AilERICAN MOTHS OF THE SUBFAMILY PHYCITINAE 



253 



145. Genus Eremberga Heinrich 



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

 (Type of genus: Cactobrosis leuconips Dyar.) 



Tongue reduced (small and weak). Antenna of male 

 serrate and pubescent, of female simple and shortly 

 pubescent. Labial palpus of male uptiu-ned, of female 

 obliquely porrect. MaxUlary palpus squamous. Hind 

 wing with veins 7 and 8 very shortly anastomosed be- 

 yond cell: 3 and 5 stalked. Eighth abdominal segment 

 of male simple. 



Male genitalia with apical process of gnathos bifid; 

 harpe with apex evenly rounded; vinculum broad and 

 short; anellus with base of plate broadly and strongly 

 sclerotized, arms short, broad, not twisted or bent and 

 with apices pointed; aedeagus moderately long, rather 

 slender, sclerotized throughout and with a minutely 

 scobinate flange at apex. 



Female genitalia without signum; bursa copulatrix 

 smooth or with a few scattered microscopic scobina- 

 tions; ductus bursae short, scobinate at genital open- 

 ing; ductus seminalis from ductus bursae. 



Larva white with dark spots forming incomplete 

 crossbands; two setae in group VII on abdominal seg- 

 ments 7 and 8. 



The larvae are solitary or semigregarious feeders in 

 Echinocereus. The larva of only one species (leuconips) 

 is known but the characters here given presumably 

 apply to the genus. 



Eggs laid singly. 



This genus is close to Tucumania, and has many 

 characters in common with Olyca. The latter, however, 

 has veins 3 and 5 of the hind wing connate, the ductus 

 seminaUs from the bursa rather than from the ductus 

 bursae, the male labial palpus oblique, the aedeagus 

 stout, and the basal plate of the aneUus narrowly 

 sclerotized. The characters separating Eremberga fi'om 

 Tucumania have been discussed in connection with the 

 latter genus. 



Three species are here recognized as belonging to 

 Eremberga. Its distribution is the southwestern part 

 of the United States and Mexico. 



522. Eremberga leuconips (Dyar) 

 Figures 648, 1031 



Cactobrosis leuconips Dyar, Ins. Insc. Menstr., vol. 13, p. 224, 

 1&25; Proc. Ent. Soc. Washington, vol. 30, p. 136, 1928.— 

 McDunnough, Check list. No. 6288, 1939. 



Eremberga leuconips (Dyar) Heinrich, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 

 vol. 86, p. 376, 1939. 



Palpi, head, thorax, and forewing grayish fuscous 

 densely sprinkled with white, giving the insect a pale 

 slate color. Labial palpus banded with blackish fuscous 

 toward the ends of the segments. Forewing with vein 

 3 to 10 outlined in black, the black scahng especially 

 strong on lower vein of cell ; antemcdial and subterminal 

 lines very fine and faint but usually discernible, black; 

 antemedial line acutely angulate and irregularly sinuate 

 and dentate, more or less broken and normally obUter- 

 ated at costa; subterminal line also irregularly sinuate 



and dentate, decidedly slanting, obscured toward costa; 

 no distinct discal marks at end of cell and no dots along 

 termen. Hind wing of male glistening white, semi- 

 hyaline with a band of fuscous shading along costa and 

 a fine, pale fuscous line along termen for a short distance 

 from apex; of female, dark smoky fuscous, the fuscous 

 shading extending into the cilia and strongly outlining 

 most of the veins, and the wing paler towards base. 

 Alar expanse, 26-27 mm. 



Male genitalia with lateral edges of anellus finely and 

 irregularly serrate; vinculum with terminal margin 

 evenly rounded, lateral margins not concave or exca- 

 vate. Female genitalia without any trace of signum; 

 bursa nearly smooth; ductus seminalis from ductus 

 bursae a short distance from genital opening. 



Type locality: Baboquivari Mts., Ariz, (type in 

 USNM). 



Food plant: Echinocereus polyacanthus Engelmann. 



Distribution: Arizona, Baboquivari Mts. (July, 

 Sept.), Roosevelt (July), Oracle (July), Huachuca Mts. 

 (Aug.), Chiricahua Mts., Mohave County (Sept.). 



This species bears a strong resemblance to Cactobrosis 

 strigalis (Barnes and McDunnough) and might easily 

 be confused with it. The latter, however, has filiform 

 maxillary palpi while those of leuconips are distinctly 

 squamous. Dyar seems to have overlooked this char- 

 acter in placing many of his species. Also there is a 

 difference in the longitudinal markings. In strigalis 

 the strongest black longitudinal line is that along the 

 top of the cell and vein 6, while in leuconips the strongest 

 line is that along the lower vein of the cell. 



In two males and some of the females of leuconips 

 there is a faint brownish fuscous suffusion on the lower 

 third of the forewing (bordering the inner margin), but 

 this is not distinguishable on aU specimens and does 

 not seem to be a specific character. 



523. Eremberga creabates (Dyar) 

 Figure 550 



Olyca creabates Dyar, Ins. Inst. Menstr., vol. 11, p. 29, 1923. 

 Cactobrosis creabates (Dyar), Proc. Ent. Soc. Washington, vol. 30, 



p. 136, 1928.— McDunnough, Check list, No. 6289, 1939. 

 Eremberga creabates (Dyar) Heinrich, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 



86, p. 377, 1939. 



Palpi grayish fuscous. Head grayish fuscous shaded 

 with white. Thorax luteous, whitish toward anterior 

 margin. Forewing with basal area (to antemedial line) , 

 and all the area between antemedial and subterminal 

 transverse dark shade, and the fold and costa, white; 

 area between fold and inner margin luteous; outer area 

 (beyond subterminal dark shade) ashy white, shading 

 to luteous at tornus; transverse antemedial line well 

 contrasted against ground color, thin black, irrorate, 

 forming a sharp angle at the fold, the apex of the angle 

 extending almost to the middle of the fold; subterminal 

 line obsolete, replaced by a dark, transverse shade be- 

 low end of cell and some scattered blackish dusting 

 toward apex; veins 2 to 10 and upper and lower veins of 

 cell more or less outlined in black, the lines very faint 



