Description of the female of Brypoctia punctifer (Hampson, 1898) (Lepidoptera: Cossidae: Zeuzerinae)

The article describes for the first time the external characters and genitals of the female Brypoctia punctifer (Hampson, 1898). The description is accompanied by a detailed diagnosis and illustrations.

Mr. J.-P. Delvalée and Mr. F. Deknuydt collected a series of B. punctifer (Hampson, 1898) in Martinique, which included females. Their description is given below.

Materials and methods
The genital preparations were made according to Lafontaine & Mikkola (1987).
The morphological terminology used in the description follows Kristensen (2003).
The type material and further material from the Natural History Museum (London, U.K.) and Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle (Paris, France) is detailed in .

Description
Adult male is detailed by Hampson (1898). Adult female: length of fore wing 23−28 mm; wingspan 50−60 mm; antennae filiform, light-brown; head and thorax densely covered with light-grey scales; abdomen also covered with less dense layer of lightgrey scales; fore wing elongated, wider than that of male, pattern smoky (more smoky than in male) with poorly visible dark transverse band discally; hind wing white with hardly noticeable grey undulated pattern.
Male genitalia is detailed in .  Female genitalia: papillae anales elongated, slightly acute, covered with short setae closer to proximal end; ovipositor very long, with long setae in middle of proximal half; apophyses anteriores significantly shorter than apophyses posteriores; ostium poorly submerged; antrum oval, well sclerotized; ductus wide, short; bursa big, bag-like, oval, with star-shaped signum on lateral surface; thin duct ending with small bulla passing from lateral surface of bursa (opposite to signum), ductus seminalis thin, flowing into bursa next to branch of bulla duct.

Diagnosis
In the female genitalia, among the studied representatives of the genera, the genus Brypoctia is most close to the genus Psychonoctua, as the specimens of the genera Allocryptobia and Ceuroma have a longer ovipositor and a much smaller bursa, the bulla duct in these genera passes from the ductus, while in Brypoctia and Psychonoctua the duct passes directly from the bursa. Together with this, the female genitalia of B. punctifer have such unique characters as the antrum shape and size and the star-like structure of the signum.
Distribution. Lesser Antilles: Grenada, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Martinique, Dominica, Guadeloupe and Nevis. Flight period. All year round, but more abundant from March to May.