Elachista saccharella ( Busck, 1934 )

Kaila, Lauri, 2019, An annotated catalogue of Elachistinae of the World (Lepidoptera: Gelechioidea: Elachistidae), Zootaxa 4632 (1), pp. 1-231 : 117

Elachista saccharella ( Busck, 1934)

Donacivola saccharella Busck, 1934: 169 . Type localities: Cuba, [Estación Experimental Agronómica at Santiago de la Vegas]; Cuba, Baraguá. Syntypes in USNM. See Remarks .

Elachista saccharella: Kaila (1999a: 169) .

Dicranoctetes saccharella: Braun (1935: 47) .

Subgenus: Elachista ; saccharella species group.

Distribution: Nearctic-Neotropical. Cuba, Peru, Equador, U.S.A. (Florida, Louisiana).

Larval host plant(s): Saccharum officinarum L. ( Poaceae ) ( Busck 1934),? Muhlenbergia sp. ( Poaceae ) ( Sruoga 2010).

Figs.: Busck (1934), Kaila (1999b), Sruoga (2010).

Remarks: Busck (1934) implies the existence of one ‘type’, in USNM, Catalogue No. 44141, yet mentions two type localities. According to Brown et al. (2004) there is in the USNM a female specimen, numbered # 9633, considered the holotype by them. This specimen is also mentioned by Busck (1934) as part of (?) syntypes, yet with an indication that this specimen would not be the primary type. The interpretation of Brown et al. (2004) was the same as Kaila’s (1999b). The species has been reported to cause damage to sugarcane ( Long & Hensley 1972).