Penthesilea Ragonot, 1891

Solis, M. Alma, Cashatt, Everett D. & Scholtens, Brian G., 2013, New North American Chrysauginae (Pyralidae) described by E. D. Cashatt, ZooKeys 344, pp. 55-71 : 64-65

Penthesilea Ragonot, 1891 Figs 4 , 14-16

Penthesilea Ragonot, 1891: 493.

Type species.

Penthesilea sacculalis Ragonot, by monotypy.

Description.

Head. Labial palpus decumbent; length of male palpus nearly equal to head width, length of female palpus longer than head width; maxillary palpus vestigial; proboscis moderately well-developed; frons rounded with vestiture extended obliquely; vertex smooth-scaled; occiput rough-scaled; eye large; ocellus separated from base of antenna by scales; without a chaetosema.

Thorax. Forewing broad and arched at base, apex broadly rounded, outer margin and anal angle broadly rounded; sexually dimorphic; male with a tympanic vesicle at base of costa, with a large hair-pencil gland as in Salobrena ; female without a glandular vesicle; both sexes with Sc long, intercepting costa past one-half length; R1 and R2 separate; R3 and R4 stalked, R5 from stem; M1 from end of discal cell just below anterior angle; M2 and M3 separate and arising from posterior angle of discal cell; Cu1 and Cu2 separate and arising from below posterior angle of cell; 1A absent, 2A and 3A separate at base but briefly anastomosed a short distance distad; retinaculum of male loop-shaped and strongly developed with inner surface corrugated as in Salobrena , Clydonopteron , Satole and Tosale . Hind wing of male with frenulum stoutly developed with a short hook at base, female normal; Sc arched at base and anastomosed with Rs past end of discal cell; M1 arising from anterior angle of discal cell; M2 and M3 separate, arising from the posterior angle of discal cell; Cu1 and Cu2 separate, from before the posterior angle of the discal cell. Legs with scale tufts on mid and hind tibia.

Abdomen. Short and stout; male with a small lateral pleurite on the terminal segment bearing a tuft of scales as in Tosale and Salobrena .

Male genitalia. Uncus narrow, dorsally setose, aculeate with apex rounded, base with arms produced for articulation with gnathos, tips broadly rounded; vinculum narrow, saccus not produced anteriad; gnathos apex aculeate, gently curved dorsad, arms gradually expanded to broad articulation with modified pedunculus and base of uncus; valva narrow, tips directed slightly upward and mediad, sacculus without a clasping process; transtilla moderately developed and incomplete; juxta trapezoidal, dorsal margin concave; phallus slightly curved upward, proximal end slightly expanded, coecum small, without a cornutus.

Female genitalia. Ovipositor moderately short, apex of papillae anales unilobate; anterior apophysis slightly longer than posterior apophysis; lamella postvaginalis triangulate; anterior margin of eighth tergite rounded; ostium bursae membranous; a sclerotized constriction below antrum on ductus seminalis as in Tosale ; inception of ductus seminalis at junction of ductus bursae and corpus bursae; corpus bursae without a signum.

Remarks.

The genera Penthesilea and Tosale are closely related. The female genitalia have a membranous ostium bursae, a short sclerotized constriction on the ductus bursae, and the inception of the ductus seminalis at the junction of the ductus bursae and ostium bursae are common to both genera. Tosale differs in having the anterior margin of the eighth tergite heavily sclerotized. The male genitalia show more divergence. The uncus and valva of Penthesilea are more narrow than in Tosale and the saccus is not produced. Both genera have small lateral pleurites on the hind margin of the last abdominal segment of the male for support of lateral scale tufts. The venation indicates the Tosale is more specialized, with stalking of R2, R3, R4, and R5 in the forewing. The forewing of Penthesilea has R2 free with R3 and R4 stalked and R5 short-stalked. Both genera have M1 widely separately from the stem of R5.

Figures

Figures 1 - 4. Male holotypes of adults and labels. 1 Arta brevivalvalis 2 Heliades lindae 3 Paragalasa exospinalis 4 Penthesilea sacculalis baboquivariensis.

Figures 11 - 16. Male, female genitalia. 11 Paragalasa exospinalis holotype male, USA, Arizona, Cochise Co., Paradise, June 8 - 15 [no year given], EDC 395, USNM 107207 12 phallus, data same as previous 13 paratype female, USA, Arizona, Redington, [no collection date on label], EDC 398, USNM 107089 14 Penthesilea sacculalis baboquivariensis holotype male, USA, Arizona, Pima Co., Baboquivari Mts., 15 - 30 Aug 1923, O. C. Poling, Coll., Barnes Collection, EDC 489, USNM 107019 15 phallus, data same as previous 16 allotype female, USA, Arizona, Pima Co., Baboquivari Mts., [days crossed out] Aug 1924, O. C. Poling, Coll., Barnes Collection, EDC 138, USNM 100018.