Acutitornus persectus spec. nov., a new species of gall-forming moth from the Northern Cape province of South Africa (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae: Apatetrinae, Apatetrini)

Abstract

A new apatetrine gelechiid, Acutitornus persectus spec. nov., is described from the Northern Cape province of South Africa. The larvae of this species develop in stem galls in Stipagrostis namaquensis (Nees) (Poaceae), a grass species with the unusual defense mechanism of abscising leaves in response to insect or fungal attack.