Nemophora smaragdaspis (Meyrick)
Nemotois smaragdaspis Meyrick, 1924, Exotic Microlepidoptera 3: 79.
Male. Forewing 7.7-8.0 mm; wing expanse 16.0-16.5 mm.
Head with raised yellow hairs sparsely mixed with brown hairs; face covered with smooth ochreous scales with golden luster, lateral part along eyes silver without scales. Eyes large, closely approximated dorsally; horizontal eye diameter (hd)/ minimum distance between eyes in dorsal view (md): ca 17. Labial palpus 0.4 × vertical eye diameter, pale yellow mixed with brown hairs. Antenna 20 mm, 2.5 x forewing length; basal 1/5 with raised dark bronzy scales of glossy blue tinge, distal 4/5 light bronzy to silvery white. Legs bronzy; hind tibia bronzy, with long raised yellow hairs dorsally; hind tarsus light bronzy outwardly, yellow inwardly, and almost yellow apically. Tegula and thorax (dorsum) metallic green. Forewing basal 1/4 metallic green; a transverse orange fascia broad, margined with narrow silvery-leaden fasciae; distal 1/3 brown with bronzy luster, sparsely mixed\ with orange. Hind wing dark brown with purple luster; cilia dark brown.
Female. Forewing 8.5 mm; wing expanse 17.5 mm.
Head with raised pale yellow hairs, sparsely mixed with brown; face with raised dark brown hairs. Eyes small, horizontal eye diameter (hd)/ minimum distance between eyes (md): 0.67. Labial palpus 1.1× vertical eye diameter, pale yellow mixed with brown hairs. Antenna 9 mm, ca 1× forewing length; basal 2/3 thickened with raised dark brown scales dorsally, with orange scales lateroventrally; distal 1/3 silvery white to light bronzy, smooth and slender. Tegula and thorax (dorsum) yellow, mixed with brown. Forewing basal 1/5 yellow, margined anteriorly and externally with dark brown; a silvery-leaden with bluish luster fascia at costa; a transverse orange fascia broad, margined with narrow silvery-leaden fasciae as in male; distal l/3 dark brown with bronzy luster, mixed with several patches of silvery-1eaden and many orange scales. Hind wing dark brown with purple luster; cilia dark brown.
Male genitalia. Uncus short. Valva subquadrate and dorsal part acutely produced posteriorly in lateral view; basally fused each other ventrally. Anterior process of transtilla very short, triangular. Phallus long and slender; a pair of strongly sinuate hooks dorsally near apex. Juxta arrow-shaped; head long and narrow with prominent barbs.
Female genitalia. Not examined.
Examination of the female genitalia was deferred unti,1 further specimens are obtained.
Specimens examined. [Honshu] 2♂ , Akiyoshidai, Akiyoshi-cho, Yamaguchi Pref., 3, ix. 2000, H. Yamamoto; 1♂1♀ , same locality, 5. ix. 2001 , T. Hirowatari & H. Yamamoto.
Distribution. Japan (Akiyoshidai, Yamaguchi Pref., Honshu), India(Assam).
Remarks. In 1 999, Hirowatari examined the holotype of Nemophora smaragdaspis (Meyrick) preserved in the Natural History Museum, London, but did not dissect it. Superficial characters of the Japanese representative almost coincide with those of the holotype and original description given by Meyrick (1924). According to Dr Mikhail Kozlov (pers. comm.), additional 2 males of N, smaragdaspis collected in India are preserved in National Museum of Natural History. Washington. He examined the genitalia and provided us with the illustration. The male genitalia of Japanese specimens were almost congruent with those of the NMNH specimens drawn by Dr Kozlov, except for slight deference in the shape of valva that is probably due to the difference. of observed angle. Therefore, we identified the Nemophora species collected in Akiyoshidai with N. smaragdaspis.
This species is most similar to N. paradisea (Butler, 1881) in the Japanese Nemophora species, but distinguishable from it by the following points:1 ) the male thorax (dorsum), tegula and forewing base are metallic green, while they are brown bronzy luster in N. paredisea, 2) the male eyes are larger, and closely approximated dorsally, while they are rather smaller and separate dorsally in N. paradisea, 3) the pair of dorsal hooks of male phallus are strongly sinuate, while they are weakly sinuate in N. paradisea, and 4) the female face and antenna are dark brown, while the face is yellow and antenna is yellow except distal dark brown portion in N. paredisea. Kozlov & Robinson ( 1 996) synonymized N. paradisea with N. decisella (Walker, 1863) but we here treat the former as a distinct species.
Biology. The collecting site. Akiyoshidai (Fig.11) is located in westernmost of Chugoku district, Honshu. It is artificially managed grasslands covered dominantly with such herbal plants as Miscanthus sinensis (Poaceae), Lespedeza cry'tobotrya (Leguminosae) and Pueraria lobata (Leguminosae). In the afternoon of September 3, 2000, Yamamoto collected two males of N. smaragdaspis flying under overhanged herbage at height of ca 1 m at around 1:00. It was cloudy with a light rain fall, In order to assess the condition of flying activities, the temperature and light intensity were measured on September 5, 2001. On that day, we collected a female at 17:10 (24.5 °C, 1210 lux) and a male at 17:55 (24.5 °C, 415 lux), both of which were flying around sunset under low light intensity.
Hirowatari & Nagaike (1998) reported that the males of N. paradisea were swarming around sunset (16:30-18:30). We could not observe detail flying activities of N. smaragdaspis because of the low density. However, judging from the large eyes and the flying patterns mentioned above, it is predictable that males of N. smarngdaspis swarm as in those of N. paredisea probably under condition of low light intensity. Hirowatari & Nagaike (1998) also reported that the females of N. paradisea nectared from flowers of Patrinia villosa (Valerianaceae) and also utilized it as host (ovipositing) plant. In Akiyoshidai, many individuals of the plant were flowering, but we could not see the female of N. smaragdaspis nectaring or ovipositing. N. smaragdaspis may also utilize some herbaceous plant such as P. villosa for ovipositing.
Distribution. The discovery of N, smaragdaspis from Japan, far from the type locality, was unexpected. However, it is not due to insufficiency of knowledge in Japanese adelid fauna, but to the restricted distributions of N. smaragdaspis. In Japan, N. smaragdaspis may occur only in Akiyoshidai and its adjacent areas in the Chugoku district.
In the field survey project "Muchu-kai" in September 2000, a geometrid Hypoxystis pulcheraria (Herz), an unrecorded species from Japan, was also collected in Akiyoshidai (Sato et al., 2002). This species was known from Eastern Eurasian Continent, including eastern China, the Korean Peninsula and the Russian Far East (Primor'e). These distribution patterns show that the area including Akiyoshidai, westernmost of Honshu, accommodates some relic elements, sharing each unique biogeographical association with East Asia and North India.

References
Hirowatari T. & T. Nagaike, 1998. Biological notes on Nem,ophora paradisea (Butler, 1881) (Lepidoptera, Adelidae). Trans. Iepid. Soc. Japan 49: 288-294.
Kozlov, M. V. & G. S. Robinson, 1996. Identity and distribution of two dimorphic orientaｌ fairy moths- Nemophora decisella (Walker, 1863) and Nemophora cantharites (Meyrick, 1928) (Lepidoptera, Adelidae). Nota lepid. 18: 39-56.
Meyrick, E., 1924. Adelidae. Exotic Microlepidoptera 3: 79-80. Classey Ltd., Middlesex.
Sato, R., K. Oka, K. Shibahara, Y. Nakata & K. Sakaki, 2002. An unrecorded species. Hypoxystis pulcheraria (Herz) (Geometridae; Ennominae), from Japan Yugato (167): 1-7.