74 



UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 207 



from bursa near its junction with ductus bursae. Collar 

 of eighth segment complete. 



Davara and the two following genera (Sarasota and 

 Piesmopoda) form a compact group distinguished from 

 all other American phycitid genera by the peculiar bifid 

 development of their unci. Davara was described by 

 Walker on the basis of a single female which he mistook 

 for a male; it was referred as a synonym of the Old 

 World Phydta by Hampson (1903). Dyar did not 

 recognize it. His Homalopalpia was erected on male 

 antennal and palpal structures which normally should 

 be of generic value, but ia this particidar instance do 

 not seem to hold as separating Davara from Piesmopoda. 

 They fall down in the case of rwfulella, which on genitalic 

 characters of both male and female must be referred to 

 Davara. In my opinion Davara and Piesmopoda should 

 be retained as separate genera. Their species differ in 

 habitus as well as in genitalic structure. In Davara the 

 male transtiUa is absent and the female bursa always 

 has two signa. In Piesmopoda the transtiUa is present 

 and developed as two long, slender, curved free arms 

 and the female bursa has a single signum or none. 

 Unfortunately an anomalous species {interjecta) seems 

 to upset the division. It has the female and all the 

 secondary male characters of typical Davara but male 

 genitalia of the Piesmopoda type. However, there are 

 some minor differences in its male and female genitalia 

 which may eventually allow its separation from both 

 Davara and Piesmopoda imder a separate generic desig- 

 nation. For the present I am referring it tentatively to 

 Davara. Its distinctive characters are discussed more 

 fuUy imder the specific description. 



150. Davara caricae (Dyar), new combination 



PiGTJHBs 46, 254, 735 



Ulophora caricae Dyar, Proc. Ent. See. Washington, vol. 14, p. 



218, 1913. 

 Homalopalpia dalera Dyar, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 47, p. 332, 



1914. (New synonymy.) 

 Eucardinia caricae (Dyar) Dyar, Ins. Insc. Menstr., vol. 6, p. 



139, 1918; Ins. Insc. Menstr., vol. 7, p. 50, 1919.— McDun- 



nough. Check list. No. 6119, 1939. 



Antenna of male with the brush in notch of basal 

 segment black; the basal segment itself a very pale buff; 

 basal segments of shaft decidedly flattened and broad- 

 ened and with black serrations on upper edge. Labial 

 palpus of male very broadly scaled, the second segment 

 reaching well above vertex; less broadly scaled and 

 somewhat shorter on female; reddish brown with a 

 peppering of pale buff scaUng on outer side and on male 

 more or less shaded with blackish brown on inner side. 

 Forewing tan-gray shaded with reddish brown; basal 

 area (on male) blacldsh brown and rough scaled; a 

 whitish or pale buff shade precedes the antemedial line 

 and a similar transverse shade crosses the disk and 

 includes the discocellular mark; the space between this 

 transverse pale shade and antemedial Une suffused with 

 reddish brown (on some female examples almost purplish 

 fuscous) ; a similar reddish brown suffusion over outer 

 area; antemedial hne obUque, sUghtly angled between 



cell and inner margin, faint, ocherous, bordered in- 

 wardly and outwardly by narrow dark lines; sub terminal 

 Une indistinct except for its brown umer and outer 

 borders, sinuate; discal spots fused into a narrow lunu- 

 late line on the discocellular vein. Hind wing soiled 

 white, with a narrow fuscous shade along termen. Alar 

 expanse, 14-18 mm. 



Male genitaha with a cluster of fine, long, hairlike 

 spines surrounding the strong, free, forked spine asso- 

 ciated with anellus; lateral arms of anellus considerably 

 shorter than in other species of the genus. Female 

 genitalia with a pair of strong ventrolateral ridges on the 

 invaginated portion of the eighth-segment collar. 



Type localities: Miami, Fla. {caricae, in USNM); 

 LaChorrera, Panamd {dalera, in USNM). 



Food plant: Carica papayae (larvae in the fruit). 



Distribution: United States: Florida, Florida City 

 (Apr., May), Fort Pierce (May), Miami (Apr., Dec), 

 Royal Palm State Park. Puerto Rico: Bayam6n 

 (June, Dec), El Yunque (Apr.), Jajoma Alta (June), 

 Lares (June, Sept., Nov.). Cuba: Baracoa (July, Aug.) 

 Santiago de las Vegas (Feb., Mdr.), Santiago Province 

 (Jan., June, Oct.). Haiti: Damien (Aug.). Domini- 

 can Republic: San Francisco Mts. (Aug., Sept.). 

 Trinidad: Mt. Harris. Guatemala: Cayuga (Apr., 

 May), Chejel (June, Aug.), Purulhd (June, July). 

 CosTA Rica: Guapiles (May), Juan Vinas (Feb., May, 

 June), SUio (May). Ecuador: Quevedo ("Nov.- 

 Dec"). 



The types of both caricae and dalera are males, Dyar 

 (1919) recognized the generic synonymy of Eucardinia 

 and Homalopalpia but never admitted the specific 

 identity of their types, although he had every reason 

 to suspect it. His designation of new Cuban types for 

 caricae in 1918 is obviously invalid, for he had previ- 

 ously (1913) designated Florida types for what he ad- 

 mitted was the same species under the same name. I 

 believe he was correct in his surmise that caricae is the 

 same as columnella Zeller, but as I have never examined 

 any Colombian examples of any Davara species I 

 hesitate to propose the synonymy. 



151. Davara columnella (Zeller), new combination 

 Figure 736 



Myelois columnella Zeller, Horae Soc. Ent. Eossicae, vol. 16, 



pp. 209, 210, 1881. 

 Piesmopoda columnella (Zeller) Ragonot, Monograph, pt. 1, p. 



161, 1893. 

 Homalopalpia columnella (Zeller) Dyar, Ins. Insc. Menstr., vol. 



7, p. 49, 1919. 



I have seen no specimens from the type locality but 

 have before me a photograph of the female type which 

 agrees with the females of a series from Costa Rica 

 identified by Schaus as columnella and coixectly referred 

 by Dyar to his dalera, and I have little doubt that the 

 names columnella and caricae {= dalera) stand for the 

 same species. The female genitalia of Zeller's type 

 (here figured) show some trifling differences in the size 

 of the plates behind genital opening and in the eighth- 

 segment coUar from those of typical caricae; but these 



