2 BULLETIN 226, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



injurious to verbena and sent specimens to Riley for identification, 

 while Miss M. E. Murtfeldt found the insect injuring Antirrhinum at 

 Kirkwood, Mo. 



The species was later observed and collected by entomologists in 

 various sections of the country, and notices to that effect appear 

 scattered through our literature. 



NAME AND SYNONYMY. - 



Popularly this moth has only one name, the "verbena bud moth," 

 given it by Mrs. Mary Treat in 1869 from the plant upon which it was 

 found feeding. Scientifically, however, it has in its brief history 

 been known by several names and has been shifted from one genus to 

 another. Both Fernald and Walsingham have listed the species under 

 the genus Penthina. Later it has been listed by H. G. Dyar and J. B. 

 Smith under the genus Olethreutes. As it now stands we have the 

 following synonymy: 



Olethreutes hebesana Walk., Dyar, 1902. 

 Sciaphila hebesana Walk., 1863. 

 Carpocapsa inexpertana Walk., 1863. 



Sericoris fcedana Clem., 1865. 

 Penthina fuller ea Riley, 1868. 

 Penthina hebesana Wlsm., 1879. 



DISTRIBUTION. 



Apparently the verbena bud moth is distributed locally at least 



through the eastern part of the United States. It is evidently a 



native American species and has been collected and found injurious 



in Maine, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 



Virginia, Texas, Kansas, Indiana, and California, and is also reported 



from Canada. 



FOOD PLANTS. 



So far as known this species has confined its injuries solely to 

 flowering plants. It has been reared from and found injurious on 

 the following food plants: Tiger flower (Tigridia pavonia), snap- 

 dragon {Antirrhinum spp.), flag (Iris spp.), hedge nettle (Stachys 

 palustris), mullein (Verbascum thapsus), verbena (Verbena spp.), 

 closed gentian (Gentiana andrewsii), false foxglove (Dasystomajlava). 



According to the records in the Bureau of Entomology it lias several 

 times been reared from the stems of Tigridia pavonia and was in- 

 jurious to verbenas on the Department of Agriculture grounds in 

 Washington, where it fed upon the flower heads, webbing a number 

 of seed capsules together to feed upon the young and undeveloped 

 seeds. The heads of verbena are probably not its natural habitat, 

 since it is necessary to web them together. Among other food plants 

 in the records of the Bureau of Entomology are the closed gentian 

 (Gentiana andrewsii) and false foxglove (Dasystoma jlava). It lias 

 been found to feed in the dry seed pods of both these species, which 

 may be included among its wild food plants. 



