Monoch oa monellii (Lepidop e a, Gelechiidae), a new species om
Po ugal
Ma in Co ley1, Jo ge ose e2, sónia Fe ei a3,4
1 Pucke y Fa m Co age, Fa ingdon, Ox o dshi e SN7 8JP, UK
2 U banização Lou isol, Rua Manuel Ce quei a Nob ega, Lo e 16, 2.º F en e, P-3105-165 Lou içal, Pombal, Po ugal
3 CIBIO, Cen o de In es igação em Biodi e sidade e Recu sos Gené icos, InBIO Labo a ó io Associado, Campus de
Vai ão, Uni e sidade do Po o, 4485-661 Vai ão, Vila do Conde, Po ugal
4 BIOPOLIS P og am in Genomics, Biodi e si y and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vai ão, 4485-661 Vai ão, Vila
do Conde, Po ugal
h ps://zoobank.o g/90F8A555-6820-41C8-A823-76B887489358
Recei ed 4 Oc obe 2025; accep ed 6 No embe 2025; published: 20 No embe 2025
Subjec Edi o : Lau i Kaila.
Abs ac . A p e iously undesc ibed species o Monoch oa Heinemann, 1870 has been ound and epea -
edly collec ed om a single locali y in cen al Po ugal since 2020. I is closely ela ed o h ee species
wi h la ae eeding on P imulaceae: M. conspe sella (He ich-Schä e , 1854), M. se ella (Zelle , 1839) and
M. e agonella (S ain on, 1885) bu di e s in geni alia and DNA ba code.
In oduc ion
The genus Monoch oa Heinemann, 1870 has abou 60 desc ibed species, mainly in he Palea c ic
and Nea c ic egions and abou hal o hese occu in Eu ope (G ege sen and Ka shol 2022). Se en
species a e eco ded in he Ibe ian Peninsula, six o hese in Po ugal. Acco ding o G ege sen and Ka -
shol (2022) he Eu opean species all in o ele en g oups, each g oup associa ed wi h a pa icula plan
amily. The Po uguese species a e each in a di e en g oup. La ae a e mine s in lea es and s ems.
On 29 July 2020 JR an a me cu y apou ligh a Lagoa de São José, Ca iço, Pombal, Bei a
Li o al. Among he mic olepidop e a a ac ed o he ligh we e some small gelechiids which could
no be iden i ied. Fu he nigh sessions in he same locali y on 13 Augus and 3 Sep embe 2020
p oduced mo e specimens. A e examina ion o male and emale geni alia and DNA ba coding
his can now be ecognised as a new species, closely ela ed o M. conspe sella (He ich-Schä e ,
1854), M. se ella (Zelle , 1839) and M. e agonella (S ain on, 1885).
Me hods
Mo phological examina ion: geni alia p epa a ions we e made ollowing s anda d echniques
(Robinson 1976), wi h pe manen p epa a ions moun ed in DMHF and Eupa al.
A DNA ba code o he Folme agmen o he gene cy och ome c oxidase I (COI) was ob-
ained using he me hodology o he InBIO Ba coding Ini ia i e desc ibed in Fe ei a e al. (2024).
No a Lepi. 48 2025: 289–298 | DOI 10.3897/nl.48.173830 Resea ch A icle
Copy igh Co ley e al. This is an open access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion License (CC BY 4.0), which pe mi s
un es ic ed use, dis ibu ion, and ep oduc ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal au ho and sou ce a e c edi ed.
Co ley e al.: Monoch oa monellii (Lepidop e a, Gelechiidae), a new species om Po ugal290
The a e age di e gence (unco ec ed p-dis ance) be ween he sequence o Po uguese specimens
and sequences a ailable in GenBank and BOLD was calcula ed in MEGA .12 (Kuma e al. 2024).
Plan names ollow Plan s o he Wo ld On-line (POWO 2025).
Abb e ia ions
ECKU – Collec ion o Ecology Cen e, Kiel Uni e si y, Ge many
GP, GU and gen. p ep. – Geni alia p epa a ion
INV – Re e ence numbe o in e eb a e sample in InBIO Ba coding Ini ia i e, Po ugal
IZPC – Na u al His o y Museum o he Sciences Facul y, Po o, Po ugal
JR – Jo ge Rose e
MFVC – Ma in Co ley
RCJR – Resea ch collec ion o Jo ge Rose e, Po ugal
RCMC – Resea ch collec ion o Ma in Co ley, Uni ed Kingdom
SF – Sónia Fe ei a
ZMUC – Zoological Museum, Na u al His o y Museum o Denma k, Copenhagen, Denma k
Resul s
Monoch oa monellii Co ley & Rose e, sp. no .
h ps://zoobank.o g/4A2E661A-3521-4000-9482-515B39875C29
Figs 1, 2, 6, 10
Type ma e ial. Holo ype male. • Lagoa de S. José, Ma a de U so, Ca iço, Pombal, Lei ia, BL, 40°00'19.52"N,
8°52'03.19"W. Ex pupa on Lysimachia monelli, 18. i.2025, J. Rose e leg. | [Small whi e label] J. Rose e p ep. gen. no.
860 m. | [Red label] Monoch oa monellii Co ley & Rose e, 2025 sp. no . HOLOTYPE. To be deposi ed in IZPC wi h code
MHNCUP-ART-43666.
Pa a ypes. All wi h same locali y and collec o . • Po ugal, Lagoa de S. José, Ma a de U so, Ca iço, Pombal, Lei ia,
40°00'19.52"N, 8°52'03.19"W, 1♀, 13. iii.2020, leg. J. Rose e, gen. p ep. JR56 , in RCJR, o be deposi ed in IZPC wi h
code MHNCUP-ART-43667; • 1♂, 3.ix.2020, Rose e gen. p ep. JR50 m, DNA ba code INV17383, in RCJR, o be depos-
i ed in IZPC wi h code MHNCUP-ART-43668; 1♂, 13. ii.2024, Bioscan DNA Vouche , Sample ID: BGE_00575_D12,
Rose e gen. p ep. JR804 m, in RCJR; • 1♂, 2♀, 29. ii.2020, M. Dale gen. p eps MD02981 m, MD02977 (in RCMC),
MD02979 (in RCJR); • 1♀, 13. iii.2020, M. Dale gen. p ep. MD02978 , in RCMC; • 1♂, 3.ix.2020, M. Dale gen. p ep.
MD02961 m, in RCMC; • 1♀, 3.ix.2020, M. Dale gen. p ep. MD02980 , in RCJR; • 2♂,1♀, 13. ii.2024, in RCMC.
Desc ip ion. Wingspan 8‒10 mm. Head ligh g ey; labial palps wi h segmen 2 sligh ly hick-
ened wi h scales, 1.1 imes as long as segmen 3, da k uscous on ou e side, whi ish on inne side,
segmen 3 slende , whi ish wi h a ew da ke scales on ou e side, some imes wi h a blackish pa ial
ing a base; an enna uscous, da k b own a dis al end o each segmen . Tho ax g ey. Fo ewing
uscous, small blackish spo o sho dash in old a one-qua e and spo a end o cell; inges da k
g ey wi h sca e ed da k do s, some imes wi h a dis inc da k g ey inge line; hindwing h ee-qua -
e s wid h o o ewing, g ey, inges g ey. Abdomen ligh uscous.
Va ia ion. Fo ewing scales may be uni o mly da k b own, o pale owa ds base o a a ying ex-
en , esul ing in a ia ion in g ound colou . In he da ke specimens he blackish spo s a e obscu e.
Male geni alia. Tegumen sligh ly mo e han hal as long as al a, expanding dis ally, uncus a weak
bulge, gna hos absen ; al a wi h cos al ma gin conca e in middle, ape ing om ou - i hs o ob use
No a Lepi. 48: 289–298 291
o unca e apex wi h one o wo small ee h be o e apex, en al ma gin wi h long g adual cu e o dig-
i a e sacculus which ex ends e y sho ly beyond ha pe which o ms a e y la ge o al lap; phallus wi h
basal pa longe han pa allel-sided dis al pa , swollen in middle and wi h a la ge o al, hin-walled
‘window’, co nu i e y nume ous, la ges only sligh ly longe han hose in he middle o he g oup.
Figu e 1. Monoch oa monellii sp. no . holo ype male, Lagoa de São José, Lei ia, Po ugal, 18. i.2025, leg. J.
Rose e, gen. p ep. J. Rose e JR860 m. Righ : Labels o holo ype. Pho og aph by And é Lamei inhas.
Figu e 2. Monoch oa monellii sp. no . pa a ype emale, Lagoa de São José, 29. ii.2020, leg. J. Rose e, gen.
p ep. M. Dale MD02977 . Pho og aph by And é Lamei inhas.
Co ley e al.: Monoch oa monellii (Lepidop e a, Gelechiidae), a new species om Po ugal292
Female geni alia. Pos e io and an e io apophyses abou equal in leng h; os ium opening a
dis al ma gin o segmen VIII, an um g adually ape ing, duc us bu sae wice as long as o a e
co pus bu sae wi h duc us seminalis a ising a middle and colliculum a one- hi d duc us leng h
om co pus bu sae; signum a b oad pla e cons ic ed in middle by a pai o chess pawn-shaped
s uc u es on he longi udinal axis.
Diagnosis. Ex e nally M. monellii sp. no . is ex emely simila o M. conspe sella (Figs 3, 7),
M. se ella (Figs 4, 8) and M. e agonella (Figs 5, 9). The las species, acco ding o G ege sen and
Ka shol (2022) has much o he o ewing wi h whi ish scales hus looking pale . The specimens hey
illus a e a e om locali ies a ound he Bal ic Sea, bu hose om England (Fig. 5) a e uni o mly da k
b own. All ou species a y in he ex en o pale colo a ion a he base o he scales which a ec s he
o e all colo a ion o he o ewing. Reliable iden i ica ion by mo phology he e o e depends on geni alia
cha ac e s. In he male geni alia, M. monellii has he cos al ma gin o he al a sligh ly conca e in he
middle, whe eas he ma gin is s aigh o sligh ly con ex in he o he species. The phallus has a clus e
o nume ous co nu i, wi h li le di e ence in size in M. monellii while in M. se ella and M. conspe -
sella he size o he co nu i inc eases conside ably om one end o he clus e o he o he , he longes
co nu i being abou 3 imes as long as hose in he middle o he clus e ; in M. e agonella he inc ease
in size is less ma ked. O he di e ences a e in he shape o he cos al ma gin and apex o he al a and
he leng h and shape o he sacculus. These ea u es can be seen in Figs 6–9. In he emale geni alia he e
a e di e ences be ween species in he shape o he signum, also clea ly isible in Figs 10–13.
Figu e 3. Monoch oa conspe sella (He ich-Schä e , 1854), Schleswig-Hols ein, Ge many, wi hou locali y,
25. i.1959, ex la a. (ECKU). Pho og aph aken by Mona Dahmen, made a ailable by Ha mu Roweck in
G ege sen and Ka shol (2022).
No a Lepi. 48: 289–298 293
Figu es 4, 5. Imagoes. 4. Monoch oa se ella (Zelle , 1839), male, Ma ia Ansbach im Wiene wald, Aus ia,
13. i.2014, leg. P. Buchne . Pho og aph by P. Buchne . 5. Monoch oa e agonella (S ain on, 1885), emale,
Hollesley, Su olk, England, 6. iii.2025, leg. R. A. Wa son. Pho og aph by R. Wa son.
DNA Ba code. Specimen INV17383 is cu en ly he single ep esen a i e o he BIN
BOLD:AGQ5413. The molecula esul s om he specimen om Lei ia o he pa ial COI
gene sequence show ha M. conspe sella is he closes ela ed species (unco ec ed p-dis ance
4.4%) ollowed by M. se ella and M. e agonella wi h sequences a ailable wi h 4.9% and
5.7% di e gence, espec i ely.
Bionomics. Collec ion da es o M. monellii sp. no . a e be ween 13 July and 3 Sep embe . The
habi a is a oadside wi h limi ed ege a ion nea a small lake which is g adually sil ing up. The
coas al o es is mainly composed o Pinus pinas e Ai on. The sandy soil has a a ie y o sh ubs
including species o E ica L., Cis us L., Halimium Spach and Co ema album (L.) D. Don wi h
sca e ed la ge sh ubs such as Mo ella aya (Ai on) Wilbu , Rhamnus ala e nus L., A bu us unedo
L. and Salix epens L. He baceous plan s include Juncus L. spp., Ammophila a ena ia (L.) Link,
Elymus L. sp., Silene li o ea B o ., Ibe is p ocumbens Lange, Seseli o uosum L. and Asphodelus
L. F om Ma ch onwa ds, coinciding wi h he beginning o he co esponding lowe ing, sca e ed
clus e s o Lysimachia monelli (L.) U. Manns & Ande b. a e isible. I was on his plan ha se e -
al pupae o M. monellii. we e ound which sugges s ha his is i s hos -plan . The pupae we e ound
unde he sandy soil, inside a silk unnel, app oxima ely one cen ime e long, a ached o he plan
along he ansi ion a ea be ween he s em and he oo . No signs o s em mining we e de ec ed in
any plan s ha we e examined. This sugges s ha he la a eeds on uppe pa s o he plan and
hen descends o pupa e a he base o he s em.
E ymology. Monoch oa monellii sp. no . is named a e i s hos -plan Lysimachia monelli
(L.) U. Manns & Ande b. I is app op ia e o men ion he e ha he genus Lysimachia has e-
cen ly been expanded o include species ha we e placed in Anagallis L. and Glaux L. (Manns
and Ande be g 2009).
Co ley e al.: Monoch oa monellii (Lepidop e a, Gelechiidae), a new species om Po ugal294
Discussion
The genus Monoch oa has no been e ised. Addi ional species a e likely o exis (Hueme and
Ka shol 2020) al hough hese au ho s do no men ion any such possibili y in he M. se ella g oup.
Al hough eeding la ae on Lysimachia monelli ha e no ye been ound, he posi ion o pupae
ha ha e been ound lea es no doub ha his is he hos -plan . The h ee mos closely ela ed
species o Monoch oa all eed on P imulaceae: M. se ella (Zelle , 1839) on P imula L., M. con-
spe sella (He ich-Schä e , 1854) on Lysimachia ulga is L. and M. e agonella (S ain on, 1885)
on Lysimachia ma i ima (L.) Galasso, Ba i & Soldano ( o me ly Glaux ma i ima). Acco ding o
G ege sen and Ka shol (2022) all h ee men ioned species eed as lea -mine s in au umn. Howe -
e , unlike he o he wo species, M. e agonella mines s ems o i s hos -plan in he ollowing yea .
Subsequen o de as a ing wild i es in 2017, he Po uguese go e nmen b ough in a law o cing
landowne s o ‘clean’ hei land o combus ible sh ubs and he bage. The oadside whe e M. monellii.
Figu es 6–9. Male geni alia. 6. Monoch oa monellii sp. no ., pa a ype male, Lagoa de São José, Lei ia, Po -
ugal, 29. ii.2020, leg. J. Rose e, gen. p ep. M. Dale MD02981 m. Pho og aph by M. Dale. 7. Monoch oa
conspe sella (He ich-Schä e , 1854), male, Ő ség Na ional Pa k, Hunga y, 24. iii.2023, leg. P. Da ey,
gen. p ep. P. Hall. Pho og aph by P. Hall (Wheele e al. 2025). 8. Monoch oa se ella (Zelle , 1839), male,
Ma ia Ansbach im Wiene wald, Aus ia, 13. i.2014, leg. P. Buchne , gen. p ep. PB2214. Pho og aph by P.
Buchne . 9. Monoch oa e agonella (S ain on, 1885), male, Hollesley, Su olk, England, 29. i.2018, leg.
and gen. p ep. R. A. Wa son Pho og aph by R. A. Wa son.
No a Lepi. 48: 289–298 295
Figu es 10, 11. Female geni alia. 10. Monoch oa monellii sp. no ., pa a ype emale, Lagoa de São José,
Lei ia, Po ugal, 29. ii.2020, leg. J. Rose e, gen. p ep. M. Dale MD02979 , pho og aph by M. Dale. 11. Mon-
och oa conspe sella (Zelle , 1839), emale, Go ička Na ional Pa k, Slo enia, 28. .2023, leg. P. Da ey, gen.
p ep. P. Hall, pho og aph by P. Hall (Wheele e al. 2025).
has been ound shows signs o cul i a ion wi h a ac o -d awn ixed ine cul i a o , lea ing he e y
sandy soil wi h longi udinal s ia ions (Fig. 14). In May 2024 much o he soil was ba e, wi h some
Lysimachia monelli plan s su i ing (Fig. 15), bu o he s ha ing been ipped ou and desicca ed.
Co ley e al.: Monoch oa monellii (Lepidop e a, Gelechiidae), a new species om Po ugal296
Figu es 12, 13. Female geni alia. 12. Monoch oa se ella (Zelle , 1839), emale, Sweden, gen. p ep, HH1737
(ZMUC). 13. Monoch oa e agonella (S ain on, 1885), emale, Denma k, gen. p ep. HH1440 (ZMUC). Pho-
os om p epa a ions o Henning Hend iksen, aken by Reinha d Su e and published in G ege sen and
Ka shol (2022).
Al hough M. monellii is e y much a ‘small b own job’ i is ema kable ha i has only been de-
ec ed in a single locali y, pa icula ly as i appea s o be locally plen i ul and comes eely o ligh .
The hos -plan is widesp ead in sou h-wes Eu ope. A possible explana ion is ha he oadside
habi a is no one ha in i es ligh - apping ac i i y. We p edic ha M. monellii will e en ually
p o e o be much mo e widely dis ibu ed.
Mendes (1904) eco ded Xys opho a a inosae S ain on (now Monoch oa se ella) as a e in
June a São Fiel, nea Fundão in Bei a Baixa, Po ugal. This was ejec ed in Co ley (2015) on he
No a Lepi. 48: 289–298 297
Figu e 15. Lysimachia monelli L., oodplan o Monoch oa monellii sp. no ., pho og aph by Jo ge Rose e.
Figu e 14. Roadside a Lagoa de São José, Lei ia, Po ugal, habi a o Monoch oa monellii sp. no ., pho o-
g aph by Jo ge Rose e.
