Taraka hamada (Druce, 1875), first discovered on the main island of Sulawesi, Indonesia, is described as a new subspecies, hamakoae, based on the wing pattern and the male genitalia. The postdiscal black spots in the centers of spaces 3 to 4 of the undersurface of the forewing are large. The uncus is fairly swollen dorsally. The phallus is short and cylindrical.
Megacraspedus coleophorodes (Li and Zheng, 1995) is a gelechiid moths and was known to be distributed in Korea and China. In the present study, this species was discovered in Japan for the first time and the genus Megacraspedus Zeller, 1839 is also reported for the first time from Japan.
Larvae of the tineid subfamily Harmacloninae are thought to be wood borers without firm evidence. Moths of this subfamily have also well-developed tympanic organs on the second abdominal segment. Among microlepidopterans, this type of organs occur only in Harmacloninae and Pyraloidea. In 2022, we obtained larvae of Micrerethista denticulata Davis, 1998 belonging to Harmacloninae from tunnels in the dead trees of Quercus serrata in Hashimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. The life history of M. denticlata, including the morphology of the immature stages is described on the basis of field observations and rearing. This represents the first definitive evidence of wood-boring habits in larval stage for the subfamily. The evolution of the larval and pupal morphology associated with wood-boring habits is discussed and the role of the tympanic organs in Harmacloninae is speculated.
Two pterophorid species, Deuterocopus socotranus and D. albipunctatus, are recorded from Kumejima Island, Okinawa, Japan for the first time. The two species were exhibiting swarming behavior in Kadekaru, Kumejima Island. Groups of 10-20 moths were observed at a height of 1-2 m above the ground and 10-30 cm above the plants Ampelopsis glandulosa and Vitis ficifolia (Vitaceae). The behavior was documented at 1600-1700 hrs from July to October 2022. The swarming moths were primarily males, with many fewer females observed. It is uncertain whether swarming groups consisted of one or two similar species. The swarming may be mating behavior.
One new species of Fibuloides Kuznetzov, 1997 (Lepidoptera, Tortricidae, Olethreutinae) is described, Fibuloides matsugumi Nasu, n. sp., and second species, Fibuloides vaneeae (Pinkaew, 2005), is newly recorded from Japan. The adults and genitalia are illustrated. F. matsugumi was reared from the parasitic plant Taxillus kaempferi (Loranthaceae), and the host-plant of F. vaneeae, Lithocarpus glaber (Fagaceae), is reported for the first time.