MICROLEPIDOPTERA OF JUAN FERNANDEZ ISLANDS — CLARKE 7 



genus. If we were to establish the genera on the basis of genitalia, 

 we should have a quite different arrangement of species. It is, there- 

 fore, doubtful that the three so-called genera can be maintained but 

 for convenience in this paper I am retaining them. 



Five species are found on the South American mainland as well as 

 in the islands. These are: Elasmopalpus angusteUus, Nomophila 

 noduella, Oeohia ragonotii, Platyptilia epidelta, and Stenoptilia partiseca. 

 It is not likely that any of these were transported by man. 



The genus Scoparia, with three species, is well represented in the 

 American continental areas although the genus enjoys its greatest 

 development in New Zealand. We can attribute the origin of the 

 Juan Fernandez species to that area. Although I expressed some 

 misgiving in placing the new species tetragramma in the New Zealand 

 genus Mnesictena (Meyiick), there appears to be little doubt that it 

 belongs there or very close to it. It is also apparent that Giorgia, 

 new genus, is derived from a Western ancestral type, and I have 

 indicated that Giorgia appears to be related to Sufetula Walker, from 

 the Indian Region. Two species of American moths have already 

 been placed in Sufetula {diminutalis Walker from the West Indies 

 and philogeolos Dyar from North America) so the relationship between 

 this genus and Giorgia may not be too remote. 



The remaining pyraloid genera, Pionea Guen^e, Pyrausta Shrank, 

 Loxostege Hiibner, and Nomophila Hiibner undoubtedly owe their 

 presence in the islands to the American mainland. 



The Hyponomeutidae, though represented at present by only four 

 species, have an equal number of genera, one more than in the large 

 family Crambidae. This generic differentiation is comparable to 

 that found on the adjacent mainland, where Meyrick recorded nine 

 genera and emphasized the great development of this family in south- 

 ern South America. 



The four species of Tortricidae and the one species of Olethreutidae 

 are endemic, as are the genera to which they belong.* As previously 

 pointed out, the South American fauna is too imperfectly known to 

 permit estabUshing a definite relationship between the island and 

 continental forms, but it appears that the tortricid species, at least, 

 have been derived from the mainland elements. The single ole- 

 threutid, Parasuleima insulana (Aurivillius), is American in origin. 



The Oecophoridae and Gelechiidae are American in character 

 (except the introduced E. sarcitrella (Linnaeus)) and no real problem 

 of origins arises here. The genus Martyrhilda Clarke was described 



* Since this was written, Obraztsov (1964, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 116, 

 no. 3501, pp. 183-195, pis. 1-9) has recorded nine species from Central Chiile 

 belonging to the tortricid genus Proeviia Clarke. 



