongly curved and tooth-shaped. Bionomics Larvae were collected at the bottom of stems of M.violaceus growing in grasslands near marshes (Table 3); as many Acrapex species, A. miscantha sp. nov. is a markedly hygrophilous species. Unfortunately, no pictures were taken before pupation. Distribution Uganda. Only known from the holotype locality in Occidental Province close to Kyenjojo. This species was found in a mosaic of East African evergreen bushland and secondary Acacia wooded grassland (Mosaic #45) (White 1983) (Fig. 4), belonging to the Congolian bioregion (Linder et al. 2012) (Fig. 5).

Bruno Le Ru, Claire Capdevielle-Dulac, Boaz K. Musyoka, Beatrice Pallangyo, Mohamedi Njaku, Onésime Mubenga (2017): Phylogenetic analysis and systematics of the Acrapex unicolora Hampson species complex (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Noctuinae, Apameini), with the description of Fve new species from the Afrotropics. European Journal of Taxonomy 270: 1-36, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2017.270

Figs 2H, P, 3H, 8G–J, 9B Calamistis unicolora Hampson, 1910: 279, pl. 143, fg. 12. Acrapex brunneosa Bethune-Baker, 1911: 517. Busseola hemiphlebia Hampson, 1914: 161. Busseola fuscantis Hampson, 1918: 153. Acrapex simplex Janse, 1939: 359. Acrapex quadrata Berio, 1973: 150, fg. 35. Acrapex brunneosa – Poole 1989: 19 (catalogue). Busseola fuscantis – Poole 1989: 181 (catalogue). Acrapex hemiphlebia – Poole 1989: 20 (recombination, catalogue). Acrapex quadrata – Poole 1989: 20 (catalogue). Acrapex simplex – Poole 1989: 21 (catalogue). Acrapex unicolora – Poole 1989: 21 (recombination, catalogue). Diagnosis Male easily separated from males of other species of the group by the pointed apex of the uncus, the ridge-like, roundly pointed expansion of the coastal margin and by the aedeagus having no vesica (Fig. 2H, P); female easily separated from females of other species of the group by the ductus bursae, which are widening and sclerotised on the ostial side, and by the narrow, band-like, slightly sclerotised antrum (Fig. 3H). Material examined Holotype DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: ♂, Upper Congo, 1907, A.F.R. Wollaston leg. (BMNH 1907-269, Agrotidae genitalia slide 1458). Other material ANGOLA: 2 ♂♂, N’Dalla Tando, N Angola, 2700 ft, 26 Nov. 1908, Dr W.J. Ansorge leg. (BMNH, Noctuidae genitalia slide 2480). DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: ♂, holotype of A. quadrata, Sankuru, Dimbelenge, 25 Nov. 1950, Dr M. Fontaine leg. (MRAC, adult; MCSN, genitalia, Berio, E prep N.3753). MALAWI: 1 ♀, Mt Mlanje, Nyasaland, 30 Jun. 1913, S.A. Neave leg. (BMNH 1914-171, Agrotidae genitalia slide No 1345); 5 ♂♂, Mt Mlanje, Nyasaland, 26 Mar. 1913, S.A. Neave leg. (BMNH 1914- 171); 1 ♂, Luchenya River, Mlanje, Nyasaland, 26 Mar. 1913, S.A. Neave leg. (BMNH 1914-171). NIGERIA: ♂, holotype of A. hemiphlebia, Kateregi, 12 Sep. 1910, Scott Macfe leg. (BMNH, 1911-269, Agrotidae genitalia slide No 1460). TANZANIA: 2 ♀♀, Iringa Region, Kifanya, 09°33.443' S, 35°06.246' E, 1675 m a.s.l., 22 Mar. 2007, ex larva (in stem of Andropogon gayanus Kunth), B. Le Ru leg. (MNHN, gen. prep. LERU Bruno/ G365-G366); 2 ♂♂, Iringa Region, Ngongwa, 09°29.665' S, 35°03.137' E, 1662 m a.s.l., 3 Mar. 2008, ex larva (in stem of Andropogon gayanus Kunth), B. Le Ru leg. (MNHN, gen. prep. LERU Bruno/ G364-G474). REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: 1 ♂, Kouilou Department, Lac Nanga, 04°31.005' S, 12°04.172' E, 35 m a.s.l., 17 Apr. 2013, ex light trap, B. Le Ru leg. (MNHN, gen. prep. LERU Bruno/G538); 2 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀, Bouenza Department, Kalakundu, 04°22.145' S, 13°40.516' E, 325 m a.s.l., 7 Apr. 2013, ex light trap, B. Le Ru leg. (MNHN, male gen. prep. LERU Bruno/G577, female gen. prep. LERU Bruno/G576). ZAMBIA: 2 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀, Luapula Province, Ngwenya, 12°58.538' S, 28°27.319' E, 1243 m a.s.l., 21 Mar. 2012, ex light trap, B. Le Ru leg. (MNHN, male gen. prep. LERU Bruno/G174, female gen. prep. LERU Bruno/G150); 1 ♀, North-Western Province, Keundwe, 13°06.596' S, 25°21.421' E, 1225 m a.s.l., 19 Mar. 2012, ex light trap, B. Le Ru leg. (MNHN, gen. prep. LERU Bruno/G158); 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Central Province, Khaembe, 14°33.107' S, 28°19.301' E, 1191 m a.s.l., 15 Mar. 2012, ex light trap, B. Le Ru leg. (MNHN, male gen. prep. LERU Bruno/G170, female gen. prep. LERU Bruno/G171). ZIMBABWE: 1 ♂, Bulawayo Dist., 16 Jan. 1918, ex light trap, A.J.T. Janse leg. (PM, gen. prep. 3370). Redescription (Fig. 8G–J) The sexes look similar; however, the general shape of the female fore wing is more elongated at the apex than in the male; antennae fuscous, fliform in female and slightly ciliate in male; fagellum fuscous, adorned with grey scales, palpus fuscous, suffused with grey scales, eyes fuscous brown. Head and base of thorax brown, thorax dark ochreous; legs brown, suffused with grey scales, ringed with grey; abdomen fuscous, suffused with grey scales. FORE WING. Ground colour dark ochreous, suffused with fuscous and black scales, more heavily along veins, termen and costal area; reniform indicated by few white scales, surrounded by some brown scales; row of black elongated spots on veins in front of reniform; longitudinal brown median fascia along lower external margin of cell, ending obliquely at apex; veins below cell adorned with fuscous brown and white scales; row of black elongated spots between veins on margin; fringe fuscous, slightly suffused with brown. Underside of fore wing with ground colour grey, suffused with fuscous scales, more heavily on costa and close to termen. HIND WING. Ground colour white in female, white ochreous in male, heavily suffused with fuscous scales in male; veins heavily irrorated, with fuscous scales, costa and apex more heavily suffused with fuscous scales; fringe grey, suffused with fuscous. Underside of hind wing grey, suffused with fuscous scales, but much more heavily on costa and apex; veins slightly irrorated, with fuscous scales. WINGSPAN. 20–23 mm (8 ♂♂); 22–28 mm (7 ♀♀). LARVAL L5 INSTAR (Fig. 9B). Length 20–25 mm, width 2.5 mm; head smooth, dark brown, prothoracic shield brown; body with ground colour pink, pinacula and caudal plate dark brown. Young larvae very similar to mature ones. MALE GENITALIA (Fig. 2H, P). Uncus long, widening in distal third, tapering in pointed apex, tufted with long hairs on upper side. Tegumen with medium-sized rounded penniculi, vinculum pointed, with medium-sized triangular saccus, valves short and broad, cucullus rounded and tufted, with mediumsized hairs, coastal margin slightly broadened on inner side and produced into ridge-like expansion, roundly pointed and slightly curved inwardly; large juxta, plate-like, base slightly fattened, without sclerotization, with long and widening neck, slightly bilobate at apex, ending on each side with rounded expansion; aedeagus short, slightly curved. FEMALE GENITALIA (Fig. 3H). Corpus bursae elongated, ovoid, without signa; ductus bursae about onethird length of corpus bursae, not sclerotised on bursa side, widening and sclerotised on ostial side. Antrum narrow, band-like, slightly sclerotised. Ovipositor lobes short (2 times as long as wide), with bluntly pointed apex, dorsal surface bearing numerous short and stout setae. Bionomics Acrapex unicolora is a markedly hygrophilous species of banks of streams, rivers and marshes. Larvae were collected in Tanzania from A. gayanus, Chrysopogon zizanoides (L.) Roberty, Cymbopogon schoenanthus subsp. proximus (Hochst. ex A.Rich.) Maire & Weller, Cymbopogon pospischilii (K. Schum.) C.E.Hubb., Hyparrhenia diplandra (Hack.) Stapf and S. sphacelata (Schumach.) Moss (Table 3). Larvae were collected at the bottom of young stems and were always solitary. Typically, plants exhibiting signs of infestation by A. unicolora larvae have a curled, brown central leaf. No pupae were found in stems and therefore borers probably pupate in the soil near exit holes. Distribution Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Known from many localities from sea level to 2147 m a.s.l. Moths were found in a mosaic of lowland rain forest and secondary grassland (Mosaic #11A), a mosaic of Zambezian dry evergreen forest and wetter miombo woodland (Mosaic #21), wetter Zambezian miombo woodland (Mosaic no 25) and undifferentiated montane vegetation (Mosaic #19) (White 1983) (Fig. 4), belonging to the Congolian and to the Zambezian bioregion, respectively (Linder et al. 2012) (Fig. 5). Remarks It is worth highlighting that the records of Acrapex hemiphlebia by Janse (1939) correspond to specimens from a different species that is not yet described and related to Acrapex albivena Hampson, 1910. Phylogenetic and molecular species delimitation analyses Maximum likelihood analyses performed with IQ-TREE yielded a well-supported topology (49 of the 70 nodes supported by BV> 70%; see Fig. 10), especially when considering interspecifc relationships (17 of the corresponding 18 nodes supported by BV> 70%). The only representative of A. mediopuncta (formerly P. mediopuncta) is recovered in a derived position among other members of the genus Acrapex. Members of the A. albivena species group are recovered as sister to the unicolora group (A. albivena, A. salmona, A. sporobola, A. syscia and A. yakoba), with a high support (BV of 96%), while the only representative of the stygiata species group (A. stygiata) is found as sister to both the albivena and unicolora group (BV of 100%). Results of the PTP molecular species delimitation are congruent with the results of the morphological study. Interestingly, PTP analyses highlight the existence of a potential new species refered to as Acrapex sp. SECOG7537 (Fig. 10). This specimen corresponds to a unique larva collected in the Republic of the Congo on Pennisetum unisetum (Nees) Benth., Published as part of Bruno Le Ru, Claire Capdevielle-Dulac, Boaz K. Musyoka, Beatrice Pallangyo, Mohamedi Njaku & Onésime Mubenga, 2017, Phylogenetic analysis and systematics of the Acrapex unicolora Hampson species complex (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Noctuinae, Apameini), with the description of Fve new species from the Afrotropics, pp. 1-36 in European Journal of Taxonomy 270 on pages 26-28, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2017.270, http://zenodo.org/record/889483, {"references":["Hampson G. F. 1910. Catalogue of the Lepidoptera Phalaenae in the Collection of the British Museum (Nat. Hist.). IX. Noctuidae. Taylor and Francis, London.","Hampson G. F. 1914. Descriptions of new genera and species of Noctuidae. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 13: 146 - 175, 197 - 223. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.1080 / 00222931408693462","Janse A. J. T. 1939. The Moths of South Africa. Volume 3. Cymatophoridae, Callidulidae and Noctuidae. E. P. and Commercial Printing Co. Ltd, Durban.","Berio E. 1973. Nuove species e generi di Noctuidae africane e asiatiche e note sinonimiche. Parte II. Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale \" Giacomo Doria \" 79: 126 - 171.","Poole R. W. 1989. Lepidopterorum Catalogus (New Series, Fasc. 118). CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.","White F. 1983. The vegetation of Africa, a descriptive memoir to accompany the UNESCO / AETFAT / UNSO vegetation map of Africa. UNESCO, Natural Resources Research 20: 1 - 356.","Linder H. P., de Klerk H. M., Born J., Burgess N. D., Fjeldsa J. & Rahbek C. 2012. The partitioning of Africa: statistically defned biogeographical regions in sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Biogeography 39: 1189 - 1205. http: // dx. doi. org / 10.1111 / j. 1365 - 2699.2012.02728. x"]}

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:336CE140-8928-451F-A33F-CC74CBBEF930 Figs 3G, 8E–F, 9A Diagnosis Female easily separated from females of other species of the group by the sclerotized, band-like ventral plate, strongly concave on the front (Fig. 3G). Etymology The species epithet refers to the close similarity of the wing pattern with that of A. mediopuncta (Bowden, 1956). Material examined Holotype UGANDA: ♀, Southern Region, Kayanga Forest, 00°22.027' S, 30°06.722' E, 1447 m a.s.l., 6 Apr. 2006, ex larva (in stem of Setaria megaphylla (Steud) Dur. & Schinz.), B. Le Ru leg. (MNHN, gen. prep. LERU Bruno/G69). Paratypes KENYA: 2 ♀♀, Western Province, Kakamega Forest, 00°22.530' N, 34°53.660' E, 1430 m a.s.l., May 2007, ex larva (in stem of Setaria megaphylla), B. Le Ru leg. (MNHN, gen. prep. LERU Bruno/G31). UGANDA: 3 ♀♀, same date and locality as holotype, ex light trap, B. Le Ru leg. (MNHN, gen. prep. LERU Bruno/G32, G770). Description (Fig. 8E–F) Antennae ochreous, fliform; fagellum ochreous, palpus ochreous, eyes black. Head and base of thorax brown, thorax ochreous; legs brown, suffused with ochreous scales, ringed with ochreous; abdomen ochreous, suffused with fuscous scales. FORE WING. Ground colour bright ochreous, suffused with dark ochreous and fuscous scales, more heavily between veins and on costal area; reniform indicated by few white scales, surrounded by some black scales; longitudinal brown median fascia along lower external margin of cell, ending obliquely at apex, adorned with two black elongated spots between veins; row of black elongated spots between veins on margin; fringe ochreous, suffused with brown. Underside of fore wing with ground colour ochreous, heavily suffused with fuscous and brown scales. HIND WING. Ground colour grey white, strongly suffused with fuscous scales, more heavily on costa and apex; veins slightly irrorated, with fuscous scales; fringe grey white, suffused with fuscous. Underside of hind wing grey white, suffused with fuscous scales, but much more heavily on costa and apex; veins slightly irrorated, with fuscous scales. WINGSPAN. 26–32 mm (7 ♀♀). LARVAL L5 INSTAR (Fig. 9A). Length 20–25mm, width 2.5 mm; head smooth, black, prothoracic shield brown; body with ground colour dark pink, pinacula and caudal plate black. Young larvae very similar to mature ones. FEMALE GENITALIA (Fig. 3G). Corpus bursae elongated, ovoid and globular, without signa; ductus seminalis from base of bursae; ductus bursae about less than half length of corpus bursae, not sclerotised on bursa side, widening and slightly sclerotised on ostial side; antrum ovoid, with sclerotized, band-like ventral plate, strongly concave on front; ovipositor lobes relatively short (2 times as long as wide), with bluntly pointed apex, dorsal surface bearing numerous short and stout setae. Bionomics Acrapex simillima sp. nov. is a markedly forest species, inhabiting open patches of grasses along forest roads. Larvae were all collected at the bottom of young stems of S. megaphylla (Table 3) and were always solitary. Typically, plants exhibiting signs of infestation by A. simillima sp. nov. larvae have a curled, brown central leaf. One pupa was found in a stem; however, as in most species of Acrapex, most larvae probably pupate in the soil near exit holes. Distribution Kenya and Uganda. The records are from Guineo-Congolian rain forests (Mosaic #1) (White 1983) (Fig. 4), belonging to the Congolian bioregion (Linder et al. 2012) (Fig. 5).

Species in the stem borer noctuid subtribe Sesamiina are notoriously difficult to distinguish because most related species have homogeneous wing patterns and almost indistinguishable genitalia. The latter is potentially problematic because this group includes several important pest species that are usually baregly distinguishable from non-pest species. In this study we focus on the Mediterranean corn stalk borer Sesamia nonagrioides (Lefebvre), an important pest of maize with a wide area of distribution that covers most of Africa and extends to the south of Europe and western Asia. According to a recent study, this pest consists of three allopatric populations that were formerly considered as distinct species or subspecies. Here we rely on recent collections of 5470 specimens (sampled in 17 countries and 175 localities) that putatively belong to S. nonagrioides. Integrative taxonomy studies allowed us to unravel the existence of six new species that are closely related to S. nonagrioides and described in this paper. In contrast to S. nonagrioides these new species have more specific ecological preferences, as they are associated with a limited number of plant species and habitats. Dating and population genetic analyses carried out on 100 S. nonagrioides specimens also indicate a more complex population structure than previously thought for S. nonagrioides, which can probably be accounted for by late Cenozoic environmental changes. © 2015 The Linnean Society of London

Ten morphologically similar species of Acrapex Hampson, 1891 (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Noctuinae, Apameini) from Central and Eastern Africa are reviewed, including five new species: Acrapex kafula le Ru sp. nov., A. kavumba le Ru sp. nov., A. kiakouama le Ru sp. nov., A. miscantha le Ru sp. nov. and A. simillima le Ru sp. nov. Evidence is provided to transfer the monotypic genus Poecopa Bowden, 1956 to the genus Acrapex . Host plants of five species are recorded, some of them for the first time. Acrapex kavumba sp. nov., A. miscantha sp. nov. and A. simillima sp. nov. were found on one host plant each. Acrapex mediopuncta , previously reported in West Africa from Pennisetum purpureum Schumach. , Rottboellia compressa L., Setaria megaphylla (Steud) Dur. & Schinz. and Sorghum arundinaceum (Desv.) Stapf, was only found from S. megaphylla in Central Africa. Larvae of Acrapex unicolora were collected on Andropogon gayanus Kunth, Chrysopogon zizanoides (L.) Roberty, Cymbopogon schoenanthus subsp. proximus (Hochst. ex A.Rich.) Maire & Weller, Cymbopogon pospischiilii (K.Schum.) C.E.Hubb. , Hyparrhenia diplandra (Hack.) Stapf and Setaria sphacelata (Schumach.) Moss. We also conducted molecular phylogenetic analyses (using maximum likelihood) and molecular species delimitation analyses on a comprehensive sample of 61 specimens belonging to eight of the studied species. Molecular phylogenetic analyses provided additional evidence of the synonymy of Acrapex and Poecopa , whereas molecular species delimitation analyses support the validity of the five newly described species and unravel another potential new species, only collected in the larval stage.