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Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society
TWO NEW SPECIES OF PHYCITINE MOTHS WITH DESCRIPTION OF A NEW GENUS (PYRALIDAE)
Andre Blanchard P. O. Box 20304, Houston, Texas 77025
Pimodes A. Blanchard, new genus
Tongue well developed. Antenna finely pubescent; on male with a shallow sinus at base of shaft, fringed on both sides with long scales hiding a blunt, black, shiny process on each of four or five segments. Labial palpus porrect, extending at least twice length of head beyond it; second segment closely scaled, more than twice as long as third, longitudinally grooved in male to receive maxillary palpus. Maxillary palpus of male in form of a large aigrette, of female minute, squamous. Scaling of vertex and front forms with labial palpi a streamlined snout. Forewing smooth; cell about two-thirds length of wing; Cu2 from before lower outer angle of cell; Cui from before angle but close to it; M2 and M3 from angle, approximate for about one-fourth their length; discocellular vein extremely weak; Mi from a little below upper outer angle of cell, straight; Rs from upper angle, stalked with R3+4 for about one-half length of R5; R2 from cell much closer to stalk of R3+4 and R5 than to Ri, remaining approximate to this stalk for about one-half its length; Ri from cell; male without costal fold. Hindwing cell slightly less than half length of wing; discocellular vein weak, deeply concave, greatly extended at lower outer angle of cell; Cu2 from before lower outer angle; Cui from angle, much shorter than Cu2, connate with the stalk of Ms and M» which are anastomosed for about two-thirds their length; Mi and Rs anastomosed for some distance beyond upper outer angle of cell; Rs and Sc approximate for over half the free part of Rs. Eighth abdominal segment of male with paired, ventrolateral, compound tufts (Fig. 6).
Male genitalia (Figs. 2—5): Uncus hoodlike, its terminal margin notched. Apical process of gnathos a stout hook. Transtilla absent. Valve (Fig. 5) elongate, tapering to bluntly rounded apex; distal fourth of valve virtually reduced to strongly sclerotized costa; sacculus a little over half length of valve, broadest at two-thirds its length from its base; a clasper, rooted in basal third of valve, angled and pointed at apex, runs parallel to costa, is about as wide and half as long as costa. Inner surfaces of sacculus and clasper studded with numerous spinelike hairs. Vinculum much longer than its greatest width, with strongly sclerotized margins. Aedeagus straight, stout, with round, ventral extension at its distal rim; vesica (Fig. 4) armed with one strong cornutus and a bunch of about four smaller cornuti held together by a common sclerotized base. Juxta subquadrate, broadest at base, weakly sclerotized.
Female genitalia (Fig. 7): Bursa almost three times as long as seventh abdominal segment, over three times as long as its average width, slightly bulging ventrally in its middle, membranous except for a sclerotized, scobinate-granulate patch on its left side, cephalad from junction of ductus bursae; this signum is part of the bursa membrane anteriorly, but becomes detached from it and protrudes inside the bursa posteriorly; ductus seminalis from apex of a lobe at caudal end of bursa, left of ductus bursae; ductus bursae about one-fifth as long as bursa, membranous except ventrally at genital opening.
This genus is closest to Pima Hulst, but there are significant differences: the third segment of the labial palpus is much shorter than the second in Pimodes, about equal in Pima; the male maxillary palpus is a large aigrette in Pimodes, minute and scaled in Pima; M2 and M3 of the fore-
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wing are approximate in Pimodes, separate in Pima; the valve has no clasper in Pima and its vesica is armed with two subequal cornuti; the ductus bursae is short and membranous in Pimodes, long, ribbonlike, sclerotized and granulate in Pima. The preceding description, of the male and female genitalia of this new genus, is in fact that of the genitalia of the new species described below. It is understood that, if and when more species are discovered in this genus, a choice will need to be made in order to eliminate those characters which will prove to be specific rather than generic.
Pimodes insularis A. Blanchard, new species
(Figs. 1-7)
Labial palpi closely and thickly clothed with long, whitish tipped, dark gray scales, very slightly paler beneath; apex of head, antennae at base, collar, thorax and tegulae concolorous with palpi above; abdomen ochreous yellow above, yellowish gray beneath; legs mostly concolorous with labial palpi beneath; middle and hind tibiae with long loose scales dorsally. Forewing above with median lines obsolete; basally concolorous with thorax, becoming progressively a little paler distally to still paler fringe; some reddish scales are scattered on the lower half, forming two poorly defined patches at about one-third distance to anal angle; a long, white, fusiform fascie, more or less heavily sprinkled with reddish scales, extends from base to apex, thinning out at both ends, being widest at middle of costa. Hindwing above, translucent grayish white, somewhat darker along costa and on outer margin near apex; a fine dark brownish gray terminal line; fringe white distally and along a fine line at base, darker between. Forewing beneath dark brownish gray, paler basally. Hindwing beneath as above, except fringe entirely whitish.
Wing expanse: 13 specimens, males and females measure 17.5-19 mm; the holotype measures 21 mm.
Male genitalia: As described for the genus.
Female genitalia: As described for the genus.
Holotype: Male, Padre Island National Seashore, Kleberg Co., Texas, 29 September 1975, genitalia on slide A. B. 3636, deposited in National Museum of Natural History, Type No. 73652, A. & M. E. Blanchard collectors.
Paratypes: Same locality, 7 July 1975, 1 #,3 $ $; 29 September 1975, 3 $ $, 3 $ $; 2 October 1975, 1 $, 1 $; 22 June 1976, 2 $ $, 1 $; 24 June 1976, 2 $ $, 1 $; 19 July 1976, 2 $ $, 16 $ 9; A. & M. E. Blanchard collectors.
Macrorrhinia signifera A. Blanchard, new species
(Figs. 8-11)
I have only five specimens of this new species before me and their maculation is quite variable, hence the description must needs take these variations into consideration.
Palpi, head, collar, thorax and tegulae clothed with pale ochreous gray scales, mixed in variable proportion with darker scales, of same hue in three specimens, definitely reddish in one female and blackish in holotype. Forewing irregularly mottled with scales of same two colors. No recognizable am. band, but where M. aureofasciella Ragonot has an orange am. band preceded by a black line, two specimens of new species, including holotype, shows a faint trace of same pattern. Discal dots and pm. line mostly obsolete, except on holotype whose straight, pale pm. line is followed by an array of blackish spots. Terminal line of blackish inter-
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Figs. 1-7. Pimodes inmlaris: 1, holotype; 2, male genitalia, most firmly planted outer scales retained; 3, male genitalia, aedeagus removed, outer scales removed using forceps; 4, aedeagus, vesica inflated; 5, inner view of left valve; 6, paired ventrolateral, compound tufts of male eighth abdominal segment; 7, female genitalia.
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Figs. 8-11. Macrorrhinia signifera: 8, holotype; 9, male genitalia; 10, pair of short ventrolateral hair tufts and lateral pair of eversible lobes with long hair tufts; 11, female genitalia.
venular dots. Fringe concolorous. Hindwing translucent, much paler ochreous than forewing, darker at apex and along upper half of outer margin; fringe concolorous. Forewing beneath ochreous gray, darker along costa and outer margin; terminal intervenular dots as above, fringe concolorous. Hindwing beneath as above.
Wing expanse: 18.5-20.0 mm.
Male genitalia (Fig. 9): Differ from those of M. aureofasciella (Heinrich 1956, p. 190, fig. 437) in that the cucullus of the valve is much less broadly expanded and the three distal lobes of the juxta are much narrower.
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Female genitalia (Fig. 11): Differ from those of M. aureofasciella (Heinrich 1956, p. 190, fig. 924) by the presence of a strongly sclerotized signum consisting of a linear array of minute claws on either side of junction of bursa with ductus bursae.
Holotype: Male (Fig. 8), Town Bluff, Tyler Co., Texas, 7 August 1975, deposited in National Museum of Natural History, Type No. 73651, A. & M. E. Blanchard collectors.
Paratopes: Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, Hidalgo Co., Texas, 18 November 1966, 1 $; Town Bluff, Tyler Co., Texas, 7 August 1975, 2 S $, 2 $ $, Conroe, Montgomery Co., Texas, 9 September 1975, 1 $, A. & M. E. Blanchard collectors.
Only two species of the genus Macrorrhinia have yet been described: M. aureofasciella Ragonot (Ragonot 1901, p. 190) and M. placidella (Zeller) (Zeller 1848, p. 874). The preceding comparative description leaves no doubt that the new species is different from aureofasciella. Dr. D. C. Ferguson made for me a sketch of the habitus of M. placidella figured in Ragonot (1901, p. 190); comparing this sketch with my specimens of the new species leaves no doubt that they are different.
Literature Cited
Heinrich, C. 1956. American moths of the subfamily Phycitinae. U.S. Natl.
Mus. Bull. 207, 581 p. Ragonot, E. L. 1901. Monographic des Phycitinae et des Galleriinae. In N. M.
Romanoff, Memoires sur les Lepidopteres, Vol. 8, xli + 602 p., pis. 24-57 [MS.
completed by Sir G. F. Hampson]. Zeller, P. C. 1948. Isis von Oken.