Neotropical Microlepidoptera XXV. New leaf-mining moths from Chile, with remarks on the history and composition of Phyllocnistinae (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae).

Prophyllocnistis epidrimys n. gen., n. sp. , and Phyllocnistis puyehuensis n. sp ., are described from Chile. The larva of Prophyllocnistis epidrimys is a serpentine leafminer on Drimys winteri chilensis (DC) A. Gray and D. winteri andina Reiche. Morphologically, the species appears most allied to the North American Metriochroa psychotriella Busck, which is also recognized as a member of the subfamily Phyllocnistinae along with the Old World genus, Cryphiomystis. Either the last instar larva or pupa of Prophyllocnistis epidrimys is heavily parasitized by a braconid, Clinocentrus sp. The life history of Phyllocnistis puyehuensis is unknown. The known stages of both species are fully illustrated. The leaf mines of Prophyllocnistis resemble those of the earliest gracillariid fossil mines known from the Cenomanian of the earliest Upper Cretaceous (97 m.y.a.). Discovery of the latter suggests that all three subfamilies of the Gracillariidae arose when the angiosperms were beginning to radiate.

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