Noctuidae - Acontiinae

 

 

Ponometia megocula

 

Ponometia Herrich-Schäffer, 1868


Fruva Grote, 1877

Heliodora Neumoegen, 1891

Graeperia Grote, 1895

Tarachidia Hampson, 1898

Tornacontia Smith, 1900

Conochares Smith, 1905

Neptunia Barnes & McDunnough, 1911

Uniptena Nye, 1975


Ponometia is a large genus of New World Acontiinae with 47 described species. We list it first because of the bilaterally symmetrical male genitalia. Unlike Tarache and Acontia, only a few species have a moth that resembles a bird dropping.

The genus is most easily characterized by the relatively small size of the moth (forewing length: 6–16 mm, but most species 8–12 mm), and the male and female genitalia.

Male genitalia. The valves are bilaterally symmetrical with only a few species showing slight differences between the valves (e.g., P. albitermen, P. binocula, P. tortricina). The clasper is a long spine-like process on the ventral margin of the valve that turns upward, often abruptly so, to project onto the inner surface of the valve. The diagnostic feature of Ponometia is the vesica; there are one or two long diverticula, each with a longitudinally-ridged apical cornutus, and there is a comb-like row of small cornuti on the apical part of the vesica.

Female genitalia . The inner surface of the corpus bursae is covered posteriorly, sometimes entirely, with large patches of long spines 5–10 × as long as wide.


Food plants. Food plants are recorded for Ponometia candefacta (Ambrosia spp.), Ponometia erastrioides (Ambrosia spp.), Ponometia acutus (Ambrosia sp.), Ponometia altera (Haplopappus and Ericameria), and Ponometia libedis (Iva ambrosiaefolia), all in the Asteraceae. In addition Ponometia bicolorata has been reared from Simsia foetida in the Asteraceae and Heliotropium indicum in the Boraginaceae.

 

Species of Ponometia

acutus
alata
albimargo
albitermen
altera
bicolorata
binocula
candefacta
clausula
cuta
deleta
dorneri
elegantula
erastrioides
exigua
fasciatella
heonyx
huita
hutsoni
libedis
mcdunnoughi
megocula
nigra
new species 1
new species 2
new species 3
parvula
phecolisca
pulchra
semiflava
septuosa
sutrix
tortricina
tripartita
venustula
virginalis

Plates

Plate 3 Ponometia 1

Plate 4 Ponometia 2

Plate 5 Ponometia 3

Plate 6 - Ponometia 4