AMERICAN MOTHS OF THE SUBFAMILY PHTCITINAE 



17 



The Pennsylvania specimen was in the Barnes 

 Collection as cirrojerella Hulst. This is incorrect, 

 however, as the male type of cirrofcrella is without 

 sex-sc£,ling. The Canadian specimens (one male and 

 one female) were reared from Ostrya and are responsible 

 for the food plant record. They were tentatively 

 identified by McDunnough as sylviella and I think 

 correctly. They are considerably darker than the type 

 series of the Pennsylvania specimen; but the fact that 

 they were reared, and probably under excess moisture, 

 would easily account for the difference. 



The black sex-scaling of syltriella is similar to that of 

 feltella but slightly more extended, reaching slightly 

 beyond basal foiu-th of costa on the underside of fore- 

 wing. 



14. Acrobasis kearfottella Dyar 

 FlGUBE 145 



Acrohasis kearfottella Dyar, Proc. Ent. Soe. Washington, vol. 7, 

 p. 34, 1905.— Ely, Ins. Insc. Menstr., vol. 1, p. 53, 1913.— 

 McDunnough, Check list, No. 6079, 1939. 



[•'■ The most distinct and strikingly marked of the Ameri- 

 can Acrobasis species ; costal half or third of basal area 

 of forewing snow white, this white area extending out 

 along costa to subterminal line and broadening to in- 

 clude the blackish discal spots; midcostal margin nar- 

 rowly black-edged; white area uncrossed at any place 

 by dark lines; subterminal line faint, but distinct, duU 

 white; remainder of forewing dark gray-brown. Hind 

 wing of male white shading to fuscous at apex and 

 terminal margin ; hind wing of female pale glossy brown 

 throughout. Thorax and head of male show white; of 

 female concolorous with dark area of forewing. Alar 

 expanse, 18-21 mm. 



Type locality: Cleveland, Ohio (type in USNM). 



Food plant: Hickory (larvae feeding on the leaves). 



Distribution: Ohio, Cleveland (June); New York, 

 Ilion (July); Connecticut, East River (July); Pennsyl- 

 vania, New Brighton (July); North Carolina, Black 

 Mountain; Illinois, Oconee (Aug.). 



Very little is known of the life history. Ely's paper 

 describes the cocoon. The black sex-scaling on the 

 male is similar to that of juglandis and the preceding 

 hickory-feeding species. 



15. Acrobasis caryae Grote 

 Figures 137, 146 



Acrobasis caryae Grote, Papilio, vol. 1, p. 13, 1881; Bull. U. S. 

 Geol. Geog. Surv. Terr., vol. 6, p. 591, 1882.— Hulst, 

 Phycitidae of N. Amer., p. 122, 1890.— Ragonot, Mono- 

 graph, pt. 1, p. 105, 1893. — Barnes and McDunnough, 

 Contributions, vol. 2, p. 222. 1914.— Forbes, Cornell Mem. 

 68, p. 617, 1923.— McDunnough, Check list. No. 6100, 

 1939. — Moznette and others, U. S. Dep. Agr. Farmers' 

 Bull. 1829, p. 2, 1940.— Craighead, U. S. Dep. Agr. Misc. 

 Publ. 657, p. 449, 1950. 



Acrobasis caryaevorella Dyar (not Ragonot), Proc. Ent. Soc. 

 Washington, vol. 10, p. 44, 1908. 



Acrobasis hebescella Dyar (not Hulst), Proc. Ent. Soc. Washing- 

 ton, vol. 10, p. 44, 1908. 



Forewing glossy gray (in southern specimens from 

 pecans pale and with little darker shading except 



nanowly along antemedial line) ; basal area concolorous 

 with median area except in some of the darker speci- 

 mens; northern specimens from hickory normally dark 

 grayish fuscous; antemedial line whitish towards inner 

 margin ; raised-scale ridge black, preceded by some white 

 scaling and followed by a narrow, more or less obscured, 

 flesh-colored patch; subterminal line pale gray, obscure; 

 discal dots distinct and separate but not strongly 

 contrasted against ground color. Hind wings smoky 

 fuscous. Alar expanse, 18-20 mm. 



GenitaHa exhibiting no distinguishing specific char- 

 acters; figured from southern male reared from pecan 

 nut. The scale tufting on the eighth abdominal 

 segment of the male consists of a single, rather long, 

 central ventral tuft like that shown in figure 137 and 

 similar to that of the European tji^e of the genus 

 (tumidella). 



Type locality: Illinois (type in BM). 



Food plants: Hickory, pecan (overwintering larvae 

 feeding in early spring upon opening leaves and in the 

 stems of new growth; later generations in the nuts. 

 Larva does not make a case during feeding period). 



Distribution: United States: Florida, Monticello 

 (June, July, Aug.), Tallahassee (May) ; Georgia, Albany 

 (July) ; Mississippi, Goodman (July) , Ocean Springs 

 (May, Sept.), Pascagoula (June), Wiggins (June, July); 

 Texas, Boerne (June), Bosque (May), Brownwood 

 (Apr., May, June, July, Aug., Sept.), Colorado River 

 (Apr., May), Cuero (Aug., Sept.), Dallas (May), Fort 

 McKevett (June), Pecan Bayou (July), Pioneer (Aug.), 

 San Saba (May), Texas A. and M. College Station 

 (Jime, July), Victoria (June, July, Sept.); Illinois, 

 Chicago, (July), Decatur (June); Pennsylvania, New 

 Brighton (July, Aug., Sept.) ; North Carolina, Mill 

 Brook; District of Columbia, Washington (May, June); 

 Connecticut, East River (July, Aug.). Canada: On- 

 tario, Merivale (June). 



This is the "pecan nut casebearer" of economic 

 literature. It has a rather extended literature but is 

 of importance only as a pecan pest in the Gulf States. 

 Most of the economic references before 1929 are to 

 hebescella and caryaevorella as a result of Dyar's mis- 

 identification of those species. I cite only one economic 

 reference here, as the Moznette (1940) paper gives all 

 the biological information available on the species as 

 a pecan insect. Its biology as a hickory insect in the 

 north is imperfectly known. 



The sex-scaling of the male is characteristic, consist- 

 ing of a short black patch on base of costa of forewing 

 (as in feltella) and a long black streak along the top of 

 cell on the underside of forewing. This combination 

 is peculiar to caryae and evanescentella. 



16. Acrobasis evanescentella Dyar 



Figure 147 



Acrobasis evanescentella Dvar, Proc. Ent. Soc. Washington, vol. 

 10, p. 44, 1908.— McDunnough, Check list, No. 6086, 1939. 



Doubtfully distinct from caryae. The dark areas of 

 forewing beyond base have a purplish luster, and the 

 pale (whitish dusting) is more distinct, forming a pale 



