CLEAR-WING MOTHS OF FAMILY AEGERIIDAE 21 



PENSTEMONIA BREVIFOLIA, new species 



Plate 18, Figures 97, 98 



Sexes similar. 



Male. — Antennae black. Labial palpi dull yellow. Head above deep 

 black, face lustrous brownish black. Collar dull yellow. Thorax black. 

 Patagia striped dull yellow ; a patch of the same color before the wing base 

 at the side and another near the wing base beneath. Abdomen metallic 

 brown-black, segment 1 narrowly edged and segments 2 and 4 broadly 

 banded with dull yellow ; underside of all segments brown, narrowly edged 

 with dull yellow, except segment 3, Which is wholly brown ; anal tuft short, 

 yellow and brown, with two black hair pencils, one on each side, edged 

 laterally with yellow and extending slightly beyond the abdominal tip. 

 Legs dull yellow shaded with brown ; posterior tibiae banded with brown 

 before the second spurs ; tarsi metallic dark brown. Forewing nearly 

 opaque, lustrous light brown ; a small, roundish, nearly suffused clear area 

 before and a short, narrow nearly clear area behind the discal mark. Hind- 

 wing transparent, narrowly margined and fringed with dark brown. Be- 

 neath the wings are shaded slightly lighter than above. 



Female. — Similar to the male. Forewing quite opaque, paler brown 

 than in the male and with a small dull-yellow spot before the discal mark. 

 Abdomen mostly dull yellow, only segments 1 and 3 metallic black above 

 and at the sides ; the other segments divided by thin black edges ; beneath 

 all segments dull yellow ; anal tuft very short, yellow and with two short, 

 blackish hair pencils, one on each side, not extending as far as the ab- 

 dominal tip. 



Expanse: Male 20 to 22 mm., female 21 to 24 mm. 



Distribution. — Mountains of central and northern California, 2,000 to 

 5,000 feet. 



Type. — U.S.N.M. No. 56825. Holotype male and allotype female ; one 

 male and one female paratypes. Collected in the Green Horn Mountains, 

 Calif. 



Remarks. — While closely related to P. dafnmersi, this species is easily 

 recognized by the nearly opaque, brownish forewings of the male and the 

 wholly opaque forewings of the female. Penstemon hrevijlorus and its 

 near relatives, all hardy woody shrubs, have been known for some years as 

 the food plants of this species, but rearing attempts were unsuccessful be- 

 cause root cuttings were collected too early in the season (Placerville, El- 

 dorado County, 3,000 feet, May 1936, Keifer and Engelhardt). C. Henne 

 had better results. He obtained his cuttings in midsummer in the Green 

 Horn Mountains, Kern County, Calif., and the moths emerged August 12 

 to Septen;ber 9, 1939. As far as known, no imagoes have ever been cap- 

 tured at large. It is a hazardous and strenuous job to cut out the tough, 

 woody roots without injury to the borers. 



