Moth

Opogona omoscopa (Meyrick)

Hieroxestis omoscopa Meyrick, 1893[1892]:567; 1915:232.—Swezey, 1922:9.—Durrant, 1925:12.—Philpott, 1927:331.—Moore, 1959:346.

Opogona omoscopa (Meyrick).—Meyrick, 1930:321; 1937:88.—Viette, 1957:144.—Zimmerman, 1978:389.

Opogona apicalis Swezey, 1909:17; 1922:9 [synonym of Hieroxestis omoscopa Meyrick].—Zimmerman, 1978:389 [synonym of Opogona omoscopa (Meyrick)].

Hieroxestis praematura Meyrick, 1909:26; 1930:321 [synonym of Opogona omoscopa (Meyrick)].—Vari, 1961:xiv.—Zimmerman, 1978:389 [synonym of Opogona omoscopa (Meyrick)].

ADULT (Figure 5).—Moderately small, with slender, predominantly dark fuscous forewings.

Wing Expanse: , 20–22 mm; , 19–21 mm.

Head: Vestiture complex, varying according to position on head as follows: scales bordering occiput relatively broad, appressed and fuscous; vertex with a prominent, median tuft of erect, pale brownish hairs posterior of antennae and a smooth, nearly appressed ridgelike tuft of broad, silvery white scales between antennae that partially overhangs dorsal margin of frons; posterior erect tuft usually more developed in male; frons smooth with whitish, moderately broad scales. Antennae approximately 0.8 the length of forewing with 97–102 segments; scape slightly flattened and concave ventrally, vestiture pale brown with a prominent dorsal tuft in male; flagellum stramineous with scales tightly appressed, narrow, and arranged as one scale row per segment. Maxillary palpi densely covered with whitish scales dorsally, largely naked, pubescent ventrally; galeae naked. Labial palpi fuscous dorsally, much paler, nearly white ventrally and mesally with 4–6 slender bristles arising laterally from distal half of second segment.

Thorax: Pronotum dark fuscous; meso- and metanota stramineous, nearly naked. Venter whitish to stramineous. Prolegs fuscous dorsally, stramineous ventrally; tarsi faintly ringed with stramineous to light brown; meso- and metathoracic legs progressively paler dorsally, becoming entirely stramineous on latter. Forewings predominantly dark fuscous except for a very small costal spot of stramineous near base and a larger stramineous spot slightly basad of tornus; apex slightly upturned; fringe mostly stramineous irrorated with fuscous; ventral surface of forewings shiny brownish fuscous. Hind wings, including fringe, stramineous to pale brown, becoming more whitish toward base.

Abdomen: Uniformly whitish above and below; female without hair tufts arising from seventh segment.

Male Genitalia (Figures 119–122): Uncus consisting of two large, widely separated lobes arising somewhat ventrad beneath tegumen; inner surfaces densely covered with moderately elongate, spinose setae. Tegumen relatively well developed, forming a broad hood dorsally. Vinculum relatively broad, tapering gradually to a moderately long, broad saccus; saccus approximately X0.35–0.4 as long as valva and about X1.5 as long as broad. Valvae divided into an elongate, slender, and slightly curved costal lobe and a much shorter, acute saccular lobe; no prominent spinose setae present. Anellus greatly reduced to an elongate, narrow ventral strip of moderately sclerotized tissue. Aedeagus simple, straight, and relatively short, approximately 0.5 the length of valva; cornuti absent.

Female Genitalia (Figure 128): Tertiary apophyses faintly present. Genital plates deeply lobed with ostium bursae arising between lobes. Corpus bursae with a single large peltate signum that internally covers one side of corpus.

FEMALE PUPA (Figures 44–47).—Length 8.5 mm, maximum width 2.0 mm (in alcohol). Color predominantly reddish brown, particularly over dorsal surface and wing cases, becoming stramineous over ventral surface of abdomen. Head with frontal process (cocoon cutter) only slightly developed. A single (anterior), irregular row of short dorsal spines present on abdominal segments IV–VIII and decreasing in number posteriorly; tabulation of spines as follows: IV = 52, V = 46, VI = 46, VII = 36, VIII = 15. Cremaster consists of a relatively large pair of slender hooks arising dorsally from segment IX + X; a pair of small tubercules also present ventrally on either side of anal groove.

LARVA (Figures 52–76).—Length of largest larva 21 mm, maximum diameter 2 mm (in alcohol).

Head: Hypognathous, subovoid, maximum width 1.3 mm. Color uniformly dark reddish brown except for pale stramineous area immediately posterior to ocellus. Chaetotaxy as figured. Ocelli rudimentary, consisting of a single pigmented spot immediately posterior and slightly below antennal socket. Mandible with 5 cusps. Spinneret elongate, slender, with a minute, circular subapical orifice. Labial palpi 2-segmented, slender, slightly less than spinneret in length; apical seta less than 0.5 the length of apical (second) segment.

Thorax: Notal plates and pinnacula dark reddish brown, very distinct on otherwise whitish integument. Meso- and metathorax with L2 arising on a separate pinnacula from L1 and 3; MSD2 reduced in size although easily discernible, similar in length to MSD1 with which it shares a large pinnaculum. Legs well developed, 5-segmented; tarsal claw simple, slightly curved, with a shallow notch on ventral edge at basal third.

Abdomen: Whitish in color with brownish pinnacula. Integument of thorax and abdomen covered with numerous, minute spinules. L2 usually on same pinnaculum bearing spiracle. Prolegs well developed on segments III–VI and X; crochets III–VI uniordinal, uniserial, and arranged in a complete ellipse composed of approximately 30 spines; smallest crochets situated laterally; a scattered series of 20–30 smaller spines also present along anterior edge of planta; anal prolegs with 15–17 crochets in a single transverse series and approximately 20–30 smaller spines present along anterior edge of planta.



TYPE.—Lectotype, (present designation): New South Wales, Sydney, 6 Dec 1884, Meyrick; genitalia slide no. 1868; deposited in the British Museum (Natural History).

TYPE-LOCALITY.—Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

HOSTS.—Mostly restricted to dead or dying plant material.

FLIGHT PERIOD.—Late May to late July in California; probably multivoltine.

DISTRIBUTION (Map 1).—A widely occurring, essentially pantropical species, presently known from the Australian, Ethiopian, and Indian regions and Oceania, but restricted thus far in North America to the coastal areas of southern California, where it has been collected from Marin County south to San Diego County.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.—5 males, 8 females, 1 pupa, and 9 larvae.

UNITED STATES. CALIFORNIA: Alameda Co: Fremont: 1 larva, 15 Nov 1976 (CDA). Los Angeles Co: Los Angeles: 1 larva, 4 Aug 1971 (USNM). Los Angeles, Highland Park Dist: 1 , 2 Aug 1972 (LACM). Marin Co: Corte Madera: 1 larva 14 Jan 1974 (CDA). Orange Co: Hunting Beach: 1 larva, 1 Nov 1976 (CDA). San Diego Co: La Jolla: 3 larvae, 2 pupae, 20 Aug 1976 (CDA). Vista: 2 , 18–26 Oct 1975 (LACM); 1 , 19 Sep 1974 (LACM). Santa Barbara Co: Carpinteria: 2 , 27 Jun 1971 (CDA); 1 larva, 2 Jul 1974 (USNM). Carpinteria, Sandy Cove: 2 , 1 , 20 Feb 1977 (LACM). Goleta: 1 , 23 May 1969, 1 larva, 22 Oct 1970 (CDA); 2 larvae, 22 Oct 1970 (USNM). Santa Barbara: 3 , 12 Jun 1969 (USNM). Summerland: 1 , 25 Jul 1969 (USNM).

Opogona omoscopa is a moth of the family Tineidae.