Pyramidobela ochrolepra Powell 1973

Pyramidobela ochrolepra Powell

A small, pale brown moth from southern Mexico, with three ochreous, upraised scale tufts on the forewing.

MALE.–Length of forewing 7.2 mm. Head: Labial palpus elongate, moderately strongly upcurved, exceeding crown; second segment length 2.1 times eye diameter, slightly curved, third segment about 0.6 as long as second, slightly curved; second segment with broad, distally spreading scale tuft, mixed pale brownish and white, third segment about half obscured by scaling of second, slender, smooth scaled, whitish, dark at apex. Antenna not dilated, width of shaft basally about 0.15 eye diameter; scaling brown dorsally, pale ventrally, becoming ochreous distally. Scaling of tongue, maxillary palpus, front, and crown whitish intermixed with pale brownish. Thorax: Dorsal scaling brownish, the scale tips not so broadly white as on head; lateral brushes of metanotum elongate, covering the unsealed scutellum. Underside whitish; legs mottled with brownish; hind tibial fringe moderately short. Forewing: Narrow, length about 4.3 times width; costa gently curved, appearing concave at middle (owing to fringe). Ground color brownish white, costal and dorsal areas faintly suffused with darker brown, leaving an ill-defined, whitish clouding longitudinally through middle of wing. Three ochreous, upraised tufts: first largest (about as wide as eye), on Cu fold at basal one-third; second small, of a few scales in middle of cell; third at end of cell, intermediate in size (a fourth tuft of other Pyramidobela, just above and before the large one on Cu fold, inconspicuously represented by a few weakly upraised, white scales). Fringe pale brownish. Underside brown; fringe paler. Hindwing: Costal margin slightly excavate toward apex, tornal angle not evident. Ground color pale gray; fringe whitish gray. Underside similar, irregularly mottled with brown. Abdomen: Scaling shining pale gray with intermixed dark brown on dorsum and venter. Genitalia as in Figure 50 (drawn from holotype, JAP prep. no. 2609; one preparation examined); very similar to P. tetraphyta, cucullus extension slightly narrower, sacculus setae larger and more sparsely distributed.

FEMALE.–Unknown.

TYPE.–Holotype male: Mexico, El Sumidero, 15 miles northwest of Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, August 1, 1957, at light (J. A. Chemsak and B. J. Rannals); unique; in California Academy of Sciences.

REMARKS.–Superficially this moth looks most similar to P. agyrtodes among the described species, but the genitalia relate it to P. tetraphyta.

Pyramidobela ochrolepra is a moth in the family Oecophoridae. It is found in Mexico.

The length of the forewings is about 7.2 mm (0.28 in). The ground color of the forewings is brownish white. The costal and dorsal areas are faintly suffused with darker brown, leaving an ill-defined, whitish clouding longitudinally through the middle of the wing. The ground color of the hindwings is pale gray.