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Research Article
A new species of the genus Oiketicoides Heylaerts, 1885 (Lepidoptera, Psychidae) from Korea with its natural parasitoid enemy
expand article infoDong-June Lee‡, Jongwon Kim‡, Seung-Su Euo§, Jae-Seok Lee‡, Hyeon Lee‡, Seung Jin Roh‡
‡ Honam National Institute of Biological Resources, Mokpo, Republic of Korea
§ Korea National Arboretum, Pocheon, Republic of Korea

Corresponding author: Seung Jin Roh ( sjroh@hnibr.re.kr )

Academic editor: Reza Zahiri
© 2025 Dong-June Lee, Jongwon Kim, Seung-Su Euo, Jae-Seok Lee, Hyeon Lee, Seung Jin Roh.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation: Lee D-J, Kim J, Euo S-S, Lee J-S, Lee H, Roh SJ (2025) A new species of the genus Oiketicoides Heylaerts, 1885 (Lepidoptera, Psychidae) from Korea with its natural parasitoid enemy. ZooKeys 1223: 311-317. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1223.135001
ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:3FDB16FD-1D13-4AD9-A493-CAF3FB1584D5
Open Access

Abstract

Oiketicoides gohadoensis Roh & Lee, sp. nov. is described as new to science. The morphology of male adult, including genitalia, is described, and DNA barcodes for precise identification of the species are provided. A parasitoid, Neophryxe psychidis Townsend, 1916 (Diptera, Tachinidae) of O. gohadoensis is also reported for the first time in Korea, together with its DNA barcode sequence.

Key words

Bagmoths, bagworms, DNA barcode, Psychidae, taxonomy

Introduction

The family Psychidae, so-called bagworms or bagmoths, consists of 241 genera with 1350 described species (van Nieukerken et al. 2011). Phylogenetically, Psychidae have been placed in the superfamily Tineoidea (Regier et al. 2015).

The genus Oiketicoides Heylaerts, 1885 is based on the type species Psyche inquinata Lederer, 1858, by subsequent designation by Hampson in 1892 (Sobczyk 2011). In total, 45 species of Oiketicoides are known, with 40 species distributed throughout the Palaearctic Region (Arnscheid and Sobczyk 2023). In East Asia, only one species, Oiketicoides orophila (Wehrli, 1928) is known from Xinjiang Province, China (Jia and Wu 2023). Oiketicoides species occur in dry habitats at high altitudes up to 3000 m. Almost all species of Oiketicoides are uniformly dark yellowish-brown or grey in colour and characterized by the following adult morphological characters: the decreasing length of the antennal pecten towards the antennal tip; a very long tibial epiphysis on the foreleg; and 11 veins on the forewing and seven veins on the hindwing (Arnscheid and Sobczyk 2023). The larvae live mostly hidden on the ground without showing any preference for particular food plants (Arnscheid and Sobczyk 2023).

In this study, Oiketicoides gohadoensis sp. nov. is described as new. All available information is presented, including the collection locations, microhabitats, and illustrations of male and its genitalia. DNA barcodes are provided for precise identification. A parasitoid dipteran, Neophryxe psychidis Townsend, 1916 (Tachinidae) of O. gohadoensis was reported for the first time in Korea.

Material and methods

The material examined in this study is kept in the Insect Collection, Honam National Institute of Biological Resources (HNIBRIN), Mokpo, Korea. The male genitalia were dissected and examined after mounting on glass slides in 80% glycerol solution. The wing venations were examined in 70% alcohol solution. Photographs of adults were taken using a Canon MP-E 65 mm f/2.8 1–5 × macro lens attached to Canon 5D Mark IV digital camera (Canon, Tokyo, Japan). Photographs of the male genitalia were taken using a DFC 95 mm digital camera (Leica, Wetzlar, Germany) attached to a Leica M205A stereomicroscope (Leica, Wetzlar, Germany). Terminology and morphological characters of the adult, wing venation and genitalia follow Saigusa and Sugimoto (2014) and Arnscheid and Weidlich (2017).

Genomic DNA from three specimens of Oiketicoides gohadoensis sp. nov. and one specimen of Neophryxe psychidis was extracted from the legs of dried specimens of adults in 100% alcohol using a DNeasy Blood and Tissue kits (Qiagen, Inc, Hilden, Germany) according to the manufacturer’s protocol. Specimens were sequenced and the DNA barcode, cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI), was amplified using the primers LCO1490 and HCO2198 (Folmer et al. 1994). Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) conditions for amplification followed the manufacturer’s protocol (Platinum Taq, Invitrogen, Carlsbad City, CA, USA). The amplicons were purified using the QIAquick® PCR purification kit (QIAGEN, Inc, Hilden, Germany) and directly sequenced at Macrogen (Seoul, Korea). Contigs were assembled in Geneious Prime (Kearse et al. 2012). Successful sequences were uploaded to GenBank (O. gohadoensis: PP983255–PP983257 and N. psychidis: PP983258).

Results

Oiketicoides Heylaerts, 1881

Acanthopsyche (Oiketicoides) Heylaerts, 1881. Annales de la Société entomologique de Belgique 25: 66.

Type species

Psyche inquinata Lederer, 1858. Wiener entomologische Monatschrift 2(5): 142.

Oiketicoides gohadoensis Roh & Lee, sp. nov.

https://zoobank.org/B284172B-2DE9-4138-B308-A07E96EEB422

Type material

Holotype : ♂, South Korea • Mokpo, Gohado Island; 28.vi.2023; 34°46'01"N, 126°22'02"E; altitude 12 m; leg. J.W. Kim; HNIBRIN 16107.

Paratypes : 9♂; same label data as holotype; HNIBRIN 16104–16106, 16108–16113.

Diagnosis

The genus Oiketicoides has little difference in external morphological characters between the males of the species, making morphological diagnosis difficult (Arnscheid and Sobczyk 2023). This new species also appears to have typical characters (uniformly dark, yellowish-brown coloration), but it has a noticeably shorter wingspan (11–13 mm) compared to the other species. The male genitalia of O. gohadoensis are very similar to those of O. elegantis Arnscheid & Sobczyk, 2023, but the cucullus is wider and club-shaped. Moreover, the male genitalia differ in having a wide vinculum and a downwardly thick saccus.

Description

Adult (Fig. 1). Male. Head: vertex densely clothed with yellowish-brown hairs; ocelli absent; antennae less than length of 2/5 of forewing, scape roughly covered with hairs, bipectinate, with 14 flagellomeres. Thorax: notum covered with dark, yellowish-brown scales. Legs with femora, tibiae, and tarsi clothed in light-brown hairs; tarsi and apical and medial spurs covered by yellowish-brown scales; foreleg with a long and narrow tibial epiphysis. Wingspan 11–13 mm. Forewing dark brown, mostly covered with short, hair-like scales; accessory and intercalary cells absent; 10 separate veins originating at discal cell; Sc terminating at 3/5 of costa; R3 and R4 stalked at anterior part of cell to reach apex; M2 and M3 parallel; scales slightly narrowed; apical margin usually produced into 2–4 weak, rounded lacininations. Hindwing covered with dark-brown scales; 6 veins from discal cell; M2 + M3 fused; scales narrowed; apical margin usually produced into two or three weak, rounded lacininations.

Figure 1. 

Adult Oiketicoides gohadoensis Roh & Lee, sp. nov. A male of adult B anterior view of head C anterior view of head and antennae D basic view of antenna E foreleg F tibial epiphysis of foreleg G midleg H hindleg I wing venation J forewing scales K hindwing scales.

Male genitalia (Fig. 2). Tegumen wide, slightly folded; valva short and slender; sacculus sclerotized with short setae; cucullus arched, club-shaped; vinculum slightly narrow; saccus straight, slightly thick, and long; phallus thick and long, 0.87 times as long as genitalia.

Figure 2. 

Male genitalia of Oiketicoides gohadoensis Roh & Lee, sp. nov. A dorso-ventral aspect B tegumen C valva D lateral aspect.

Distribution

Korea (new species).

DNA barcode

DNA barcode sequences were generated from three specimens of Oiketicoides gohadoensis sp. nov. (PP983255, PP983256, and PP983257). Multiple alignments using the BLAST tool in the NCBI database showed Clania ignobilis Grote, 1873 to be the nearest neighbor at 86.49%. The maximum intraspecific genetic variation ranged from 1.09 to 0.62%, a little lower than interspecific distances.

Etymology

This species was discovered on a tree in the garden at Honam National Institute of Biological Resources, Mokpo, Korea (Fig. 3A). The specific name is derived from the type locality (Gohado Island) of the new species.

Figure 3. 

Microhabitat and larval case of Oiketicoides gohadoensis Roh & Lee, sp. nov. A microhabitat in my office garden (Korea: Honam National Institute of Biological Resource, Gohado Island, Mokpo-si, Jeollanam-do, 1.vi.2023, 34°.46'01"N, 126°22'02"E, altitude 12 m) B larval case.

Biology

Larvae of the new species build their cases (8.1–10.3 mm in length) by adhering the tiny particles of bark to their case. In addition, they were found to live in dried conditions between the bark or leaves of trees (Fig. 3). Adults emerge from late June to mid-July in breeding condition. Of 11 larvae, 11 males emerged in the present study.

Natural enemy of O. gohadoensis

Neophryxe psychidis Townsend, 1916 (Diptera, Tachinidae)

During the breeding of O. gohadoensis in this study, we discovered a parasitoid, N. psychidis (Fig. 4). This species is reported for the first time in Korea. According to the literature, this species is known to emerge from psychid cases and is distributed in China, Japan, and Russia (O’Hara et al. 2009). In the Palearctic region, 31 species of Tachinidae are known to be associated with at least 36 species of psychid moths, and at least seven species of psychid moths are known to be associated with N. psychidis (Tschorsnig 2017). DNA barcode sequences were generated (NCBI accession number PP983258). Multiple alignments using the BLAST tool in the NCBI database showed N. psychidis as the nearest neighbor (locality of reference data from Japan; 100%).

Figure 4. 

Neophryxe psychidis, a natural enemy of Oiketicoides gohadoensis, sp. nov. A male of adult B parasitic view of larva C male genitalia of N. psychidis, lateral aspect D ditto, posterior aspect E ditto, 5th sternite.

Acknowledgements

We thank Ms MJ Choi and Ms JY Chu (Honam National Institute of Biological Resources, Mokpo, Korea), for their assistance in specimen preparation and DNA barcoding. Our thanks are also due to Dr Arnscheid (Bochum, Germany) for his valuable comments and information. Also, we would like to express our deep thanks to Dr O’Hara (Canadian National Collection of Insects, Ottawa, Canada) for his help in information on parasitoid Diptera. This work was supported by a grant from the Honam National Institute of Biological Resources (HNIBR), funded by the Ministry of Environment (MOE) of the Republic of Korea (HNIBR202101101, 202301103).

Additional information

Conflict of interest

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Ethical statement

No ethical statement was reported.

Funding

This work was supported by the Honam National Institute of Biological Resources (HNIBR), funded by the Ministry of Environment (MOE) of the Republic of Korea (HNIBR202101101).

Author contributions

Formal analysis: JSL, JK, HL, SSE. Writing - original draft: SJR. Writing - review and editing: DJL.

Author ORCIDs

Dong-June Lee https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1526-5127

Jongwon Kim https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1793-8041

Seung-Su Euo https://orcid.org/0009-0002-5061-8792

Jae-Seok Lee https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4502-7330

Hyeon Lee https://orcid.org/0009-0006-7467-7331

Seung Jin Roh https://orcid.org/0009-0002-6100-7604

Data availability

All of the data that support the findings of this study are available in the main text.

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