14 P. E. S. WHALLEY 



D. lutescens Whalley . . Ritchiea sp. (Capparidaceae) . [D. G. Sevastopulo, in litt.] 



B. myrsusalis Walker 



C. pexa pexa Hampson . 



C. pexa guttulata Aurivillius 

 T. ramiculata Warren 

 S. rothi Warren 

 O. spilotata Warren 



Achras sp. (Sapotaceae) 



Terminalia sericea Burch. (Combretaceae) 



Terminalia avicennoides Guill. & Perr. 



Terminalia ivoriensis A. Cheval. 



Terminalia ivoriensis A. Cheval. 



Oryza sativa L. (Graminae) 



General descriptions of larvae of Thyrididae have been given by Bose (1935) and 

 Beeson (1941) for Oriental species, Heinrich (1920) for some American species and 

 Ufaruna (1968, unpublished) gave information on the biology of one African species 

 (C. pexa). The larvae of C. pexa guttulata Aurivillius were the only specimens 

 available for examination. They form galls on Terminalia avicennoides 

 (Combretaceae) (PI. 23, fig. 126). The larvae are similar to the general description 

 given by Forbes (1923) of "superficially pyraloid" and with some of the features in 

 Heinrich (1920). The prespiracular plate on the prothorax has two setae (kappa 

 group bisetose, theta absent, Hinton, 1943, nomenclature) and the prolegs have the 

 crochets in circlets, both these characters as in the Pyralidae. The detailed mor- 

 phology of some of the skin is shown in PI. 23, fig. 125. Preliminary stereoscan 

 electron microscope studies of the skin of lepidopterous larvae are in progress and have 

 already revealed some interesting structures. Whilst this work is in too early a 

 stage to draw conclusions, it should be noted that the skin structure of C. pexa and 

 of two other Thyridids studied is similar to that of some Tortricidae (see Danilevski 

 and Kuznetzov, 1968). A New Zealand species (Morova subfasciata Walker) also 

 produces galls on twigs similar to the African species, C. pexa (Arnold, 1966). 



THE SUBFAMILIES OF THYRIDIDAE 



Guenee (1877) first proposed subfamily divisions for the Thyrididae but, although 

 his subfamilies were accepted by Pagenstecher (1892), they were ignored by most 

 subsequent authors (Hampson, 1897; Dalle Torre, 1914; Gaede, 1917 and 1929). 

 The possible use of the subfamily classification proposed by Guenee was mentioned 

 by Whalley (1964a) and a subfamily classification was proposed by Whalley (1967) 

 but without definitions. Originally Guenee proposed three subfamilies ("Pachythy- 

 ridae, Striglinidae, Siculidae") and these form the basis of the present classification, 

 together with a fourth subfamily which was not known to Guenee ( Argyrotypinae) . 

 This latter name was first proposed by Hampson for a new family (Argyrotypidae) 

 based on the genus Argyrotypus Butler. Subsequently Hampson (1918) regarded 

 Argyrotypus as a junior synonym of Chrysotypus Butler and altered the family name 

 to Chrysotypidae, a name which was retained by Berger (1957) for a family he 

 regarded as distinct from the Thyrididae. The family, based on the genus 

 Chrysotypus, was reclassified as a subfamily of the Thyrididae and the name 

 Argyrotypinae retained for it (Whalley, 1967). This name is retained here, even 

 though the genus on which it is based {Argyrotypus) is a junior synonym of Chryso- 

 typus, because of the earlier use in a supra-generic sense of a name based on 

 Argyrotypus. 



The subfamilies in this work are based on a detailed study of the African and 



