252 



UNITED STATES NATIONAL IkfUSBUM BULLETIN 207 



144. Genus Tucumania Dyar 



Tucumania Dyar, Ins. Insc. Menstr., vol. 13, p. 224, 1925. — 

 Heinrich, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 86, p. 373, 1939. 

 (Type of genus: Tucumania tapiacola Dyar.) 



Tongue rather short, but stout (as in Melitara). 

 Antenna of male shortly serrate and pubescent, of 

 female simple and shortly pubescent. Labial palpus 

 of male upturned, reaching almost to level of top of 

 eye; of female porrect (the second segment oblique, 

 the third slightly downciu-ved) . MaxUlary palpus 

 squamous. Hind wing with veins 7 and 8 anastomos- 

 ing for a short distance beyond cell; 3 and 5 stalked. 

 Eighth abdominal segment of male simple. 



Male genitalia with apical process of gnathos bifid; 

 harpe with apex bluntly pointed or elliptically rounded; 

 vinciilum moderately long (it is somewhat foreshortened 

 in fig. 543), broad; aneUus with base of plate moderately 

 sclerotized, arms rather broad and long, slightly 

 twisted; aedeagus long, slender; penis weakly scobinate 

 toward outer extremity. 



Female genitaha with signum a small ridged or 

 granulate plate; bursa copulatrix with some fine 

 scobinations in the area about signum; ductus seminalis 

 from bursa near junction of bursa and ductus bursaae. 



Larva purplish or wine colored with sclerotized areas 

 about body tubercles dark brown and large; two setae in 

 group VII on abdominal segments 7 and 8. 



The larvae are solitary feeders in the joints of Platy- 

 puntias. 



Eggs laid singly. 



This genus is distinguished from others having serrate 

 and pubescent male antennae and squamous maxillary 

 palpi by its host association, its upturned male palpi, 

 slender aedeagus, female genitalia with signum, and 

 with ductus seminalis from the bursa. It is nearest to 

 Eremberga, but that genus is broad-winged and has a 

 flat, more strongly sclerotized anellus, a scobinate 

 aedeagus, stouter male genitalia, no signum, and the 

 ductus seminalis coming from the ductus bursae. In 

 Tucumania the wings are long and rather narrow. 



The known distribution is Argentina and Uruguay. 



520. Tucumania tapiacola Dyar 

 Figures 65, 543, 1034 



Tucumania tapiacola Dyar, Ins. Insc. Menstr., vol. 13, p. 225, 

 1925.— Heinrich, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 86, p. 374, 

 1939. — Dodd, Biological campaign against prickly-pear, 

 Brisbane, Australia, pp. 39, 69, 83, 1940. 



Palpi, face, head, thorax, and fore wing dark grayish 

 fuscous with a sparse scattering of obscure whitish 

 scales (Dyar states that the coxae and parts of the 

 femora and tibiae of the legs are black, but even on 

 these parts there is some scattered pale scaling and the 

 ground color is fuscous rather than black). Forewing 

 almost uniformly dark, sometimes a very faint luteous 

 tint in the median area and a slight pale suffusion in 

 terminal area; transverse liaes black but not strongly 



contrasted against the dark ground color; antemedia 

 line bidentate, its apex extending almost to center of 

 cell; sub terminal line dentate, sinuate, the dentations 

 short, bordered outwardly by a pale line and beyond 

 this by a rather broad blackish band, from costa well 

 before apex; discal spot at end of cell large; veins beyond 

 cell faintly outlined by dark scaling; a row of black dots 

 along termen at the vein ends. Hind wing whitish, 

 semihyaline, strongly shaded with fuscous at apex and 

 narrowly along margin of termen almost to anal angle, 

 this fuscous shading more extended on the female. Alar 

 expanse, 27-30 nxm. 



Male genitalia with apex of harpe bluntly pointed; 

 aneUus with the apices of the arms appreciably broad- 

 ened. These are presumably specific characters. I 

 have seen no males of any other species of Tucumania. 

 Female genitalia with scobinations of bursa very weak 

 and distinguishable only in area surrounding signxmi; 

 signum somewhat granulate. 



Type localitt: Tapia, Tucumfin, Argentina (type in 

 USNM). 



Food plants: Opuntia (Platypuntia) discolor Britton 

 and Rose, 0. (Platypuntia) aurantiaca Lindley. 



Distribution : Argentina. 



Only three specimens are before me, the male type 

 and a pair (d* and 9) reared in Australia from Argen- 

 tine stock and sent me by Dodd. 



521. Tucumania porrecta Dyar 

 FiGUBE 1035 



Tucumania porrecta Dyar, Ins. Insc. Menstr., vol. 13, p. 225, 

 1925.— Heinrich, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 86, p. 375, 1939. 



Large and paler than tapiacola. Thorax pale fawn 

 color. Forewing pale pm-plish fuscous with black 

 markings diffused; antemedial and sub terminal lines 

 narrow, black, irregularly dentate, distinguishable 

 throughout but somewhat interrupted; discal dots at 

 end of cell rather large but not sharply contrasted 

 against ground color of the wing because of scattered 

 black dusting in the surrounding area; dots along termen 

 distinct; a short black streak from base through middle 

 of cell to apex of angulate antemedial line. Hind wing 

 white, faintly smoke tinted, especially toward apex. 

 Legs pale purplish fuscous; femora and tibiae trans- 

 versely banded with blackish fuscous on outer sides. 

 Alar expanse, 32-35 mm. 



Female genitalia with scobinations of bursa very fine 

 but denser than in tapiacola; a smaU patch of somewhat 

 larger scobinations in neck of bursa; signum larger, with 

 a thin even keel but no granulations. 



Type locality: Paysandii, Uruguay (type in 

 USNM). 



Food plant: Opuntia (Platypuntia) sp. 



Distribution: Uruguay. 



Represented in the National Collection only by the 

 t3T)e and paratype from the tj^pe locaUty (Dodd, Feb. 

 1925), both females. The male is unknown. 



