ARCTIIDAE AND CTENUCHIDAE FORMERLY IN AUTOMOLIS g 



SCENT-DISTRIBUTING ORGANS 



The pre-mating function of male abdominal scent-brushes in some Palaearctic 

 Noctuidae has been demonstrated by Birch (1968; 1970a; 1970&; 1972) and Aplin & 

 Birch (1968). Comparable hair-pencils in the Danaiinae (Nymphalidae) have been 

 reviewed by Myers (1972) and the male hair pencils of Manduca sexta L. (Sphingidae) 

 discussed by Grant & Eaton (1973). There is therefore some justification for 

 postulating that the brushes and androconial zones of Arctiidae perform the same 

 aphrodisiac function. 



Six of the eleven new genera described in this paper have identifiable scent- 

 distributing organs in the male. There are androconial zones on the overlap areas 

 of the fore- and hindwings in Regobarrosia gen. n., Melanarctia gen. n. and Emurena 

 gen. n. (one species); an androconial patch on the overlap area of the hindwing 

 interacting with a brush on the ventral surface of the forewing in Astralarctia 

 gen. n.; and androconial zones interacting with a hair-pencil protected by the folded 

 anal area of the ventral surface of the hindwing in Viviennea gen. n., Melanarctia 

 gen. n., Emurena gen. n. (three species) and Himerarctia gen. n. 



Some of the other genera examined during the preparation of this paper exhibit 

 similar male scent disseminating equipment. Cratopiastis Felder and Sutonocrea 

 Butler possess the same combination of wing-overlap androconial patches and an 

 androconial/hair-pencil anal pouch under the hindwing as in Melanarctia and 

 Emurena fernandezi sp. n. In Ormetica (p. 81) most of the species studied have 

 anal pouch scent-organs but lack the 1 wing-overlap androconial zones. The type- 

 species of Eupseitdosoma and Paranerita have wing-overlap androconial zones and 

 the type-species of Glaucostola has a strongly developed, distally directed hair- 

 pencil under the male forewing. 



Males of Echeta, Gorgonidia, Idalus, M achaeraptenus , and the new genera Amphel- 

 arctia, Ordishia, Selenarctia, Aphyarctia and Nyearctia lack recognizable androconial 

 zones and hair-pencils. Male alar scent-disseminating organs are also absent 

 in the type-sjucirs of Agaraea, Apyre, Araeomolis, Cresera, Demolis, Disconeura, 

 Halisidota, Phaeomolis, Rhipha, Scaptius and Symphlebia. 



As there seems to be general conformity at the generic level in the possession 

 of a particular type of scent-organ in the Arctiidae, and similar examples can be 

 found in other families (for example the huge African Geometrid genus Cleora 

 Curtis), it is somewhat anomalous that there is a lack of conformity between 

 species of the genus Emurena gen. n. Male sex pheromones, which appear to act 

 as aphrodisiacs immediately prior to mating (Birch, 1968; Myers, 1972), are probably 

 generally present throughout the Lepidoptera and are apparently often distributed 

 by means of external scent-brushes or eversible coremata. However, the absence 

 of specialized scent-organs does not appear to inhibit the transference of male 

 sex pheromones to the female. For example, Birch (1970) has shown that the male 

 courtship display of Noctuid species lacking scent-organs does not differ greatly 

 from that of species possessing scent-organs, which suggests that similar male-to- 

 female chemical signals are involved in both groups of species; and Hidaka (1972) 

 and Myers (1972) have supported earlier claims that male sex pheromones can be 

 transmitted during antennal palpation. The marked difference in male scent- 



