Ogdoconta Butler

Ogdoconta Butler, 1891, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 6, 7:462.

The genus Ogdoconta is a moderate size genus with its largest concentration of species in the south-central and southwestern United States, Mexico, and Central America. However species of the genus occur throughout most of the New World, including the single species Ogdoconta cinereola in the eastern United States and Canada. The species in Ogdoconta are small to moderate in size and most of them are not particularly distinctive superficially. There is no superficial character that will always identify this genus. However there are characters in both the male and female genitalia unique to Ogdoconta. The most distinctive feature of the species in Ogdoconta is the divided valve in the male genitalia. The saccular and cucullar regions are separate, although joined at the base. In the female genitalia the appendix bursae is wide and membranous and has one complete coil in it. The appendix bursae is not distinctly separated from the ductus seminalis and the two cannot be distinguished from each other. The larva has three SV3 setae on abdominal segment I and in the male genitalia the vinculum and tegumen articulate simply and directly as in Condica. Therefore this genus has been placed in the Condicinae.

In addition to the species occuring in the United States and Canada, the other described neotropical species of Ogdoconta are:

Ogdoconta lilacina (Druce)
Ogdoconta cymographa Hampson
Ogdoconta justitia Dyar
Ogdoconta plumbea Dyar Ogdoconta pulvilinea
Ogdoconta musculus (Schaus)
Schaus

In addition there are several undescribed species from both Central and South America in the collection of the USNM.

Within North America north of Mexico the genus Ogdoconta breaks up into three groups. The first group (here called the altura species group) contains the four species altura, sexta, moreno, and new species 1. All four of these species have nearly identical male and female genitalia, although superficially only sexta and altura appear superficially similar. This group has a simple valve without projections of any kind on the outer margin. There is no clasper and the vesica of the aedoeagus is elongate with a twist in it. In the female genitalia the ostium is largely membranous with at most a small rectangular plate in it. The corpus bursae is globular with a single internal signum. The appendix bursae is large and coiled in accordance with the coil in the vesica of the male genitalia. Also the junction between the appendix bursae and the ductus seminalis is not obvious. The ovipositor lobes of these four species are varicolored with light circles around the setal insertions.

Ogdoconta cinereola is peripherally a member of this group, but shows some notable differences, in particular the presence of a clasper at the junction of the saccular and cucullar regions of the valve of the male genitalia. In addition the vesica of the aedoeagus has a complete coil in it, while the vesicas of the four other species have a half or three-quarters coil. The distribution of cinereola also falls outside that of the first four species. Specifically cinereola occurs throughout eastern North America, while the first four species are confined to Texas or north-eastern Mexico. Outside of our region the altura group also contains Ogdoconta muscula Schaus and Ogdoconta pulvilinea Schaus as well as undescribed species. The second group contains the single species, Ogdoconta new species 2 in North America. This species is characterized by a large projection from the outer margin of the cucullar portion of the valve. The aedoeagus is longer and thinner than in the members of the altura species group. In the female genitalia the ostium is strongly sclerotized and the sclerotization continues down the ductus bursae. The appendix bursae is not coiled as in the altura species group and there is a distinct junction between the end of the appendix bursae and the inception of the ductus seminalis. Outside of our region the this group also contains Ogdoconta plumbea as well as at least one undescribed species from Tamaulipas in northern Mexico. The last group contains the North American species Ogdoconta tacna. The outer margin of the valve in the male genitalia is hatchet shaped and there are a series of projecting knobs. The vesica of the aedoeagus has a row of short, stubby spines. In the female genitalia the ostium and caudal half of the ductus bursae are strongly sclerotized. The appendix bursae has a coil and the junction between it and the ductus seminalis is not well marked. The most distinctive feature of tacna is the strong rugose sclerotization of the appendix bursae and the general region of the juncture of the ductus bursae, corpus bursae, and appendix bursae. Outside of our region the tacna group also contains Ogdoconta lilacina Druce and Ogdoconta justitia Dyar as well as a number of undescribed species from both Central and South America.