SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM Bulletin 190 THE NORTH AMERICAN CLEAR-WING MOTHS OF THE FAMILY AEGERIIDAE BY GEORGE P. ENGELHARDT UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 1946 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office Washington, D. C. - Price 75 cents ADVERTISEMENT The scientific publications of the National Museum include two series, known, respectively, as Proceedings and Bulletin. The Proceedings series, begun in 1878, is intended primarily as a medium for the publication of original papers, based on the collections of the National Museum, that set forth newly acquired facts in biology, anthropology, and geology, with descriptions of new forms and revisions of limited groups. Copies of each paper, in pamphlet form, are distributed as published to libraries and scientific organizations and to specialists and others interested in the ditTerent subjects. The dates at which these sepa- rate papers are published are recorded in the table of contents of each of the volumes. The series of Bulletins, the first of which was issued in 1875, contains separate publications comprising monographs of large zoological groups and other general systematic treatises (occasionally in several volumes), faunal works, reports of expeditions, catalogs of type specimens, special collections, and other material of similar nature. The majority of the volumes are octavo in size, but a quarto size has been adopted in a few instances in which large plates were regarded as indispensable. In the Bulletin series appear volumes under the heading Contributions from the United States National Herbarium, in octavo form, published by the National Museum since 1902, which contain papers relating to the botani- cal collections of the Museum. The present work forms No. 190 of the Bidletin series. Alexander Wetmore, Secretary, Smithsonian Institution. II FOREWORD George Paul Engelhardt (1871-1942) devoted most of his life to nature studies, but his chief entomological interest for over 40 years was the lepidopterous family Aegeriidae. His approach to the study of this group was that of the field biologist and began with rearings of local species in the neighborhood of Brooklyn, N. Y. Thereafter, as he built his extensive collection, he followed through with biological and ecological studies and made trips to the several sections of the United States, Alaska, Europe, Central America, and British Columbia, collecting and rearing from larvae and observing the behavior and peculiar habits of the species of these regions. He thereby got an accurate and comprehensive bio- logical picture of the American aegeriid fauna, discovered many new life histories, and was able to establish the more intimate relationships of several supposedly different species through their host-plant associations and the discovery of intergrading forms. His final objective was a mono- graph of the American Aegeriidae and a reclassification of that group upon the basis of structural characters coordinated with biological habits and host associations. This objective was only partially realized, for he died before he could prepare more than the preliminary draft of his manuscript. For many years close collaboration existed between Mr. Engelhardt and the lepidopterists of the Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, whose headquarters are at the United States National Museum. His collec- tion and manuscripts were willed to the National Museum, and it was his hope that that institution would publish his work. During the years 1939, 1940, and 1941, Mr. Engelhardt spent his winters at Washington working out, in collaboration with August Busck, the generic classification and in- corporating the genitalic characters of the moths into a revised classifica- tion. At Mr. Busck's suggestion, drawings of male and female genitalia were made by Mrs. Mary F. Benson, of the Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, for the proposed paper. Mr. Engelhardt had planned his work on broad lines and had hoped to include larval and pupal charac- ters in the definitions of categories but as the immature stages of several of the genera were still unknown this was not feasible ; so at his request I prepared a short description of the larval and pupal characters of the family. When the manuscript was examined after Mr. Engelhardt's death it was found to be substantially complete for the treatment of the species and their genera, but, as stated above, it was only a preliminary draft, with no introduction and no general discussion of the biology or previous sys- tematic treatments of the group as a whole. The manuscript also required m IV BULLETIN 190, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM considerable work to put it into form suitable for Museum publication, and this was undertaken by Mr. Busck, who was thoroughly acquainted with Mr. Engelhardt's intentions, scheme of classification, and method of description. He completed this task for his friend and colleague shortly before his own death on March 7, 1944. Since no one but the author could have supplied the proper introduction, no attempt was made to prepare one. Thanks to the generous support of Edith F. B. Engelhardt, wife of George P. Engelhardt, and of George Bliss Engelhardt, his son, it has been possible to publish the 16 plates of colored figures which Mr. Engel- hardt had hoped to have included with his text. Mrs. Engelhardt and her son have borne the entire cost of engraving and printing these colored plates. The drawings for them were done for Mr. Engelhardt by Mrs. William Beutenmiiller and Mrs. Mary F. Benson, Mrs. Beutenmiiller drawing figures 127, 128, 129, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 148, 150, 151, 155, 156, 160, 161, 162, 166, 171, 177, 180, and 186 and Mrs. Benson the remainder. The publication of the manuscript is timely and appropriate. The family contains more than a dozen American species of considerable economic importance, these being known to the orchardist, gardener, and forester under the names peachtree borer, persimmon borer, strawberry crown moth, grapevine root borer, maple bark borer, ash tree borer, hornet moth, squash borer, etc. Their food plants include many kinds of cultivated fruits, shade and forest trees, as well as wild species, and the widespread damage inflicted by their larvae has long been the serious concern of eco- nomic entomologists. As a group these moths have for some time stood in need of the revision and nomenclatorial clarification that this work sup- plies. The paper will be equally useful to the student, the collector, the field naturalist, the economic entomologist, and the systematic lepi- dopterist. Carl Heinrich. CONTENTS Page Foreword iii Definition and classification 1 Key to groups of Aegeriidae based on antennae and male genitalia 5 Kej' to North American genera of Aegeriidae 6 The Synanthedon group 7 Genus Sannina Walker 7 Genus Sanninoidea Beutenmiiller 9 Pensiononia, new genus 14 Ramosia, new genus 22 Genus Carmeiita Hy. Edwards 45 Sylvora, new genus 77 Genus Co-nopia Hiibner 81 Genus Synanthedon Hiibner 87 Genus PalDtta Beutenmiiller 97 Hymenoclca, new genus 9S Genus Alcathoe Hy. Edwards 100 Color key to North American species, races, and varieties of the genus Alcathoe 101 Genus Podosesia Moschler 108 Genus Tfiamnosphecia Spuler Ill Genus Vespamima Beutenmiiller 127 Key to North American species of Vespamima 127 The Signaphora group 131 Signaphora, new genus 131 The Calasesia group 1 33 Genus Calasesia Beutenmiiller 133 The Cissuvora group 134 Cissuvora, new genus 134 The Paranthrene group 136 Genus Paranthrene Hiibner 136 Key to North American species and forms of Paranthrene 137 Vitacea, new genus 151 Key to North American species of Vitacea 152 Genus Ga'ea Beutenmiiller 158 Key to North American species of Gaca 159 Genus Albuna Hy. Edwards 162 Key to North American species of Albuna 162 Genus Eiihageiia Hy. Edwards 169 Key to North American species of Euhagena 170 The Aegeria group 1 73 Genus Aegeria Fabricius 1 73 Key to North American species of Aegeria 173 The Meliitia group 181 Genus Melittia Hiibner 181 Key to North American species of Melittia 182 VI BULLETIN 190, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM Page The Bembecia group 191 Genus Bembecia Hiibner 191 Key to North American species of Bembecia 192 The Zenodoxus group 194 Genus Zenodoxus Grote and Robinson 194 Explanation of plates 202 Index to genera, species, and lower categories 209 Food-plant index 214 ; THE NORTH AMERICAN CLEAR-WING MOTHS OF THE FAMILY AEGERIIDAE By George P. Engelhardt DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION The moths of the family Aegeriidae, the so-called clearwings ("Glass- fliigler"), are normally easily recognized by their general habitus, the nar- row, mostly hyaline wings, and the dilated antennae, tufted at tips, although these antennal characters do not hold for some of the genera {Bembecia, Zenodoxus). Superficially they can be confused only with the so-called bee moths of the genus Haemorrhagia and allies of the family Sphingidae or with the moths of the family Syntomidae, from both of which the Aegeriidae may at once be recognized by the very different venation and especially by the locking system between the forewings and hindwings/ described in the following diagnosis and not found outside the family. Tongue normally well developed, strong, naked, spiraled, but in some genera aborted and not functional {Euhagena, Penstemonia). Eyes rather small, smooth, not hairy. Ocelli present. Antenna one-half to four-fifths as long as forewing; in the numerically largest groups dilated from the middle to the tip, ending in a small hair tuft, but in Bemhecia and Zenodoxus tapering toward apex and not tufted at tip ; the male in all groups with bipectination of various length on under- side and with sensory areas especially on outer half; upperside smoothly scaled ; the femaJes with simple, smooth antennae. Face, head, and thorax normally smooth, but rough-haired in a few genera {Euhagena). Labial palpus well developed, more or less curved upright or obliquely porrected; second joint smooth or with a more or less developed brush of varying length ; terminal joint short, bluntly pointed, upright.