THE CACTUS-FEEDING PHYCITINAE HEINRICH 339 



Larva bluish, not banded ; sclerotic plates surrounding body setae 

 rather small; 3 setae in group VII on abdominal segments 7 "and 8. 



The larvae feed gi-egariously in the joints of various species of 

 Platypuntia. 



Eggs laid in chains. 



Remarks. — The genus as here defined is separated from other 

 cactus-feeding phycitids by the following combination of charac- 

 ters: Antennae pectinate in both sexes; labial palpi porrect in both 

 sexes; veins 7 and 8 of hind wing approximate; veins 3 and 5 of 

 hind wing connate ; eighth abdominal segment of male simple ; larvae 

 not banded or conspicuously spotted, gregarious in habit throughout 

 feeding period. 



Two species only are recognized as belonging to the genus, and 

 its distribution is apparently limited to the United States and 

 adjacent areas in northern Mexico. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES OF MELITARA 



1. Subterminal dentate line of fore wing with a rather shallow 



angulation between veins 5 and 6 1. prodenialis Walker 



Subterminal dentate line of fore wing with a deep angulation 

 between veins 5 and 6 2. dentata (Grote) 



1. MELITARA PRODENIALIS Walker 



Plates 23, 36, 44, 45 ; Figtjkes 1-lf, 41^1a, 81, 8»-83a, 84 



Melitara prodenialis Walkee, List of specimens of lepidopterous insects in the 

 collection of the British Museum, vol. 27, p. 137, 1863. — Hxjlst, Trana. 

 Amor. Ent. Soc, vol. 17, p. 171, 1890 ; U. S. Nat, Mus. Bull. 52, p. 429, 1903.— 

 Ragonot, M^moires sur les Lepidoptferes, vol. 8, p. 13, 1901. — Huntee, 

 Pratt, and Mitchell, Bur. Ent., U. S. Dept. Agr., Bull. 113, p. 28, 1912.— 

 Baknes and McDunnough, Check list of the Lepidoptera of Boreal Amer- 

 ica, no. 5693, 1917. — Dodd, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, 

 Australia, Bull. 34, p. 27, 1927.— Dyar, Proc. Ent. Soc. Washington, vol. 30, 

 p. 133, 1928. 



Zophodia bollii Zellee, Verb, zool.-bot. Ges. Wien, p. 550, pi. 3, fig. 21, 1872, 



Megaphycis tollii (Zeller) Grote, Can. Ent., vol. 14, p. 30, 1882. 



Melitara prodenialis hollii (Zeller) Dyab, Proc. Ent. Soc. Washington, vol. 

 30, p. 133, 1928. 



Melitara Bollii (Zeller) Dodd, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, 

 Australia, Bull. 34, p. 29, 1927. 



Male. — Palpi, head, and thorax cinereous-fuscous sparsely dusted 

 with white, especially on basal segments of labial palpi; posterior 

 margin of thorax blackish. Fore wing cinereous-fuscous with a 

 heavy dusting of white on costal half ; the fuscous and whitish areas 

 contrasted but not sharply defined, the white dusting most pro- 

 nounced between antemedial and subterminal lines and in subapical 



