Cuphodes Meyrick 1897

Cuphodes Meyrick, 1897 This genus, which consists of 19 species, is found in various regions including the Indo-Australian (11 species), Afrotropical (5), Paleartic (2, Japan) and Neotropical (1). The biology of only four species is known, and they feed on three plant families: Ebenaceae (2), Caesalpiniaceae, and Fabaceae (2) (De Prins & De Prins 2011–2023a). In South Africa there are four reported species: C. diospyri Vári, 1961, C. dolichocera Vári, 1961, C. leucocera Vári, 1961, which are endemic and C. melanostola (Meyrick, 1918a), discussed below, which is also found in central Africa and is reported to feed on Ebenaceae as a new host plant family. Vári (1961) redescribed the genus and considered an Indo-Australian genus, Phrixosceles Meyrick, 1908, as its synonym based on a list by Fletcher (1929). However, a morphological comparison between the type genus Phrixosceles trochosticha Meyrick, 1908 (see plate 48, fig. 3 in Vári 1961) and the Cuphodes African species reveals that the venation alone can be referred as Cuphodes, but not the genitalia. In Phrixosceles, the tegumen is very long, with a shorter tuba analis, and paired processes arise from the ventral part of the tegumen (peniculi?). The sacculus also has a long, pointed process. These morphological characters confirm that Phrixosceles is a separate genus.