Proceedings of 

 the United States 

 National Museum 



SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION . WASHINGTON, B.C. 



Volume 116 1964 Number 3497 



NEOTROPICAL MICROLEPIDOPTERA, IV 



A NEW GENUS OF STENOMIDAE 



WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF FOUR NEW SPECIES 



(LEPIDOPTERA: GELECHIOIDEA) 



By W. Donald Duckworth 



This, the fourth in a series of papers ^ dealing with Neotropical 

 moths, is the first of a planned series on the family Stenomidae, The 

 aim of this research program is a reclassification of the family Steno- 

 midae that more adequately reflects the natural relationships of the 

 species. The present plan is to continue to expand research already 

 in progress on the genera and to conduct detailed studies of the 

 species. 



Since the genus Stenoma Zeller was proposed, it has become a 

 "waste basket" for hundreds of species that could not be assigned 

 readily to other genera on wing or palpal characters. Obviously this 

 heterogeneity must be eliminated if the classification is to reflect 

 natural relationships. In order to achieve this end, I find it necessary 

 to regroup the species now assigned to the genus Stenoma according 

 to their natural affinities. 



The new genus described here is composed of ten species formerly 



' Prepared with the aid of a National Science Foundation grant. Previous parts 

 of this same series are: I and II, J. F. Gates Clarke, 1962, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., 

 vol. 113, no. 3457, pp. 373-388; III, Clarke, 1964,ibid., vol. 115, no. 3480, pp. 61-84. 



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