Noctuidae - Psaphidinae - Nocloini

Oslaria Dyar 1904

Oslaria Dyar, 1904, Jour. New York Ent. Soc., 12: 41.
Type species: Zotheca viridifera Grote, [1883]. Original designation.

The sole US species of this genus, Oslaria viridifera, looks like a large pale green member of the genus Nocloa. Oslaria may be defined and recognized by:

1) The frontal process of the head iis roughly shaped like an upside-down heart. There is no central process and the whole structure is separate from the clypeal margin. The frontal process is continuous without breaks either laterally or dorsal-ventrally.

2) The uncus of the male genitalia is short and stubby with long hairs on its outer surface.

3) The male valve has no distinct corona but its apical fifth contains an irregular mass of long coarse spines. The clasper is strongly curved toward apex of valve and cucullus has a patch of long spine-like hairs dorsal to the position position of clasper.

4) The male vesica of the aedoeagus is simple, about four times longer than wide, and has two bands of spines, one covering most of length of vesica, the other opposite and consisting of a row of four to six spines.

5) The ductus bursae of the female genitalia has its caudal half membranous, the cephalad half with sclerotized internal ridges. The corpus bursae is ovate to trapezoidal, with internal plicae. The ductus seminalis arises from the cephalad end of the corpus bursae.

The genus Oslaria contains two species, but only one, Oslaria viridifera, occurs north of the Mexican border. Oslaria viridescens Schaus, the second species is known from the states of Jalisco, Morelos, Oaxaca, Guerrero, Veracruz in Mexico. Oslaria viridescens is slightly larger, more contrastingly marked, and slightly browner than viridifera.

The larva and its foodplants are unknown.

Included Species

Oslaria viridifera