Ethmia ungulatella Busck 1914

Ethmia ungulatella Busck, 1914b:34; 1914c:57.–Walsingham, 1915:424

A moderately large Central American Ethmia having the whitish forewing conspicuously marked with single dorsal and terminal blotches of bronzy-purplish.

MALE.–Length of forewing 8.4–9.8 mm. Head: Labial palpus moderately elongate; second segment rather strongly curved, length 1.15 times eye diameter; third segment nearly straight, length about 0.7 times that of second; smooth scaled, second segment mostly dark gray, whitish basally, third segment white except extreme base gray. Antenna dilated, width of basal half of shaft about 0.25 eye diameter, dorsal scaling pale gray, scape dark gray above, white below. Scaling of tongue white, front dark gray, crown white. Thorax: Dorsal scaling white except tegula at base steel gray and pronotum with two pairs of large, steel gray spots which almost join medially. Underside cream white, trochanters and coxae bright ochreous exteriorly, tibiae and tarsi brownish exteriorly; hind tibial brush well developed, pale gray-brown. Forewing: Length 3.0–3.1 times width; costa evenly, gently curved from base to apex, termen rather strongly angled back, tornus a broad curve. Ground color white; with steel blue-gray spots: at base, just beyond base in cell, two in dorsal area near base, the outer one larger; a series of spots in cell continuing outward, becoming pale gray in terminal area beyond cell, costa narrowly concolorous; a large squarish dorsal blotch from before middle nearly to tornus, metallic purplish copper or bronze colored, enclosing an ill-defined bluish white, transverse zigzag line; a longitudinal pale gray-brown band in cell adjacent to dorsal blotch; terminal area narrowly coppery, enclosing a similar zigzag line. Fringe white basally, brown distally. Underside brown, irregularly cream-whitish dorsad and between veins in apical area; subcostal fringe poorly developed. Hindwing: Slightly narrower than forewing, owing to an appressed costal fold which encloses a dense brush of cream-whitish hairs and is lined with short (about 0.6–0.7 mm), cigar-shaped, dark brown scales; costal margin nearly straight, apex rather blunt, termen broadly curved to dorsum. Ground color dorsad of fold gray, darker toward distal margins; fringe paler. Underside whitish, irregularly blotched with brownish on costal and terminal areas. Abdomen: Dorsal scaling dark brown, except second tergite bright orange-ochreous; genital scaling slightly paler ochreous; underside whitish with a broad, dark median band. Genitalia as in Figure 106 (drawn from cotype, JAP prep. no. 1251; five preparations examined); basal processes rather evenly broadened; valva not notched, anterior margin only moderately concave; fultura plate small, simple.

MAP 42.–Geographical distribution of Ethmia ungulatella Busck.

FEMALE.–Length of forewing 9.5–10.4 mm. Essentially as described for male; antenna not dilated, width of shaft at base about 0.8, at basal one-third about 0.6 that of male. Dark markings of thorax and base of forewing tending to more strongly reflect metallic green. Hindwing costal area simple. Second segment of abdomen with only a trace of ochreous. Genitalia as in Figures 215, 216 (drawn from plesiotype, JAP prep. no. 2015; two preparations examined, both Mexico); sterigma with deep, lateral lobes; ductus with an irregular, scobinate patch near base; signum broad, with an elongate fold without a dentate margin.

TYPE DATA.–Panama, “Cabima and Alhajuela”; May. The holotype female, from Cabima, and cotype male, labeled Alhajuelo, April 1911 (August Busck) are in U.S. National Museum.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.–From Panama northward through central America (Chejel, Guatemala) and eastern Mexico (Oaxaca; Vera Cruz; Tamaulipas; San Luis Potosi).

FLIGHT PERIOD.–Possibly multivoltine; April, May (Panama), July, August (Mexico).

FOOD PLANT.–Unknown.

Ethmia cypraspis Meyrick

Ethmia cypraspis Meyrick, 1930:263, pl. I, fig. 31.–Clarke, 1955a: 110.

A moderately large Brazilian moth with a forewing pattern similar to E. ungulatella. Males were included in the type series but were not differentiated in the original description. During the present study, only two females (not of the type series but determined by Meyrick) have been available, and the following description is based on these.

MALE.–Not examined.

FEMALE.–Length of forewing 9.4–9.8 mm. Head: Labial palpus moderately elongate, reaching nearly to base of antenna; second segment moderately curved, length 1.1 times eye diameter; third segment nearly straight, length about 0.7 that of second; smooth scaled, second segment mostly brownish laterally, white below and interiorly; third segment white. Thorax: Collar white, tegula white except at extreme base, dark gray; pronotal scaling white laterally, dark metallic gray medially. Underside whitish, coxae ochreous, prothoracic and mesothoracic tibiae brownish exteriorly. Forewing: Length 3.1 times width; costa slightly, evenly curved from base to apex, termen scarcely angled back, tornal angle well developed. Ground color white, with brownish gray markings: about eight more or less evenly spaced spots on basal one-third, two near dorsum more well defined; a series of pale gray, ill-defined blotches through central area of wing and on costal half; a large, semicircular, bronzy blotch on middle one third of dorsal margin, extending to lower edge of cell, containing an ill-defined, bluish white, zigzag line; terminal area concolorous reddish coppery or bronzy, with a transverse, bluish white zigzag line preceding termen. Fringe paler, brownish. Underside pale brownish becoming whitish toward margins. Hindwing: Slightly broader than forewing; costa moderately excavate before apex; termen broadly curved to dorsum. White, becoming pale brownish at distal margins; fringe white. Underside white, costal area and veins pale brownish. Abdomen: Dorsal scaling brown, second segment very lightly tinged with ochreous; genital scaling pale ochreous. Underside whitish. Genitalia not examined.

TYPE DATA.–Brazil, Taperinha; 17 specimens (♂, ♀); types in Vienna Museum.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.–Amazon region of Brazil (Taperinha and Santarem, Para).

FLIGHT PERIOD.–July to September.

FOOD PLANT.–Unknown.

REMARKS.–Meyrick stated that this species is nearest chalcodora, but it appears to me that E. cypraspis is more closely allied to E. ungulatella.

Three additional females from Venezuela and southern Brazil have been examined and are provisionally referred to cypraspis until a comparison of males can be made. Two from Venezuela have forewing markings closely matching the female from Santarem, Brazil, except that the dorsal and terminal blotches are slightly more purplish rather than reddish coppery. They bear the data “Los Venados, Caracas” and “Caracas” (USNM). The former is a specimen from the Vogl material which formed the basis of Amsel’s “Microlepidoptera Venezolana” (1956) and bears what I take to be a manuscript name of Busck, written by Amsel in 1954. Perhaps the name is a product of correspondence with Busck in the early stages of work on the Vogl material, although J. F. G. Clarke is cited as the determination authority for the other three species of Ethmia that Amsal did report.

The third female is somewhat different in appearance and may represent another undescribed species. The pattern is similar to cypraspis, but the gray markings are a little more restricted, at least beyond the dorsal blotch, and the terminal area tends toward a golden coppery. The specimen bears the data: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October 10, 1919, Cornell U. Expedition.

Ethmia chalcodora Meyrick

Ethmia ungulatella is a moth in the family Depressariidae. It is found from Panama north through Central America to eastern Mexico. The habitat consists of dry forests and rain forests.

The length of the forewings is 8.4–10.4 mm (0.33–0.41 in). The ground color of the forewings is white with steel blue-gray spots. The ground color of the hindwings dorsad of the fold is gray, but darker toward the distal margins. Adults are on wing in April and May (in Panama) and in July and August (in Mexico). There are possibly multiple generations per year.