18 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, VoL VI, January, 1952 
seeds has not previously been reported within 
the superfamily. 
These two species of micropterygoid moths 
are congeneric. The weight of evidence from 
morphological and biological sources would 
indicate that they are more nearly allied to 
the Micropterygidae than to the Eriocrani- 
idae and, as they do not fit existing microp- 
terygid genera, a new genus is created for 
them. 
Agathiphaga new genus 
ADULT: Ocelli absent; mandibles present; 
labial palps 4-segmented, sensory process on 
basal segment absent; maxillae with galea 
present but not modified to form short 
haustellum, lacinia present, maxillary palps 
5 -segmented. Forewings with Sc unbranched 
and with closed cubito-medial cell in addi- 
tion to closed radial cell. Legs: Tibiae I with 
strigil at mid-length and a single short apical 
spur; tibiae II and III with two spurs at mid- 
length and two apical spurs; femora I and II 
with two small setae or spurs on tip. Male 
with paired glandular processes on fifth 
abdominal sternite. Male genitalia with 
claspers large, exserted and curved dorsad. 
Female genitalia eversible, terminal segment 
with single median Y-shaped rod, not 
heavily sclerotized or adapted for piercing. 
PUPA: Head with four pairs of long frontal 
setae; beak absent. Mandibles hypertrophied, 
apex truncate with scalloped edge but with- 
out large teeth apically. Mandibles asymmetri- 
cal, both toothed externally but left mandible 
with single tooth on non-serrate ental margin. 
No strap-like process on dorsum of meso- 
and metathorax and first abdominal segment. 
All tarsi 2-clawed. No abdominal setae. 
Claspers of male genitalia exserted and curved 
dorsad. 
LARVA: Antennae short. Compound eyes 
absent. Apodous. Integument spinulose, setae 
very short. Internal feeders in seed of Agathis 
SPP- 
genotype: Agathiphaga vitiensis n, sp. Fiji. 
Agathiphaga is separated from all other 
micropterygid genera by the presence of two 
apical spurs on the middle tibia, the absence 
of the sensory process on the basal joint of 
the labial palp, and (except for the Australian 
species of Sahatinca) the 4-segmented labial 
palps. 
Agathiphaga vitiensis n. sp. 
ADULT: Forewing 4.0 mm. long, dorsally 
dark greyish-brown with fine white hairs, a 
light yellowish-brown patch on anal area and 
a smaller patch of similar colour distad of this 
on the posterior margin before mid-length; 
ventrally dark scaled with lighter brown 
fringes. Venation as in Figure 3. Forewing 
with Ri branched and Cu^^ arising from M3. 
Lateral lobes of labrum with 3-4 setae on 
each side. Third and fourth segments of labial 
palps sub-equal in length. Apical segment of 
maxillary palp small, sub-globose. Male 
genitalia as in Figures 4^-r, ‘ba-f. Forked 
median rod of female genitalia 1.0 mm. long. 
Tooth on ental margin of left pupal man- 
dible at about half-length, i.e., behind or 
cephalad of the external tooth. 
SPECIMENS: Two male and three female 
pupae obtained from larvae within seed of 
Agathis vitiensis, Fiji, per B. E. V. Parham. 
Holotype, male, on slide mounts deposited in 
Entomology Section, Department of Agri-' 
culture, Suva, Fiji. 
MORPHOLOGY 
ADULT: The head capsule is strongly sclero- 
tized and pigmented, with the exception of 
the stippled areas shown in Figure la, which 
bear the tufts of scales. A median epicranial 
suture runs from the posterior margin of the 
occiput to a point level with the antennal 
sockets. From the posterior third of the epi- 
cranial suture, a suture runs anterolaterally to 
a point behind mid-length of the inner mar- 
gin of the eye. The ocelli are absent. The 
antennae are 5 mm. long and consist of about 
47 segments of which the large basal one is 
0.4 mm. long. The labrum (Fig. lb) is tri- 
