''Mormogystia'' is a genus of

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

s belonging to the family

Cossidae The Cossidae, the cossid millers or carpenter millers, make up a family of mostly large miller moths. This family contains over 110 genera with almost 700 known species, and many more species await description. Carpenter millers are Lepidopter ...

. ''Mormogystia'' species are medium-sized moths with bright colours and uniformly-coloured hindwings. They have large silvery areas on the forewing, a trait that distinguishes them from all other

genera. Males have bipectinate antennae with short processes, while females have highly reduced antennal pecten. They are found in North Africa, the Levant, Arabian Peninsula, and Kenya.

Diagnosis

''Mormogystia'' species are medium-sized moths with bright colours and uniformly-coloured hindwings. They have large silvery areas on the forewing, a trait that distinguishes them from all other

genera. Males have bipectinate antennae with short processes, while females have highly reduced antennal pecten. In the male genitalia, the uncus is elongated, ending in a broad tip that may be either tapered or rounded. The arms of the gnathos are short and fused into a medium-sized structure densely covered with tiny spines. The valvae are shaped like shovels, featuring a prominent sacculus and a large triangular projection on the costal side. The transtilla has short, thick, hook-like (uncinate) projections. The juxta is saddle-shaped with long side extensions that curve upward. The saccus is large and semicircular. The aedeagus is short, straight, and thick, with the vesica opening located at the upper rear (dorsal-apical) end. The edges of the opening have short, spiny projections, and the vesica lacks a cornutus. In the female genitalia, the oviduct is short. The papillae anales are broad and elliptical in shape. The posterior apophyses are about one-third longer than the anterior ones. The ostium is wide and covered by a sickle-shaped (falciform) postvaginal plate. The ductus is wide and hardened (sclerotized). The bursa is soft, sack-like, and lacks any signa.

Distribution

The genus is distributed in North Africa, the Levant, Arabian Peninsula, and Kenya.

Species

*'' Mormogystia brandstetteri'' Saldaitis, Ivinskis & Yakovlev, 2011 *'' Mormogystia equatorialis'' (Le Cerf, 1933) *'' Mormogystia proleuca'' (Hampson in Walsingham et Hampson, 1896) *'' Mormogystia reibellii'' (Oberthür, 1876)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6912598 Cossinae Cossidae genera