AMERICAN MOTHS OF THE SUBFAMILY PHTCITINAE 



Ragonot (Monograph, pt. 1, p. 160) makes this a 

 synonym of rubicundella, considering it merely the fe- 

 male of the latter. This is a very dubious placement. 

 The Zeller type material in the British Museimi con- 

 sists of two female cotypes (photographs of which are 

 before me) alike in all details and similar to rubicundella 

 except that the antemedial line is indicated by broken 

 remnants of its outer border, a dark dash from costa, 

 and a more or less diffused dark spot on lower margin of 

 cell. The lower half of wing is somewhat suffused into 

 dark shading and contrasted against the whitish mid- 

 costal area, as in rubicundella. Zeller's figure is mis- 

 leading in that it shows much of the wing bright yellow, 

 as mfloricans. Alar expanse, 13 mm. 



The genitaha of the female cotype here figured, ac- 

 cording to Tams and Clarke, agree in all details with 

 those of the other cotype. The latter should be con- 

 sidered the holotype, as it is the better preserved speci- 

 men. Bm-sa with signum. Genital opening simple. 

 The narrow eighth-segment collar easily identifies the 

 species. It is imlike any other in the genus that I have 

 seen. 



Type locality: Honda, Colombia (type in BM). 



Food plant: Unknown. 



Known only from the type specimens. 



163. Piesmopoda flavicans (Zeller) 

 Figures 262, 746 



Myelois flavicans Zeller, Horae Soc. Ent. Rossicae, vol. 16, p. 193, 



1881. 

 Discopalpia flavicans (Zeller) Ragonot, Monograph, pt. 1, p. 167, 



1893 (in part, ?). 

 Piesmopoda flavicans (Zeller) Dyar, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 



47, p. 333, 1914. 

 Piesmopoda fratella Dyar, Ins. Insc. Menstr., vol. 7, p. 45, 1919 



(new synonymy). 



Antenna of male simple. Labial palpus slender; on 

 male not reaching vertex; on female extending sUghtly 

 above vertex (as in Isabella). 



Forewing bright yellow; outer third purple dusted 

 with blackish towards apex; the yellow ground color ex- 

 tended further outward on costa and inner margin than 

 at middle; antemedial line obsolete; subterminal hne 

 faint, narrow, whitish, straight, oblique and close to 

 outer margin. Hind wing whitish, stained with smoky 

 fuscous towards apex and on the outer parts of the veins. 

 Alar expanse, 14-15 mm. 



Male genitalia like those of xanthopolys except that 

 elements of transtUla are stouter, lateral arms of anellus 

 are bent sharply away from each other, and terminal 

 margin of vinculum is acutely rounded (rather than 

 straight). Female genitalia similar to those of xantho- 

 polys except for slight differences in the structure of 

 eighth-segment collar. 



Type localities: Honda, Colombia (flamcans, in 

 BM); St. Jean Maroni, French Guiana (fratella, in 

 USNM). 



Food plant: Unknown. 



Distribution: French Guiana: Cayenne, St. Jean 

 Maroni (Mar.). Colombia: Honda, 



Specimens of five different species in the U. S. Na- 

 tional Collection had been identified by Hampson, 

 Dyar, and Schaus as flavicans. Among them was one 

 female from French Guiana which Hampson identified 

 (correctly) as flavicans and which Dyar later included in 

 his series oi fratella. Clarke and Tams have checked 

 our genitalic figures of the several Piesmopoda species 

 with the female type of flavicans in the British Museum 

 and inform me that the genitalia oi fratella agree in all 

 details with those oi flavicans. Ragonot also misidenti- 

 fied Zeller's species (at least as far as males are con- 

 cerned) and on the strength of their pecuUar male palpi 

 erected the genus Discopalpia, with flavicans as type. 

 Dyar (1914) noted the misidentification and renamed 

 the males of flavicans Ragonot (not Zeller) as Discopal- 

 pia ragonoti. Later evidence from genitalia justifies 

 the new specific name; but nomenclatorily the type of 

 Discopalpia must remain flavicans Zeller, and Dyar's 

 citation of a new type {flavicans ^&gonot= ragonoti 

 Dyar) is not justified, despite Ragonot's misidentifica- 

 tion and the characters derived therefrom for his genus. 

 Fortimately these characters (as far as Piesmopoda are 

 concerned) are of specific significance only, so Disco- 

 palpia would fall, however we interpreted its type; 

 but I for one hold that when a specific name is cited as 

 type of a new genus, that species remains the type of 

 the genus regardless of what specimens were before the 

 author of the genus or how he described his generic 

 concept. The decision is one of nomenclature and 

 not of zoology. 



164. Piesmopoda ragonoti (Dyar), new combination 

 Figures 265, 747 



Discopalpia ragonoti Dyar, Ins. Insc. Menstr., vol. 7, p. 44, 1919. 

 Discopalpia flamcans Ragonot (in part, cf; not Zeller), Mono- 

 graph, pt. 1, p. 167, 1893. 



Antenna of male simple; basal segment cylindrical; 

 shaft without notch or other modification. Labial 

 palpus very long, the second segment reaching well 

 above vertex in both sexes; on male the third segment 

 broadly expanded with long scales, fan shaped ; a strong 

 admixture of black scaling on outer sides of the palpi of 

 both sexes. 



Forewing as in flavicans. Alar expanse, 14-16 mm. 



Male genitalia distinguished chiefly by the very 

 heavy, black, broad-haired tuft from base of sacculus of 

 harpe. Female genitalia with signimi; genital opening 

 simple; distinguished from those of other yellow-winged 

 species by minor differences in the configuration of the 

 eighth-segment collar; closest to those of xanthopolis 

 Dyar. 



Type locality: Cayuga, Guatemala (type in 

 USNM). 



Food plant: Unknown. 



Distribution: Mexico: Distrito Federal. Guate- 

 mala: Cayuga (Feb., Apr., May). Costa Rica: Juan 

 Vinas (Jan.). 



