Spragueia leo

Spragueia Grote, 1875

Heliocontia Hampson, 1910

Mnesipyrga Meyrick, 1913

The genus Spragueia contains 21 species of small, colorful moths found from southern Canada to the American tropics. The genus has traditionally been associated with
the group of genera now amalgamated into Ponometia, probably because of small size and bold forewing pattern, compared with the bird-dropping look of most species of
Tarache and Acontia. The male genitalia, however, are asymmetrical, and the ampulla well developed, as in Acontia, Pseudalypia, and Eusceptis, so we associate Spragueia with these genera.

Male genitalia . The clasper of each valve is a broad plate arising from the ventral margin of the valve with a well developed ampulla on each side with the setae enlarged, so the ampulla resembles a mace. The right clasper ends in a heavily sclerotized spine-like process that is absent on the left valve. The vesica has four lobes covered with spicules. A strong corona is usually present.

Female genitalia. The ostium is deeply invaginated and heavily sclerotized with the sclerotization commonly
extended into the corpus bursae. The corpus bursae is usually globular with its anterior half weakly sclerotized.

Food plants. Species have been reared from plant species in the families Malvaceae, Sterculiaceae, Asteraceae, Convolvulaceae, and Poaceae.

Plates

Plate 1 Spragueia 1

Plate 2 - Spragueia 2