226 



TUSTITED states national museum BULLETESr 207 



two large signa composed of opposed, cup-shaped, 

 strongly spined concave plates; ductus seminalis from 

 ductus bursae. 



In addition to mucidella and its American allies the 

 European Homoeosoma nimbella Zeller should be re- 

 ferred here (fig. 496). 



464. Rotruda mucidella mucidella (Ragonot), new combination 

 FiGtJEES 495, 994 



Homoeosoma mucidella Ragonot, N. Amer. Phycitidae, p. 15, 

 1887; Monograph, pt. 2, p. 258, 1901. — Hulst, Phycitidae 

 of N. Amer., p. 193, 1890. 



Homoeosoma mucidellum Ragonot, Hulst, U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 

 62, p. 434, 1903.— Dyar, Pomona CoUege Journ. Ent., vol. 2, 

 p. 378, 1910. — Barnes and McDunnough, Contributions, 

 vol. 2, p. 223, 1914.— McDunnough, Check list. No. 6370, 

 1939. 



There is nothing except color differences to separate 

 typical mucidella from the following supposed species 

 which I am treating as races or synonyms, and these 

 differences are not clear-cut between tropical examples 

 and dark specimens from eastern United States. What 

 color differences there are depend upon the amount of 

 white dusting and the intensity of the dark markings. 

 Typical mucidellum is the most heavily dusted with 

 white and has the dark markings of forewing most 

 sharply contrasted (frequently blackish), and to the 

 naked eye seems a paler form than any of the others, 

 although there are intergrading examples between it 

 and religuella. Alar expanse, 15-22 mm. 



There is considerable variation in the number of 

 spines in the comb along the side of aedeagus (10 to 15), 

 but this variation is as great between examples of 

 typical mucidella as it is between it and any of its races. 



Type locality: California (type in Paris Mus.). 



Food plants: Aster (and presumably other com- 



DiSTEiBUTiON : United States: California, Clare- 

 mont, Colfax (July), Deer Park Springs (Lake Tahoe), 

 La Puerta Valley (July), Loma Linda (July), Los 

 Angeles Coimty (Aug.), Polente (Sept.), Riverside 

 (Nov.), Sacramento (Sept.), San Bernardino Mts. 

 (July), San Diego (July), Shasta Retreat (Siskiyou 

 Coimty, July, Aug., Sept.), Warner Mts. (Modoc 

 Coxmty, July) ; New Mexico, Jemez Springs, Las Vegas, 

 Hot Springs (June, Sept.) ; Arizona, Palmerlee, Tempe 

 (June); Colorado, Denver (July), Glenwood Springs 

 (Aug., Oct.); Utah, Provo (July), Salt Lake, Stockton 

 (June, Aug.); Wyoming, Jackson Hole (July); Oregon, 

 Crater Lake (July); Washington, Bellingham (June), 

 Pullman (May, July, Aug., Oct.), Snake River (July), 

 WaUa Walla (June, July), Wenatchee (Aug.). Can- 

 ada: British Columbia, Kaslo (June). 



The range of distribution is probably the entire 

 United States, southern Canada, and northern M6xico 

 from the Rocky Moimtains westward to the Pacific 

 Ocean. 



The European nimbella (fig. 496) is very close to 

 mucidella, differing only in the greater number of spines 

 on aedeagus (19 to 23) . Were it not for this apparently 



consistent difference I should be inclined to treat 

 mucidella as an American race of the Old World species. 



465. Rotruda mucidella reliquella (Dyar), new combination 



Homoeosoma reliquellum Dyar, Proc. Ent. Soc. Washington, vol. 6, 

 p. 112, 1904.— Forbes, Cornell Mem. 68, p. 634, 1920.— 

 McDunnough, Check list, No. 6372, 1939. 



Darker than typical mucidella with forewing some- 

 what suffused, the dark markings less sharply con- 

 trasted and the whitish dusting confined mostly to the 

 costal half of the wing. Apparently confined to the 

 areas of Canada and the United States east of the 

 Rocky Mountains. 



Alar expanse, 14-19 mm. 



Type locality: Center Harbor, N. H. (type in 

 USNM). 



Food plants: Aster, Cirsium spinosisimum, SitUias 

 carolinixma, Sonchus asper, lettuce. 



Distribution: United States: New Hampshire, 

 Center Harbor (July), Hampton (June, July); Massa- 

 chusetts, Amherst (June), Cohasset, Framingham (May), 

 Winchendon (June); Connecticut, East River (July, 

 Aug.); New Jersey, Montclair (Aug.), Newark (Aug.); 

 Pennsylvania, New Brighton (May, June, July), Oak 

 Station (June), Pittsburgh (May, June, Aug.); Illinois, 

 Edgebrook (Oct.), Chicago (July) ; District of Columbia, 

 Washington (May) ; Maryland, Plummer's Isl. (May) ; 

 Virginia, Great Falls (July); North Carolina, Tryon 

 (May); Georgia, Savannah (May); Florida, Big Pine 

 Key (Apr.), Chokoloskee, Everglades (Apr.), Ft. 

 Myers (Apr.), Lake Alfred (July), Miami (Apr.), Pom- 

 pano (Mar.). Canada: Ontario, Trenton (May, June, 

 July, Aug.). 



466. Rotruda mucidella oIiTaceella (Ragonot), new combination 



Homoeosoma olivaceella Ragonot, Nouv. Gen., p. 33, 1888; Mono- 

 graph, pt. 2, p. 244, 1901. 



Homoeosoma musiosum Dyar, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 47, 

 p. 342, 1915 (new synonymy). 



Homoeosoma mucidella Dyar, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 47, 

 p. 342, 1915. 



Homoeosoma cubella Dyar, Ins. Insc. Menstr., vol. 7, p. 62, 1919 

 (new synonymy). 



There is nothing, structural or otherwise, to separate 

 the female types of musiosum and cubella from each 

 other or from what Dyar correctly identified as muci- 

 della from Central America. I have examined the type 

 of olivaceella (cf, in Mus. Univ. Berlin) as well as its 

 genitaHa. It is merely a smaU (13 mm.), somewhat 

 rubbed and faded specimen. I am holding olivaceella 

 as a tropical American race of mucidella more on geo- 

 graphical distribution than anything else. It shows, in 

 contrast to typical mucidella, the same color variations 

 and obscurity of pattern markings as the eastern United 

 States race religuella. When examples are recovered 1 

 from the intermediate areas of northeastern Mexico it Y 

 will probably be necessary to sink religuella into the 

 synonymy of olivaceella. The races at best are dubious 

 entities, and I doubt that even the distinctness of 

 mucidella mucidella will survive extensive collection in 

 the central areas of United States. 



