Scevesia, DYAR, 1916

35. SCEVESIA DYAR, 1916 View in CoL

Scevesia Dyar, 1916 , Proceedings of the United States National Museum, 51: 22. Type species: Scevesia broidricci Dyar, 1916

Adults. ( Figure 3L View FIGURE 3 ) Head: male antennae bipectinate, female antennae filiform; antennal tuft absent; third segment of labial palpi short; ocelli absent. Thorax: tarsal claws bifid, prothoracic scent organ absent. Wings: males 38 to 47mm, females 41to 47 mm. Forewing ground color glossy light gray; accessory cell absent. Hind wing ground color white. Abdomen: caudal tuft present. Male terminalia ( Figure 8E View FIGURE 8 ): eighth sternite V shaped with a long process at base; eighth tergite with midplate; uncus short and narrow, apex truncate; socii short, upturned; valval costa heavily sclerotized and distally broadened with a series of spines; SSO absent; costulae absent; juxta a tiny, inverted triangle; aedeagus short, bearing an elongate horn-like process mesally and two smaller processes (sword handle shaped); cornuti absent. Female terminalia: eighth tergite simple; anterior apophyses long; ostium narrow; ductus bursae sclerotized only near ostium; corpus bursae oval-shaped, with a thin signum laterally near base; posterior apophyses long, and thin; papillae anales membranous (clam-shaped).

Diagnosis. Scevesia can be identified by the eighth tergite with a long central process at the base, the large, broad valvae which are narrow at the bottom and wide distally with a hooked apical process distad from a heavily sclerotized costa, as well as by the square, sword-handle shape of the aedeagus.

Comments. Both Haxairella Thiaucourt, 2004 and Narriocampa Thiaucourt, 1981 were recently placed in synonymy with Scecvesia (St Laurent et al. in press). Becker (2014) incorrectly synonymized Narriocampa with Ginaldia Schaus and treated both it and Haxairella as heterocampines. Genitalia of the rarely collected species described by Thiaucourt can be found in Thiaucourt (1981, 2004). Recent phylogenomic evidence fully supports the transfer of Scevesia to Nystaleinae from Periergosinae as was the placement in Miller et al. (2018). Likewise, this phylogenetic information shows that Scevesia forms a close relationship with Dunama , another previously difficultto-place taxon. We note similarities in the aedeagus shape to some species of Dasylophia . The larvae of Scevesia and Dunama are quite similar, being some of the only Nystaleinae s.s. larvae bearing prominent setae.

Distribution. USA to Ecuador.

Species included (5).

Scevesia anisa ( Thiaucourt, 2004)

Scevesia angustiora Barnes and McDunnough, 1910 View in CoL

Scevesia broidricci Dyar, 1916 *

Scevesia carita ( Thiaucourt, 2004)

Scevesia grisea (Thiaucourt, 1981)