78 



XnsriTED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 207 



Discopalpia Ragonot, Monograph, pt. 1, p. 167, 1893. (Tjrpe of 

 genus: My elois flavicans Zeller. New synonymy.) 



Amphycitopsis Dyar, Ins. Insc. Menstr., vol. 7, p. 45, 1919. 

 (Type of genus: Amphycitopsis Isabella Dyar. New syn- 

 onymy.) 



Tongue well developed. Antenna pubescent or 

 shortly ciliate (the cilia no longer than width of shaft) ; 

 on male, shaft simple, notched at base or with curved 

 excavation (a long sinus) towards base; basal segment 

 of male sometimes swollen but not notched or otherwise 

 modified. Labial palpus upturned, of varying length, 

 not reaching vertex (isabella, fratella) or extending to or 

 above vertex; third segment acuminate or {ragonoti) 

 broadly dilated with scales. MaxiUary palpus minute 

 (folded over tongue), filiform or subsquamous (third 

 segment sUghtly dilated with scales) . Forewing smooth ; 

 venation as in Sarasota except vein 3 normally consider- 

 ably closer to 4 at base than to 2 ; male without costal 

 fold. Hind wing as in Sarasota. Eighth abdominal 

 segment with stemite developed as a narrow, sclero- 

 tized pocket. 



Male genitalia with uncus bifid. Gnathos incom- 

 plete, represented by its broad lateral arms, separated 

 at their apices, between which lies a rather well sclero- 

 tized subanal plate. Transtilla well developed but 

 incomplete, consisting of a pair of long, very slender, 

 curved arms whose sharply pointed apices are directed 

 away from each other. Harpe with a strong, hooked 

 clasper from near apex of sacculus; a strong hair tuft 

 from lobe near base of sacculus. AneUus a curved plate 

 (U- or V-shaped) with long, slender, haired and bluntly 

 pointed lateral arms. Penis armed with a narrow, 

 flattened and more or less curved, bladelike cornutus; 

 sometimes with two such comuti. 



Female genitalia with single signum or none, signum 

 when present developed as a small granulate depres- 

 sion; ductus bursae with genital opening simple or more 

 or less sclerotized, but without the paired cupHke plates 

 found in Davara; ductus seminalis from bursa near its 

 junction with ductus bursae. Eighth-segment collar 

 more or less invaginate (except in apocerastes and 

 montella) . 



A distinct genus defined and easUy recognized by its 

 male and female genitaUa. As used by Ragonot and 

 subsequent authors the name covered a composite of 

 disparate elements. The antennal and palpal char- 

 acters upon which Piesmopoda, Discopalpia, and Am- 

 phycitopsis were distinguished are in this instance of no 

 more than specific significance. They are discussed 

 more fully under their type species. 



The genus is apparently limited to tropical America. 

 Nothing is known of the life history or host association 

 of any of the species. 



160. Piesmopoda rubicundella Zeller 

 FiGUBE 260 



Piesmopoda rubicundella Zeller, Isis von Oken, 1848, p. 864. — 

 Ragonot, Monograph, pt. 1, p. 160, 1893. 



Antenna of male with basal segment swollen, triangu- 

 late; shaft notched at base. Labial palpus slender, 



third segment acuminate, reaching well above vertex. 



Forewing pale (olivaceous ocherous) at base and for 

 some distance along inner margin; the median costal 

 area broadly white, heavily dusted with red scaling; 

 more or less of this red dusting also on costal half at 

 base; antemedial line not distinguishable; sub terminal 

 Une distinct, straight, oblique, pale reddish or ocherous 

 gray bordered by dark purplish fuscous lines; the entire 

 outer fourth of wing more or less suffused with purplish 

 fuscous; discai dots more or less distinct, separated, red 

 or reddish fuscous. Hind wing pale smoky fuscous, 

 lighter towards base and semitransparent; veins dis- 

 tinctly darkened. Alar expanse, 13 mm. 



Male genitaUa having harpe with cucuUus narrowly 

 elongate, evenly tapering. Anellus a broadly sclero- 

 tized, V-shaped band. 



Type locality: BrazU (type in Mus. Univ. BerUn) . 



Food plant: Unknown. 



I have examined the male type but have seen no 

 other examples from Brazil. The type is not distin- 

 guishable from males of the following species (xanthom- 

 era) except for minor differences in male genitalia, 

 which may or may not be significant. 



161. Piesmopoda xanthomera Dyar 



Figures 266, 745 



Piesmopoda xanthomera Dyar, Proe. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 47, 



p. 332, 1914. 

 Piesmopoda xanthozona Dyar, Ins. Insc. Menstr., vol. 7, p. 45, 



1919 (new synonymy). 



With the same male characters as rubicundella and 

 superficially not distinguishable from it. I suspect that 

 xanthomera is nothing more than a synonym or variety 

 of rubicundella, but this cannot be proven imtil females 

 of the latter from Brazil are available. Dyar's two 

 names apply only to the sexes {xanthomera to the females 

 and xanthozona to the males). Alar expanse, 13-17 mm. 



Male genitalia, figured from type of xanthozona, differ 

 from those of rubicundella chiefly ia the stronger tuf tiug 

 from the base of the harpe, a character of very doubtful 

 specific value. Female genitalia, figured from type of 

 xanthomera and checked with those of females from all 

 localities here cited, distinguished chiefly by the shape 

 of the eighth-segment coUar and its sclerotized invagi- 

 nate portion and the pair of corrugate patches on the 

 ventral siu-face of the latter. Bursa with signum. 

 Genital opening simple. 



Type localities: La Chorrera, Panamd {xanthomera, 

 in USNM); St. Jean Maroni, French Guiana {xantho- 

 zona, in USNM). 



Food plant: Unknown. 



Distribution: Guatemala: Cayuga (Apr., May). 

 Costa Rica: San Jos^ (July). PanamI: La Chorrera 

 (May), Porto Bello (Oct.). French Guiana: Cayenne, 

 St. Jean Maroni. 



162. PieBmopoda trichomata (Zeller) 



Figure 744 



Myelois trichomata Zeller, Horae Soo. Ent. Rossicae, vol. 16, p. 

 194, 1881. 



