Ethmia macelhosiella Busck 1907

Ethmia macelhosiella Busck

Ethmia macelhosiella Busck, 1907:93.–Barnes and Busck, 1920, pis. 27, 34.–Busck and Heinrich. 1922:1 [biology].–Forbes, 1923:245 [taxonomy].–McDunnough, 1939:82.–Clench. 1957:44.

A moderately large moth with elongate, narrow gray forewings having a broad, ill-defined, longitudinal black streak from base to apex.

MALE.–Length of forewing 12.3 to 12.7 mm. Head: Labial palpus elongate, moderately upcurved; second segment slightly curved, length 1.4 times eye diameter; third segment straight, about one-half the length of second; smooth scaled, second segment blackish, white at base and apex, third segment mixed whitish and pale brownish. Antenna dilated, scape flattened, ovoid, length 0.75, width about 0.4 eye diameter, dorsal scaling brown, ventral white; shaft basally about 0.25 eye diameter, unsealed, densely setate. Scaling of head white except front and spot at back of crown brown. Thorax: Dorsal scaling mostly whitish, base of tegula and scutellum with lateral spots dark brown.

Underside scaling whitish; legs brown, metathoracic leg paler, dorsal fringe of tibia weakly developed. Forewing: Length about 3.7 times width; costa nearly straight from basal one-fourth nearly to apex, curved abruptly to apex; termen strongly angled back to dorsum, tornus scarcely discernible; fringe narrow. Ground color whitish, sparsely to densely irrorate with pale brownish; a broad, dark line from base to apex, through lower half of cell, narrowed beyond cell, well defined on dorsal side, sending a small, squarish dark spur into pale dorsal area just before middle, an upturned white spur at end of cell; costal side of median line less well defined in basal half; veins at times with blackish scaling toward costa in outer half. Fringe white. Underside light brown, paler toward dorsum and termen. Hindwing: Slightly broader than forewing; costal area simple; costa only slightly sloped toward apex, latter blunt, round; termen broadly curved to anal angle. Ground color pale brownish or dirty whitish; fringe whitish with brown basal band. Underside similar. Abdomen: Scaling above and below pale brownish, posterior bands of segments and genital scaling whitish. Genitalia as in Figure 70 (drawn from plesiotype, Plummer’s Island, Maryland, JAP prep. no. 1524; five preparations examined); uncus rather narrow, hoodlike, shallowly notched; gnathos with fine teeth posteriorly, bare anteriorly; basal processes elongate, broad; valvae attenuate, acute apically.

FEMALE.–Length of forewing about 10.7 mm. Similar to male but generally smaller and with more development of dark markings. Head: Eye relatively smaller, diameter about 0.8 that of male; labial palpus correspondingly shorter. Antenna not dilated, diameter of shaft basally about 0.67 that of male. Forewing: Dark scaling variable, more extensive than on male, the longitudinal median line broadened toward costal side, covering most of cell, blending gradually toward pale costa. A line of ochreous yellow scales along the distinct dorsal side of dark area. Hindwing: Darker brown than on male. Genitalia as in Figure 195 (drawn from plesiotype, Plummer’s Island, Maryland, JAP prep. no. 2258; one preparation examined); anterior apophyses broad, strongly developed; sterigmal plate broad, extended laterally halfway around abdomen, ostium simple; ductus bursae with two sclerotized loops well below ostium, remainder of spiral unsclerotized.

TYPE DATA.–St. Louis, Missouri (H. A. McElhose); further data on type, which lacks most of the abdomen, is: November 17, 1904, in U.S. National Museum.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.–Eastern United States. Known from only three widely scattered areas: St. Louis, Missouri, Plummer’s Island and Cabin John, Maryland, and Finleyville, Pennsylvania.

FLIGHT PERIOD.–October and November.

FOOD PLANT.–Phacelia sp. (Hydrophyllaceae). Busck and Heinrich (1922) reported on the biology of E. macelhosiella at Plummer’s Island. Larval specimens from their study in the U.S. National Museum bear the data Phacelia covillei. The larvae were found on Phacelia in May, and larvae selected cracks in or bored into bark of logs or trees to pupate for estivation.

REMARKS.–The type specimen is a little paler and has the median stripe slightly more well defined than the variable series from Plummer’s Island; its genitalia have been lost, apparently to dermestid damage.

Ethmia geranella Barnes and Busck

Ethmia geranella Barnes and Busck, 1920:242, pls. 27, 34.–McDunnough, 1939:82.

A medium-sized Ethmia having whitish gray forewings usually marked by a conspicuous but somewhat ill-defined dark brownish streak from base to apex.

MALE.–Length of forewing about 10.4 mm. Head: Labial palpus nearly porrect, rather short; second segment slightly curved, length about equal to eye diameter, third segment nearly as long as second (0.95 eye diameter); smooth scaled, mostly whitish, some brown scales intermixed exteriorly. Antenna slightly dilated, diameter of basal portion of shaft about 0.2 eye diameter; scaled, gray, densely setate. Scaling of front and crown appressed, brownish with intermixed whitish scales; tufts at occipital margin spreading, white. Thorax: Dorsal scaling mixed brown and white; tegula white distally. Underside shining whitish; legs brownish exteriorly; metathoracic leg dirty whitish, tibial fringe well developed, elongate, white. Forewing: Narrow, length about 4.0 times width; costa nearly straight from basal one-third to apical one-fourth, abruptly curved to apex, latter blunt, termen strongly angled back; fringe moderately broad. Ground color whitish, more or less uniformly irrorate with scattered brown scales; usually with a longitudinal dark brown streak from base to apex through lower half of cell, well defined on dorsal side, which sends two distinct, short spurs into pale dorsal area before middle of wing; streak bends upward at second spur, interrupted on dorsal half by an outwardly angled, distinct, oval white spot at end of cell; poorly defined on costal side. Fringe of ground color, distinctly interrupted by longitudinal streak at apex. Underside pale brownish. Hindwing: Slightly broader than forewing; costa with well-developed dorsal hair tuft, arising at base, white; costa strongly excavate toward apex, latter blunt, termen strongly angled back to anal angle, slightly concave before anal angle. Ground color uniform pale brownish; fringe broad, about one-half membrane width, white. Underside whitish. Abdomen: Scaling shining pale brownish, more or less unicolorous including genital vestiture. Genitalia as in Figure 71 (drawn from cotype, JAP prep, no. 1505; two preparations examined); teeth of posterior portion of gnathos elongate, anterior portion minutely dentate; basal processes short; valvae attenuate.

FEMALE.–Unknown.

TYPE DATA.–La Puerta Valley, southern California. The lectotype male in U.S. National Museum bears no additional data.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.–Known only from the type locality, which is on the western edge of the Colorado Desert in San Diego County, and from one male taken in the Ivanpah Mountains of the eastern Mojave Desert.

FLIGHT PERIOD.–October.

FOOD PLANT.–Unknown; probably Phacelia.

REMARKS.–The brown color of the markings may be in part the result of the age of the specimens and could be blackish on fresh individuals. The single male from the Ivanpah Mountains lacks the longitudinal, dark streak. It shows a trace of the streak and some development of blackish streaking along the veins.

Ethmia timberlakei Powell, new species

Ethmia macelhosiella is a moth in the family Depressariidae. It is found in the United States, including Missouri, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma.

The length of the forewings is 10.7–12.7 mm (0.42–0.50 in). The ground color of the forewings is whitish, sparsely to densely irrorated (speckled) with pale brownish. The ground color of the hindwings is pale brownish or dirty whitish. Adults have been recorded in October and November.

The larvae feed on Phacelia species. They select cracks in or bore into the bark of logs or trees to pupate.