Harmaclona triacantha Davis 1998

Harmaclona triacantha

MALE (Figure 154).—Forewing length 5.8–8.5 mm.

Head: Similar to H. cossidella in color except occipital brownish band not evident; scales mostly 2–4 dentate. Antenna 40–49-segmented, otherwise similar to H. cossidella in color and structure; flagellomeres without spherical sensory cavities.

Thorax: Mesonotum similar in color to H. cossidella. Forewing predominantly pale gray irrorated with brown and fuscous, the latter tending to concentrate in small, transverse spots thereby imparting a faint barred pattern to forewing; an irregular narrow streak of white usually distinct along subcostal margin; fringe heavily suffused with fuscous, a narrow, dark fuscous line around most of subterminal margin. Hindwing similar to H. cossidella. Legs as described for subfamily.

Abdomen: Light to medium brown dorsally, white irrorated with brownish fuscous ventrally.

FEMALE.—Forewing length 12–13 mm.

Head: Similar to male. Antenna 56-segmented, similar to male except flagellum filiform, with much shorter sensilla trichodea less than 0.5 the diameter of flagellomere in length.

Thorax: Similar to male in pattern; frenulum absent.

Abdomen: Similar to male in color except with long whitish to pale brown corythrogyne scales over A7.

MALE GENITALIA (Figures 295–302).—Vinculum broadly Y-shaped, with elongate saccus approximately equal to valva in length. Apotheca moderately long, ~0.43 the length of valva. Valva (Figure 297) with dorsal lobe slender, tapering; ventral lobe ~3× as broad, 0.93× as long as dorsal lobe, and abruptly tapering to a narrowly rounded apex. Anellus with 2, moderately long caudal arms, ~0.33 the length of entire anellus. Aedoeagus with elongate basal keel, ~0.42 the length of entire aedoeagus (Figure 298); apex with a divergent pair of either acute or minutely bidentate apical arms and a single, shorter, mid-dorsal spine (Figures 299, 300); even smaller dorsal spines sometimes present near or on bases of terminal arms (Figures 301, 302).

FEMALE GENITALIA (Figure 344).—Similar to H. cossidella except with caudal end of antrum abruptly flared (Figure 344). Paired setose lobes at caudal margin of sternum VIII more reduced than in either H. cossidella or H. tetracantha. Signum with 23–25 spines.

HOLOTYPE.—; FRENCH GUIANA: Piste de la Montagna des Singes, km 30, 5°05′N, 52°42′W, 150 m, at light in logged rain forest, 28 Jan 1983, J.-F. Landry, slide USNM 31540, (USNM).

PARATYPES.—BRAZIL: Espirito Santo: Linhares, 40 m: 1, 20–29 Feb 1992, V. Becker, slide DRD 3978, (VOB). Rondonia: Porto Velho, 180 m: 7 , 24 Apr-12 May 1989, V. Becker, slides USNM 31437, 31442, (VOB, USNM). FRENCH GUIANA: Maroni River: 1, no date, Le Moult, slide BM 2209, (BMNH). Piste Isnard, km 35, near Crique Portal, 5°15′N, 53°51′W: 1, 17 Jan 1983, J.-F. Landry, at light in pristine-logged rain forest, slides USNM 29872, 29891, (USNM). St Jean de Maroni: 1, slide BM 23671, (BMNH); 1, W. Schaus, slide 31539, (USNM). PERU: Madre de Dios: Rio Tambopata Reserve, 30 air km SW of Pto. Maldonado, 290 m: 1, 21–25 Nov 1979, J. Heppner, in subtropical moist forest, slide USNM 29883, (USNM). VENEZUELA: Amazonas: Basecamp, 140 m, Cerro de la Neblina, 0°50′N, 66°44′W: 1, 4–12 Feb 1984, D. Davis, slide USNM 29888; 1, 24 Nov-1 Dec 1984, R. Brown, slide USNM 29868, (USNM).

FLIGHT PERIOD.—Adults of this poorly sampled species probably emerge throughout the year, as is true for H. cossidella. Capture records include November-February and April-May.

DISTRIBUTION (Map 8).—This species ranges widely through the lowland tropical rainforests of Amazonia from southern Venezuela and French Guiana to eastern Peru south to Espirito Santo of southeastern Brazil.

ETYMOLOGY.—The specific name is derived from the Greek tri (three) and akantha (thorn, prickle), in reference to the three primary spines at the apex of the aedoeagus.