Mit|<* «w^»**toll mc l$>':!^S^^t ik iM ' II *w«fci I'll 1 1 ^..- AAAlBflP^lk^^ >^^-^^ Z^^'^^^^'A^ <.-... --^_nihiiliil*!l!:« \^t^**9-^- a^AA T' Tt Tl ■; ^^.^- \\ Kr\r^^^ Unl Wm 1 ^"^ '^1^ iTHElffi PPIDOPTERI5' ZAdsZ^^ X. Official Bulletin of the Boston Entomological Club. Rudolf C. B- Bartsch _ . . Editor ^ 46 Guernsey St., Roslindale, Mass. Vol. I. November 15, 1916 No. 1 lj» j|. . The Bulletin will appear about ErQUor s ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^j^ n-ioxMh. It is to v^orner i^g devoted exclusively to notes and articles on Lepidoptera. Short notes and articles are solicited for publication. The Bulletin will be made a fortnightly publication as soon as possible and if given the right support will be made a weekly. This is our AIM. We find that there is no weekly paper published in this country and so it is practically im- possible to advertise non-hibernating living material which of course has only a limited time for offer of sale. The Boston Entomological Club Notes was formed in October, 1915. The Club only encourages mem- bership to Entomologists that are interested in the study and collecting of Lepidoptera. There are at the present time twenty members in good standing. The dues are fifty cents per year. The Club has one feature which is new to Ento- mological Societies in this country. After each regu- lar business meeting the Club holds an auction sale of specimens belonging to various members. A 10 per cent commission is charged which is placed in the treasury of the Club. Several hundred dollars worth of material has changed hands in this manner to the satisfaction of all concerned. THE LEPIDOPTERIST All Entomologists interested in Lepidoptera ought to search out every one in their locality interested in this particular group of insects and form local clubs. When several of these Clubs have been formed, why not amalgamate into a National Association of Lepi- dopterists. National Conventions or meetings could be held each year in different cities, bringing together collectors from all over the country. By this means all honest collectors could be protected and others shown in their true colors. Philatelist have such National Societies which are of a very great benefit to its members. It ought to be possible for such an organization to find men, that are authorities on certain groups or families of Lepidoptera, who would be wil- ling to identify material for members of their Society. This alone would be of great benefit to hundreds of collectors in the United States. The Association when it becomes strong enough should publish a priced catologue of all known species of moths and butter- flies of the United States and Canada. This would facilitate exchange amongst collectors. Lepidopterists Think It Over, Then Let Us Hear From You- A New Form of Catocala Pura By Walter F. Eastman. West Roxbury, Mass- Catocala pura var. nigra f. nov. A very striking blackish form of Catocala pura Hulst The Primaries are heavily suffused with blackish scales, so black that the specimen closely resembles Catocala briseis Ed- wards- The T. A. and the T. P. lines prominent and edged with white. Upper edge of veins more heavily suffused with black than the lower side giving the ap- pearance of corrugated iron. Basal dash prominent, extending to the T. P. line but broken at the T. A. line- Secondaries like the normal form except for the orange red color showing plainly in the hollows of the scallops of the outer edge of the marginal band. Spec- imen bred from eggs secured from Utah specimen. Type I 9 , Provo Utah- Collection of author. J Catocaia ilia var. normani. THE LEPIDOPTERIST Two New Forms of Catocalae By Rudolf C. B. Bartsch, Roslindale, Mass- Catocala ilia var. normani forma NOV. A very beautiful and strikingly marked variety of Catocala ilia, Cramer. Primaries : Ground color dark brownish gray, suffused with blackish scales- Lines not prominent. Area between the T. A. line and the S. T. line heavily suffused with blackish brown. A prominent white spot inside of the S. T. line below the second large tooth of the T. P. line. Secondaries : It is on the secondaries that the most marked variation occurs. Median band as in normal form. Marginal band broader, the internal edge very irregular with toothed shadings toward the median band and joining the median band just above the elbow, dividing the orange red color into two parts. Underside as in the typical forms. Plate No. 1. Type 1 $ ; Concord, Mass. July 15, 1914. Collection of the author. Catocala coccinata var. ciiiquita forma nov. This variety has for it congener the form diana Hy. Edwards, of Catocala concumbens Walker, having a rose-colored adbomen instead of the normal yellowish gray adbomen of the typical form. Type 1 9 ; Concord, Mass. July 18, 1914. Collection of the author. Lepidopterological Items from Massachusetts By Wm. Reiff. Jamaica Plain, Mass- The collecting season of 1916 was quite different from that of preceding years. Butterflies were in abundance all the season, not one of the species usually found in this State proved to be scarce. Several in- teresting abberations were found, some of a very extreme aberrant character, as for instance Vanessa antiopa var. hygisea, Colias philodice abber., a form parallel to the form nigrofasciata of the palaearctic Colias hyale. A more detailed description of this THE LEPIDOPTERIST Philodice aberation will be given in a later number of this paper. There was also caught a remarkable specimen of Pap. glaucus f . turnus : secondaries same as turnus but with the primaries like glaucus with an irregular yellow band similar to the cresphontes band, extending from the base of the wing to the apex. Massachusetts seems to be a great field for aberrant specimens of Pap. turnus. The writer caught this year a peroneurous aberration of this species. This specimen shows the veins developed in a wavy or zigzag manner- The deep ochroceous form of turnus with all the black markings extended was taken. It may be mentioned at this time, that in 1915 the rare turnus f. fletcheri was caught in Massachusetts. The Sphingidae, Saturniidse and allied families were found in usual numbers. The abundance of our clear winged Hemaris in both generations was noticeable. The tomato sphinx^ Protoparce quinque-maculata, could be found in its caterpillar stage where ever there were any tomato plants. The large silk moths are getting scarcer every year in the eastern part of Massachusetts, due to the very extensive spraying for the Gipsy moth with Arsenate of Lead. Already many of our native species of moths are thus exterminated in various parts of eastern Massachusetts. The known hunting grounds for Hemileuca maia did not yield as good results as in other years, while on the other hand new localities were discovered where the male moths appeared in large numbers with a few females occasionally. Noctuidae were represented in good numbers in the spring and again in the fall. The summer months were decidedly poor for Noctuidge. The pretty green Hemlock moth, Feralia jocosa, was in its localities early in spring as numerous as usual but the Pine moth, Feralia major, unually found in fair numbers, proved to be rare. Sugaring for early Noctuidse gave good results. The surprise of the season were the Catocalae. Species which were usually abundant, were either THE LEPIDOPTERIST scarce or did not show up at all, as for instance fratercula with its forms, similis f. aholah, our north- ern form of arnica as yet undescribed, cerogama, and others. Catocala coccinata which in certain localities is more numerous than any other Catocala species was represented by only four specimens, this year. On the other hand some species appeared in surprisingly large numbers, as for instance, ultronia, badia, retecta, hab- ilis and unijuga. Some appeared normally abundant : gracilis f. sordida, antinympha, concumbens. Catocala cara, and amatrix were scarce. Three specimens of Erebus odora were taken in different localities in East- ern Massachusetts. For Geometridae it was one of the finest collecting seasons until August, when they became scarce. The writer has never seen them in such large numbers as appeared in May and June- Arctiidae, Cossidse and Hepialidse were rather scarce, except for the imported Leopard moth, Zeucera pyrina. Three female specimens were taken of the rare Priono- nystus macmurtrei, freshly emerged, on red oak. GEOMETRID NOTES New Species from California By L.IV. Swett Cleora melanocarpa n. sp. Male : Expanse 30-32mm. Head and thorax brown, palpi short and black scaled. Forewings brownish with black basal line, which starts from prominent spot on the costa, about one fourth out and curves back almost to base of wing. There seems to be a faint geminate line accompaning this on inner side. Half way between the intra and extra discal lines, is a heavy black spot on costa, which is connected by an incurved line with the black discal dot. From the discal spot the line runs straight to inner margin, accentuated on median vane by a black spot- The extra discal line starts about one fourth in from the apex and makes a curve rounded outwardly to vein C, 1, then curves inwardly THE LEPIDOPTERIST to inner margin. From costa to vein C, I, the line rather appears as dots on the veins and is followed by narrow brown shade line. A submarginal whitish zigzag line, just below apex connected with outer mar- gin. Fringe brown checkered with black at ends of the veins. The hind wings are brownish, basal line running almost straight to vein M. I. where it disappears. The extra discal line runs close to discal spot, not quite touching it followed by a brown shade line. There is a whitish zigzag marginal line. Edge of hind wing somewhat scalloped, fringe checkered with black at ends of veins. The forewings beneath are pale ashen brown, the discal spots are round and black. The costa is pale brown speckled with black. Hind wings be- neath same color as forewings also without markings except black discal spots. The type was sent to me some years ago by Mr. Grossbeck, who received it with other specimens from Mr. George H. Field. Some of Mr. Grossbeck's specimens differed from mine in heavier markings but I believe them only forms. Holotype S, Boulevard. California, July 15, 1908. From Mr. Grossbeck, collected by G. H. Field and in my collection. Paratype $ , Julian, California. July 25, 1908, from Mr. W. S. Wright of San Diego, California and in his collection. This species resembles atritrigaria Barnes and McDunnough superficially. (To be continued) ENTOMOLOGICAL SUPPLIES. Spreading: Boards, 19 inches long^, 40c, 50c, 60c. Spreading Board Cabinet, with 10 boards and three empty spaces for additional boards, $8.50. These cabinets are our invention and they have proven to be the best method for safely keeping and drying- specimens while on the boards. Exhibition Boxes, glass covered, all sizes. Prices upon application • o e*il" •**'°" Breeding and Pupa-Cage, own invention, from $2.50 to $4.00, according to size. Best thing ever made in the line, as recommendations show. All Supplies are hand made by experts in the branch. Our new and complete list will be ready this month and will be sent free on request New England Entomological Co. oept. a supplies, see Arbcrway, Jamaica Plain, Mass. THE LEPIDOPTERIST THE L EPIDOP TERIST Subscription, 35 cents per year, payable in advance. Extra copies, 4 cents each. Advertising Rates. One space, 50 cents; 4 spaces or more, 10% discount. Per issue, cash with copy. All advertising matter must be in the hands of the Editor by the 20th of the month to insure publication. Trade Column ADVERTISING rates ^c. per word. Matter solid. No display. Cash with copy. EXCHANGE desired with other periodicals. 2 copies preferred. Editor. Catocala eggs wanted. 2 doz. each species. Send name and price. Rudolf C. B. Bartsch, 46 Guernsey St., Roslindale, Mass. WILL buy or exchange Cato- calse. W. F. Eastman, 75 Maple St., West Roxbury, Mass. WANTED, to buy CatocaL-e. Send list and price. H. J. Law, 131 Savin Hill Ave., Dorchester, Mass. WANTED for cash or in ex- change, rare species of Sphin- gidae and Catocala; of the world in perfect condition ; also fertile eggs of Catocalae, hibernating larvae and pupae of butterflies, sphingidae, arc- tiidae, etc. New England Entomological Co^, 366 Ar- borway, Jamaica Plain, Mass. OFFER fertile eggs: Ca. concumbens, unijuga and v. clara for cash or exchange. Prices 20, 30 and 40c per dozen or 60, 90 and 120c for 50 eggs. Also Pupae of Halis caryae 7c. each and 75c. per dozen. In exchange will accept fertile eggs of west- ern, poplar feeding Cato- calae or really perfect Lepi- doptera specimens for my collection, especially : Pieridae, Lycaeindae, Arctiidae, Cato- calas and Geometridae, Max Rothke, 1841 East Elm St., Scranton, Pa. GEOMETERS wanted from all southern states. Good cash prices well be paid. Species wanted from Texas, Miss., Georgia, Alabama and Florida. Samuel E. Cassino, 20 Naples Road, Salem, Mass. WANTED Geometridce from Florida; will name and ex- change. L. W. Sweet, 10 Farragat Ave., West Somer- ville, Mass. SEND ten dollars and get the bargain of the season : 100 North American butter- flies in 40 species in papers, good average condition. None from Mass., New York, New Jersey, Penn. All with cor- rect data and names. New England Entomological Co., 366 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, Mass. WANTED to exchange East- ern Catocalae for those of other localities. Rudolf C. B. Bartsch, 46 Guernsey St., Roslindale, Mass. 8 THE LEPIDOPTERIST We offer the following: specimens, collected during: J9J6 in Peru, South America: Papilio hetaerius $ -50 thyastes I 00 " leucapsis -60 thoas .60 Metamorpha dido .50 Polygrapha cyanea 2.50 Perrhybris lorena .25 Gonopteryx menippe .40 Catagramma cynosura .60 " excelsissima .75 Special prices in dozen or 50 lots. Largest stock of N. A. and exotic Lepidoptera in United States Ward's Natural Science Establishment 84-102 College Ave. Rochester, N. Y. South American Butterflies in papers, absolutely- perfect, all males. with correct data and names: — Pap. phaeton $ .60 Act. hilaris .20 nealces .20 Hel. eratonius .15 " agesilaus •15 " dor is .15 " archesilaus •25 " colombina .20 " columbus Koll. .60 " adana .20 Perrh. luteifera .20 Sm. blomfildia .20 Lept. eleone .15 Hist, orion .20 Ten euterpe .10 Caton. estite .15 Cat. philea .15 Catagr. lyca .25 rurina •15 Peris, vaninka ■30 " argante .10 " bonplandi •25 Gon. menippe .20 Call, clymena •IS Tith. bonplandi •25 Opsiph. kleisthenes •25 Postage IOC. on every order. Remittance must be sent with order New England Entomological Co. 366 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, Mass. THEKATOKALACO. Dealers in Catocalas of the world. Ova.Larvas, Pupas and Imagos in season, bought, sold and ex- changed. Write us before order- ing or selling elsewhere. 46 Guernsey St., Roslindale, Mass- Do You Collect ^END for Postage Stamps? lists. aIi the new "War" Stamps received as soon as issued. Old Stamps Bought. WRITE ME! FRANK P. BROWN CO, 325 Washington St.. • Boston jsm/mBwrnm THEl EPDOPTERIS' ian i nsf/ Official Bulletin of the Boston Entomological C^^i « ^ — — — -1-^I^'va/ M.isev^^. Rudolf C. B- Baktsch . _ _ Editoh 46 Guernsey St-, RosHndale, Mass. Vol. I December 15, 1916 No. 2 — ,. , The Bulletin in its first number C«aitor s j^^^y Yi^^Q seemed small in com- Corner parison to the other journals de- voted to Entomology, but we believe it is better to grow from a small good paper to a large valuable one than it is to start with a big show and gradually slide down until the periodical is a financial failure, and then either stopped altogether or left to some generous per- son to dig deep in his pocket to keep it alive for a few years longer. Subscriptions are coming very good and the requests for advertising space are coming from all quarters, showing that both the dealers and collec- tors appreciate the fact that a weekly paper is badly needed. Have we received your subscription? If not, WHY NOT? We are now prepared to have a question department. Your questions with their answers will be published under the heading of Question Box. We will also identify material, sent us, free of charge. The owners must pay all postal or express charges and if sent by post must be sent registered or we can not hold ourselves responsible. The auction sales of specimens Notes which the Club holds twice monthly are a great success, many specimens bringing more than double the stan- dard list price. An example: Cat. parta listed at 15c. 10 THE LEPIDOPTER IST sold for 32c., Cat. fraxini listed at 25c., sold for 65c. While rarity is important it apparently does not count so much as fine condition. At a recent meeting it was suggested that an in- formal discussion on some subject of interest to Lepi- dopterists take place each meeting immediately after the regular business of the evening, the subject to be announced in advance and some member appointed to lead the discussion. The first subject chosen was "General Methods in Collecting," Many interesting points were brought out in regard to the effects of temperature and atmospheric conditions. The next subject will be "The Arrangement of a Collection." GEOMETRID NOTES New Species from California By L. W. Swett Chlorosea NAiDARiA N. SP- Male: Expanse 25-29mm. Head whitish between antennae, palpi and front of head rose-colored. Abdomen whitish, dorsally with a rose colored ring on basal segement- Palpi short in both sexes, legs heavily washed with rose. Forewings, a beautiful pea green washed with rose along the costa, and the fringe is checked with rose at the ends of the veins. A very faint basal white line runs straight from costa to inner margin. The small round green discal spot is not apparent in all specimens. The extra discal line begins about one fourth in from the apex and runs straight to inner margin. The hind wings are whitish at the base shaded with green at outer margin. The discal spot is very small and dark green in color. Beyond is a white line curving across the wing from margin to margin. Fringe is green checkered with rose at the ends of the veins. Beneath pale green, the costa is stained with rose from base almost to apex of wing. There are no lines apparent only the small green discal spots showing. The fringe is green checkered with THE LEPIDOPTERIST 1 1 rose as above. Hind wings same as forewings without markings and having a checkered fringe. Back of the head, below antennae, there is a deep rose colored collar. This is a very beautiful "green" and the checkered fringe and other points I have noted should readily distinguish it from all others. Some years ago Mr. George H. Field of San Diego, California sent this Geometer to Mr. Grossbeck. He sent it to me to look over with notes but was waiting for Mr. Front's "Revision of the Greens" before publishing. Nothing further was done on account of Mr. Gross- beck's death so I propose to use his manuscript name naidaria. Later I received specimens from Mr. W. S. Wright of San Diego, California, which I am describ- ing. Holotype $ San Diego, California. Jan. 26, 1912. In my collection. Allotypes San Diego, California. Jan. 21, 1912. In my collection. Paratypes i Official Bulletin of the Boston Entomological 'Clu$: Rudolf C. B- Bartsch _ . - EditoS" 46 Guernsey St, Roslindale, Mass. -nai iViuse^ Voi, February, 15, 191 7 No. ErUtor'a ^^^^ Southwest Museum of Los Angeles through its Entomologi- Corner (.^i Department, is compihng a check hst of diurnal Lepidoptera (Rhopalocera) oc- curring in the southwest territory. This includes California, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado. Col- lectors having species from these states would render material aid by forwarding their lists, with month of recorded capture, exact locality, etc. The museum is particularly desirous of securing definite locality data for the more local species. It is planned to in- corporate with this list a directory of Entomologists residing in these four states. Information may be sent to Dr. John Comstock. 1275 Belleview Ave., Los Angeles, Calif. ; or to the Entomological Department, Southwest Museum, Avenue 46 and Marmion Way, Los Angeles, California. The Auction Manager's report shows that 862 speci- mens listed at $335.00 were sold during the year 1916. The average price paid per specimen was about 8 cents. It must be said that a great many of the specimens were damaged, bringing a low price and thus lowering the whole average, and some groups ofTered were not of interest to the members and brought practically nothing. 28 THE LEPIDOPTERIST Some Notes on the Collecting of Rare Species By Werner Marchard, Princeton, N. J. While a pupil of a Boarding High School in Davos, Switzerland, in 1899 and 1900, I spent many happy hours in collecting Lepidoptera, certainly as an ama- teur, but intensely interested in some more aberrant or rare species, in which the high mountain valley of that region was comparatively richer than my native country. There were several interesting species which I then secured in quantity because by chance their peculiar habits were discovered. One of them was Hepialus ganna Hb., a species not often met with. In the Alps, in the month of August, Lepidoptera are already somewhat scarce. The nights are cool and above the tree-zone, early in the morning, the ground is often found covered with hoarfrost, which disap- pears soon after sunrise. It was on such a morning (we used to go out for walks and climbs about 7:30 A. M.) when I visited with a friend. Dr. Karl Meyer of Vienna, also an ardent Lepidopterist, a place above the tree-zone* obviously with no other purpose than to eat plenty of the berries of Vaccinium uliginosum, which are especially good after having been slightly frozen. My friend advanced a little further upwards on the moun- tain slope, and, after a while, returned with three specimens of Hepialus ganna, all males which he had caught flying over the Rhododendron bushes. No further specimens were caught on that morning but the following day found us again on the spot at the same hour, about half past eight, when the sunshine just began to warm up the dew covered shrubbery. This time I suceeded in finding a female of this species which proved to be unfertilized, and using it as a bait, I collected no less than eighteen males in the course of half an hour. After this time no further specimens appeared. We both and later other collectors, have regularly procured specimens of Hepialus ganna in that locality, where previously it had been taken about * About 1900 metres, (5700 feet) above sea level. THE LEPIDOPTERIST 29 three times in thirty years, and have noticed that there flight always ceases about 9:00 A. M., so that later in the day no specimens were found, though the species is evidently not rare. They are never found at electric lights in the valley because they seem to occur only above the tree-zone where there are no such lights. In this connection it may be noted that all species of Hepialus have a decided preference for certain hours of the day. In the Davos Valley, Hepialus humuli L., ab. magna, was quite common in the early half of July on all meadows and appeared in company with Hepialus fusconebulosus De Geer, and its uni- formly brown colored form gallica Ld., at about 8 :45 P. M., just after dark, while half an hour later none were to be found. Only occasionally are they met with during the day, and I do not know where they hide. On one such an evening I observed copulation to take place, and found that the mated couple re- mained quiet for over three hours before they sep- arated, and the female began to lay her eggs. I do not think, however, that they fly again after midnight but assume that the eggs are laid on the following eve- ning. The eggs are laid by Hepialus, during flight and are thrown about like sand by the female. The American species, Sthenopsis argeneo maculata Harris, which I observed at Farmington, Conn., in June 1914, has similar habits. The insects appeared shortly after sunset and were flying about the roots of alder trees (alnus species) in a swampy place traversed by a clear brook, and at the edge of a wooded slope. There are a number of other American species of Hepialus, notably the beautiful H. (Sthenopsis) auratus, Grote, of which I have seen a perfect specimen taken on Mt. Washington. New Hampshire. It is not unlikely, that if we knew more about the life history of this species especially whether it flys in the morning or in the eve- ning, and in what particular localities, it would be found less rare than supposed. Another rare species which was comparatively abun- dant in the Davos Valley and seldom seen in collec- tions, is Poecilocampa popnVi var. alpina Frey. This 30 THE LEPIDOPTERIST insect would appear in the first half of October and continue to be found until well into November. At this time of the year the meadows had already turned brown and, though the "final" snowfall used to come not before the middle of November, minor snow falls were frequent during October. Alpina was found exclusively at the electric light, and the great majority of specimens were males. The moths, when attracted to the light of high-posted arc-lamps, would seldom come down to street level but preferred to attach themselves to the insolated wires near the lamp where they still could be found sitting during the following day. It required some efifort to bring them down, and a long bamboo stick was used to advantage. A few females were obtained in the same way and readily laid eggs, in fact, oviposited on the fingers when held in the outstretched hand. My friend who left for Germany, succeeded in rearing about forty-five speci- mens, males and females in equal numbers. The remaining quantity of eggs kept in Davos at a slightly too high temperature hatched at the same time, in March, when, to my great distress, no food was avail- able. Branches sent from Germany by mail arrived too late to save them. The caterpillars of P. v. alpina feed on Larch {Lari.r euro pa), and it would be of interest to know whether the species occurs in Siberia, the original home country of this tree. Very commonly were found, near Davos, on Vacci- nhini uliginosnm, Salix arbiiscula and other low shrubs, the caterpillars of Eriogaster %>. arbusciilse Freyer, a form considered a variety of Er. lanestris; but I have never found the imago in several years collecting. This species, like Hepialus ganna, frequents the region above the tree limit and seems to fly very early in the season when this region is practically unaccessible be- cause of remaining masses of deep snow in the forests. On the first mountain excursions of the year one usu- ally meets already with the young caterpillars. On the other hand, I have never made an attempt to rear the latter, discouraged by the notion that the pupae need at least four but sometimes nine years of rest THE LEPIDOPTERIST 31 before they decide to hatch. In this respect this form differs from Er. lanestris of which I reared a number of specimens after only one hibernation ; it may be that the habits of Er. arbusculcc, if the report is not exag- gerated, are due to climatic influences. As the matter stands, the collector has to choose between a search for the adult in ratlier laborious early-spring excursions, or the rearing of the larvae, and in the latter case has to weapon himself with a great deal of patience. Nomenclature of Catocala Varieties By Harrison G. Dyar It is a rule of nomenclature that all names of less value than the genus shall be given exactly the same standing and that such a name shall be used only once in the same genus. Whether the name is specific, subspecific, varietal, aberrational or any other category, makes no difference, the name can appear in only one sense under the same generic heading. The above remark is apropos of Mr. Reiff's article on page 15 of this publication where we find the following : Catocala arnica aurantiaca Reiff Catocala arnica lineella aurantiaca Reiff Catocala arnica nerissa aurantiaca Reiff Catocala arnica mclanotica aurantiaca Reiff Catocala arnica novanglia^ aurantiaca Reiff This is not admissible. The name aurantiaca can occur but once in the genus Catocala. Moreover, species or forms cannot be named collectively as Mr. Reiff has attempted to do. Each form must be based on actual specimens which should be specified as to locality, etc. The necessity of this is obvious, as we are naming actual objects, not mental concepts. It has been found by experience that it is inexpedient to anticipate the works of creation and this is what collective naming or the use of concepts instead of actual specimens involves. The name aurantiaca as 32 THE LEPIDOPTERIST used by Mr. Reiff is vague and ill-defined and must be restricted. I propose, therefore, to restrict it to Catocala arnica novanglia aurantiaca Reiff, since that form is figured, although the difference in color of the hind wings does not show in the plate. Mr. Reiff should supplant the other four aurantiacas by new names and cite specimens to each, provided he con- siders them worthy of naming, about which there may be a difference of opinion. ATTENTION We are compiling a complete price list of the famous Jacob Doll Collection of Lepidoptera which we recently have purchased. Specialists may write us for advanced sheets of the list concerning the group which they are collecting. New England Entomological Co. 366 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, Mass. OFFER FOR CASH or EX- CHANGE : Fertile Eggs of Catocala relicta var. clara ; doz. 40c.; 50 eggs $1.20; 100 eggs $2.00. Concumbens, i doz. 20c.; 50 eggs 60c. ; 100 eggs $1.00. Pupae of Halisid.; caryae 7c. each ; i doz. 75c. nax Rothke, 1841 Bast Elm St., Scranton, Pa. Reference Collection Exotic Diurnals Mounted in BIco Card Index Wing riounts 36 species from India, Japan and Formosa, including 20 Papilios. Send for infortnation. S. C. CARPENTER, 9a Baltimore St. , Hartford, Conn. Native and Exotic Lepidoptera lUcO Card Index Specimen Moujtts ENTOMOLOGICAL SUPPLIES. Spreading Boards, 19 inches long, 40c, 50c, 60c. Spreading Board Cabinet, with 10 boards and three empty spaces for additional boards, $8.50. These cabinets are our invention and they have proven to be the best method for safely keeping and drying specimen! while on the boards. Exhibition Boxes, glass covered, all sizes. Prices upon application Combination Breeding and Pupa-Cage, own invention, from $2.50 to $4.00, according to size. Best thing ever made in the line, as recommendations show. All Supplies arehand made by experts in the branch. Niw England Entomological Co. otpt. a supplies, sea Arborway. Jamaica Plain, Mass. THE LEPIDOPTERIST 33 THE L EPIDOP TERIST Subscription, 35 cents per year, payable in advance. Extra copies, 4 cents each. Advertising Rates. One space, 50 cents; 4 spaces or more, 10% discount. Per issue, cash with copy. All advertising matter must be in the hands of the Editor by the ist of the month to insure publication. Trade Column ADVERTISING rates ^^c. per word. Matter solid. No display. Cash with copy. EXCHANGE desired with other periodicals. 2 copies preferred. Editor . WANTED, to buy Catocalae. Send list and price. H. J. Law, 131 Savin Hill Ave., Dorchester, Mass. GEOMETERS wanted from all southern states. Good cash prices well be paid. Species wanted from Texas, Miss., Georgia, Alabama and Florida. Samuel E. Cassino, 20 Naples Road, Salem, Mass. WISH to buy good specimens of the following species of Catocala : Sappho, agrippina, moderna, barnsei, beaniana, meskei (from eastern local- ities. Samuel E. Cassino, Salem, Mass. WANTED, species of Apan- tesis (Arctiidse) from any part of America ; Cash or exchange. Werner Marchand, 29 Vandeventer Ave., Prince- ton, N. J. WILL buy or exchange Cato- calae. W. F. Eastman, 75 Maple St., W. Roxbury, Mass. WANTED to exchange east- ern for western Catocalae. N. Stowers, 15 Anson St., Jamaica Plain, Mass. WANTED to exchange East- ern Catocalae for those of other localities. Rudolf C. B. Bartsch, 46 Guernsey St., Roslindale, Mass. EXCHANGE Desired — Diur- nals. Send lists. Dr. John Cornstock, 1275 Bellevue Ave., Los Angeles, Cal. SEND ten dollars and get the bargain of the season : 100 North American butter- flies in 40 species in papers, good average condition. None from Mass., New York, New Jersey, Penn. All with cor- rect data and names. N. E. Entomological Co., 366 Ar- borway, Jamaica Plain, Mass. FERTILE ova and living larvae of common lepidoptera during 1917 season, i cent each. Write for information. K. W. Baker, Box 387, Nacogdoches, Texas. Eggs of Utah Catocalae GUARANTEED FERTILE Prices per egg: — Faustina, verecunda 2c. each; Edwardsi or diantha Zyic each ; aspasia, irene, lydia, zillah, faustina var. (with black basal dash,) 3c. each; coerulea, virgilia 5c. each. Tom Spalding Provo . - - Utah 34 THE LEPIDOPTERIST Ward's Natural Science Establishment Founded 1862. 84-102 College Ave., Rochester, N. V. We have just received a shipment of cocoons from Japan and offer the following : Antherea pernyi, 20c, Actias artemia, 50c. We have also received from Florida several pupse of Synto- meida ipomeae, price 40c. These have never been offered before. The chances from Peru, offered in our list No. 129b, are selling very rapidly, and we would advise placing your order at once, as our stock of these specimens is being reduced daily. We are headquarters for entomological supplies and have our own factories for the celebrated Schmitt boxes and American Entomo- logical Co. insect pins. We have a few breeding cages, after Riley, on hand. Price on application. Riker mounts of all sizes on hand and prompt shipments can be promised. Ilhistratcd supply catalogue free NEVER OFFERED BEFORE HIBERNATING CATERPILLARS Melitaca chalcedon from California, food Snapdragon ("Butter and Egg"). Melitaca tliccla from Texas, food Glantago lancolata (Glantein). Synchloe laciiiia from Texas, food Sunflower. One dozen larvae $1.00, 25 larvse $1.75, 50 larvce $3.00. Postage 10 cts. Remittance must be sent with order. Largest stock of native chrystlids and pup?e, guaranteed alive. List free. NEW ENGLAND ENTOMOLOGICAL CO., 366 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, Mass. THE KATO KALA CO. Wanted in Al Condition Catocala robinsoni ' ' phalanga ' ' lacrymosa and varieties ' ' nebulosa Send with Lowest Cash Price 46 Guernsey St., Roslindale, Mass. EGGS Of Catocala nupta from Germany, for sale, 35c. per dozen ; also Eggs of Iowa Catocalae. Mrs. O. F. Hiser, Nevada, Iowa Ofkial Bulletin of the Boston Entomological Cluh a I r^•'e^' Rudolf C. B- Bartsch . _ _ Editoi 46 Guernsey St., Roslindale, Mass. Vol. March, 15, 191 7 No. 5 Editor's ^^^ Boston Entomological Club ^ is going to publish a series of hand- i^orner books covering all the Lepidoptera of New England, giving full data of flying periods, food plants when known, and in cases of rare catches, localities, etc., and in cases of extreme rarities, the collection in which the specimens are preserved. The various families will be taken up separately, except in cases where the groups are small, two or more will be combined. The first group to be considered and published is the Catocalse. Authentic data in regard to members of this group from New England will be appreciated and may be sent to the editor. While this work is going on data on other groups will be collected and compiled. The Club has had its constitution printed in hand book size and copies can be secured by anyone inter- ested in forming local clubs to be used as a guide, from our Secretary, Nathaniel Stowers, 15 Anson St., Jamaica Plain, Mass. Commencing in May The Lepidopterist will be pub- lished fortnightly, that is on the 1st and 15th of the month. This will necessitate our increasing the sub- scription price which from May Isl will be 75 cents per annum. We do not think this increase unreason- 36 THE LEPIDOPTERIST able when you consider the fact that you will receive twice the amount of service. The collector will have twice as many opportunities to secure goods and the dealer twice the opportunity to dispose of his goods. But we must have advertisers' copy at hand on time if we are to make a success of the fortnightly service. Trade and display "Ad" rates will remain the same. Special rates for contracted spaces. Why not try an "Ad" in our Trade column? One party on a 69 cents try has sold $80.00 worth of mate- rial. You can do the same if you have the goods and offer them right. The Witch City Mystery By Rudolf C. B. Bartsch, Roslindale, Mass. One Saturday evening last August the Police de- partment of Salem, Mass., received an urgent call for help from a distracted woman living on the out- skirts of the city. The woman was so excited that she failed to state clearly just what she wanted but the chief succeeded in getting enough words ; "automobile, picks and shovels, body, woods," etc., to set the whole machinery of the Salem police department running at highest speed. An automobile of "Bluecoats" (Salem's bravest) was rushed to the scene some three miles distant. With drawn clubs and guns they ad- vanced in solid column on the dark and silent grove of trees. With tense nerves and muscles they entered the grove. No sound but the croaking of the frogs in an adjacent creek and the chirping of the crickets greeted their ears. Suddenly the noble minions of the law found their shoes several sizes too large for them, for an unearthly shriek rang out in the still night. Rushing forward to prevent the murder which they now felt sure was being committed, they finally came to the end of the grove of trees. Not a person had they seen and still the shrieks issued from the grove. After rushing back and forth through the grove several times without capturing their quarry, visions THE LEPD/OPTERIST 37 of witches (for which Salem is famous) drove the brave men back to headquarters. Result : a very happy pair of screech owls. The papers, the next day were filled with the new mystery. Everyone was urged to be on the lookout and report at once to headquarters any new clues to the mystery. On the following Saturday afternoon, the automobile again arrived at the grove. Three men left it, carrying large bags and proceeded to wander amongst the trees. The worthy chief was notified at once of their arrival. Plans were carefully laid to capture the desperadoes, children were sent to watch them and report their doings. Everything went along nicely until the appe- tites of the men got the better of them and they de- cided to have something to eat. So they left the grove and went into the city to a restaurant, past the un- suspecting officers and to the disappointment of the watchers. After satisfying the inner man they re- turned to the grove. The glad tidings were sent to headquarters and officers rushed to the scene. Two of the men set out in opposite directions in the grove while the third stayed in the automobile reading latest local items. Just as it was growing dark and the men were re- turning to the automobile, a large touring car, filled with Salem's bravest, came rushing down the hill over stumps and stones to the edge of the grove. The poor desperado in the automobile, having his back to the approaching foe, was easily captured. Then one of the other unsuspecting men returned and was captured. With hands held aloft they were forced to give an account of themselves. Explanations from both sides followed : The men. Entomologists — collecting "bugs" by sugaring. The Law : (as it appeared in newspaper) "Roxbury woman found dead in automobile accom- panied by five men." The third entomologist arrived in time to see a very much disgusted police force dis- appearing over top of hill. Results of evening's work : a very happy woman and a fine catch of Catocalae. The three desperadoes were W. F. Eastman and Charles H. Eastman of West Roxbury and the author. 38 THE LEPIDOPTERIST ENTOMOLOGICAL NOTES By Aug. Knetzger, St. Louis, Mo. A Strange Case of Pupation : — About the middle of September 1916, a neighbor's boy came to my house and brought me a larva of Telea polyphemus. It seemed barely alive and probably had fallen off a tree. As its size indicated its nearness to the pupal stage, I placed ^t on a sheet of tissue paper in a glass jar and put a few maple leaves around it. Next morning I observed it had not eaten and seemed entirely devoid of life. The following morning I noticed considerable shrinkage in its size and no sign of life. The third morning it was still more shrunken and I was almost certain it had died. The following day I did not see it, but imagine my surprise on the fifth day when I found lying upon the tissue paper where I had placed the larva, a fine, healthy and vigorous pupa, without any cocoon, but the secretion, usually employed in the making of the cocoon showing plainly on the tissue paper upon which it had been discharged, no attempt, however, having been made to draw together the tissue paper or any of the leaves. A Peculiar Case of Ovipositing : — Last July while at work in my garden, I noticed a Papilio asterias (female) flying busily about. I had in the garden at the time some dill, parsley, parsnips, and carrots and it seemed to me that she desired to oviposit, so I moved away so as to give her a clear field, but after a few minutes of circling about she suddenly dashed for the rear of the garden and hovered for a moment over a leaf of the wafer ash growing there and then flew away. Upon inspecting the leaf I found she had really deposited an tgg. Unfortunately on the third day the egg had disappeared from the leaf. It would have been interesting to see if the larva would hav fed on wafer ash. Of course the question is, why did the female oviposit on a plant not supposed to be fit for the larva, when the garden contained a variety of plants, either of which would have furnished the accustomed food? THE LEPIDOPTERIST 39 What Is AI Quality By Walter F. Eastman, West Roxhury, Mass. The word quality in Lepidoptera is as much abused as the word service is in the Commercial sense. It has been the writer's experience and has undoubtedly been the experience of every collector that quality may mean most anything, especially so if you are purchas- ing or exchanging by mail. The term most often used is Al quality, and your correspondent will write you several pages about the quality of his material, assuring you that he never sends anything but Al quality, and of course, expects Al prices. With this assurance from him you pur- chase, and to say that you are disappointed would not express your true feeling, as the specimens are poorly mounted, and from the appearance of most of them you would judge that they had been flying since Noah built the "Ark." Your next move is to notify the collector that you are sending back the specimens, as the quality is so poor that you cannot use them. He promptly informs you that you do not know what Al quality means. So you start to investigate, and find that Al is taken from the Commercial rating, and refers to the price he expected you to pay ; and you also find that the only definition of quality of the specimens in the Dic- tionary that is applicable is "rank." It seems to make no difference to the average col- lector in regard to quality, if the specimens are poorly mounted, torn, parts of wings gone, no antennae, only part of the body, or greasy. They are still Al quality to him, and it seems to the writer that the same fair- ness and square dealing can and should be carried on in the purchase or exchange of Lepidoptera as in other lines of business. A collector who misrepresents spec- imens is no better than the grocer that puts sand in his sugar. A collector cannot expect to have good specimens if he throws his day's catch in an open box. Nor can he expect that his material will arrive in good condi- tion if he does not take the trouble to pack it carefully. 40 THE LEPIDOPTERIST To A Butterfly Airy, fairy, flitting sprite, Bit of the rainbow's colors bright, Fragile, dainty creature of light, Flower of the air ! Rainbow-hued flowers thy coming greet, Await thy kiss to yield their sweet, A fitting toll for ambrosial treat, Aerial blossom fair. Alice W. Hewlett, Nellie, Calif. ATTENTION We are compiling a complete price list of the famous Jacob Doll Collection of Lepidoptera which we recently have purchased. Specialists may write us for advanced sheets of the list concerning the group which they are collecting. New England Entomological Co. 366 Arhorway, Jamaica Plain, Mass. ENTOMOLOGICAL SUPPUES. Spreading Boards, 19 inches long, 40c, 50ci 60c. Spreading Board Cabinet, with 10 boards and three empty spaces for additional boards, $8.50. These cabinets are our invention and they have proven to be the best method for safely keeping and drying ipccimcns while on the boards. Exhibition Boxes, glass covered, all sizes. Prices upon application Combination Breeding and Pupa-Cage, own invention, from $2.50 to $4.00, according to size. Best thing ever made in the line, at recommendations show. All Supplies arehand made by experts in the branch. Niff Eniland Eniomologieal Co. oot. a iu«0Iih. sm Arborway, Jimiiei Plain, Mm THE LEPIDOPTERIST 41 THE LEPIDOPTERIST Subscription, 35 cents per year, payable in advance. Extra copies, 4 cents each. Advertising Rates. One space, 50 cents; 4 spaces or more, 10% discount. Per issue, cash with copy. All advertising matter must be in the hands of the Editor by the ist of the month to insure publication. Trade Column ADVERTISING rates i^c. per word. Matter solid. No display. Cash with copy. EXCHANGE desired with other periodicals. 2 copies preferred. Editor . WANTED, to buy Catocalae. Send list and price. H. J. Law, 131 Savin Hill Ave., Dorchester, Mass. GEOMETERS wanted from all southern states. Good cash prices well be paid. Species wanted from Texas, Miss., Georgia, Alabama and Florida. Samuel E. Cassino, 20 Naples Road, Salem, Mass. WISH to buy good specimens of the following species of Catocala : Sappho, agrippina, moderna, barnsei, beaniana, meskei (from eastern local- ities. Samuel E. Cassino, Salem, Mass. GEOMETRID.^, twenty mixed, unidentified, from Idaho, good average condition; li.io postpaid. W. G. Watt, Little- ton, N. H. WILL buy or exchange Cato- calx. W. F. Eastman, 75 Maple St., W. Roxbury, Mass. WANTED, species of Apan- tesis (Arctiida) from any part of America; Cash or exchange. Werner Marchand, 29 Vandeventer Ave., Prince- ton, N. J. SEND ten dollars and get the bargain of the season : 100 North American butter- flies in 40 species in papers, good average condition. None from Mass., New York, New Jersey, Penn. All with cor- rect data and names. N. E. Entomological Co., 366 Ar- borway, Jamaica Plain, Mass. FERTILE ova and living larvae of common lepidoptera during 1917 season, 1 cent each. Write for information. K. W. Baker, Box 387, Nacogdoches, Texas. POSTAGE stamps and land and sea shells to exchange for but- terflies, moths, entomological supplies and books. Laurence West, 8i5-4th Ave. W., Calgary Canada. WANTED to exchange east- ern for western Catocalae. N. Stowers, 15 Anson St., Jamaica Plain, Mass. WANTED to exchange East- ern Catocalae for those of other localities. Rudolf C. B. Bartsch, 46 Guernsey St., Roslindale, Mass. NAMES OF LEPIDOPTERISTS WANTED Editor. 42 THE LEPIDOPTERIST Ward's Natural Science Establishment Founded 1862. 84-102 College Ave,, Rochester, N. Y, We can offer the following perfect specimens with full data: Neophasia princetonia i $1.25 ? $1.75 Gloveria dolores c? .75 Gloveria garganella c? .75 ? 1.50 Gloveria diazoma c? 3-00 Hemyhjaiea adwardsi ^ .25 Basilarchia arizonensis 3 2.00 Thecla spinetorum S .75 In regard to discount see onr price list No. 129. Annandia lidderdalii — only a few left at the reduced price of $5.00. Send for our free illusirated supply catalogue, also li^t No. 129a of new arrivals. NEVER OFFERED BEFORE HIBERNATING CATERPILLARS Melitaca chalcedon from California, food Snapdragon ("Butter and Egg"). Melitaca thecla from Texas, food Plantago lanceolata (Plantain). Synchloe lacinia from Texas, food Sunflower. One dozen larvae $1.00, 25 larvae $1.75, 50 larvae $3.00. Postage 10 cts. Remittance must be sent with order. Largest stock of native chrysalids and pupae, guaranteed alive. List free. NEW ENGLAND ENTOMOLOGICAL CO., 366 Arbor way, Jamaica Plain, Maaa. THE KATO KALA CO. "^^ :°'ttr„rL::j Contracts for Catocalae o" request, specially butter- catches for season of '^^ . ^"^ '"f^'- ^^^^^''^ 1 r\ 1 T !• • 1 specimens and ovae. 1917 solicited. TOM SPALDING 46 Guernsey St., Roslindale, Mass. Provo, - - - Uiah > 1, 1 ^^'^' ' IQ' Official Bulletin of the Boston Entomological C\h\).ji, ^ • -/ 1 _ \r^ Rudolf C. B- Bartsch . . - Ewroit^/ 46 Guernsey St-, Roslindale, Mass. ^'a/ Musev Vol. I May i, 191 7 Elditor's ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ number of the Lepidop- _ terist it was announced that the Corner rates for advertising were to re- main the same. The Club at its last meeting decided to change the rate for trade column "ads" making it one cent per word instead of one-half cent per word, commencing with the May issue. The rate for dis- play "ads" to remain the same as before. The collecting season of 1917 is now before us. Any interesting notes on collecting and captures may be sent to the editor for publication any time during the season. Remember we do not stop issuing during the summer months. The trade column with its twice-a-month service in May will give you an opportunity of disposing of your living material ; it need not be rare material, many times the commonest of species is in great de- mand. Will you avail yourself of this opportunity? Collectors making quantity captures can dispose of the specimens through the trade column. Or, if there is something you are looking for, why not put in a few words announcing your desires to other collec- tors. They may have just what you want, or may be in a position to secure it for you. The Lepidop- terist's main object is to help collectors to secure ma- terial for their collection and to dispose of their sur- plus captures. 44 THE LEPIDOPTERIST Notes Members of the Boston Entomoltgical Club living in distant places are entitled to send lots for the club auction sales. Each lot should have a reserve price placed on it. Shipments may be sent to the Superin- tendent of Auctions, Mr. William Reifif, 366 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, by express or insured parcel post, prepaid. Any speci- mens which are not sold will be returned to the own- er, the charges being deducted from the remittance. The number of lots is limited to ten for each auction. There are two auctions each month, on the second and fourth Tuesdays. Any number of lots may be sent in one shipment to save expenses. A commission of 10 per cent is charged. The collecting season in Eastern Massachusetts is about three weeks late. The most interesting species of Noctuidae to be taken (in the east) early in the spring are the two species of the family Feralia. Feralia jocosa (the hemlock moth) usually is taken by the 25th of March, but up to the present time has not been found. This rather pretty green moth is quite commonly found resting on the hem- lock tree in the latter part of March and extending into the middle of April. The specimens are strongly green provided the weather is fairly dry, but if the rains are constant and heavy the green is bleached out, so much so that some specimens are pure white, even though newly hatched. In pinning this species the collector has to take care that none of the fluids in the body come in contact with the green wings, for if it does the green is turned to brown. The same precautions have to be observed when mounting the specimens. The collectors must take care not to puncture the veins when setting the wings. The jo- cosa can readily be seen resting on the brown bark, even though it resembles the lichens on the trees. Another green moth which appears about one week later than the jocosa is the Feralia major (the pine moth). This is a much rarer moth and not often THE LEPIDOPTERIST 45 found. It is to be found resting on pine trees, but it is very much harder to see than the jocosa,, blend- ing more with the colors of the pine bark. The wet- ness of the season does not seem to affect the green color of the major and neither do the body fluids seem to affect it nearly so much as in jocosa. Officers of the Boston Entomological Club for 1917. S. E. Gassing, President. Rudolph C. B. Bartsch, Vice President. H. J. Law, Treasurer. Wm. Reiff, Supt- of Auctions, 366 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, Mass. N- Stowers, Secy., 15 Anson St., Jamaica Plain, Mass. New Geometrids BY L. W. SWETT, BOSTON, MASS., Carsia boreata Thaxteri var. nov. Head pink, also palpi and part of thorax ; body brownish, tinged with pink. Primaries pink, with costa to inner margin- Intra discal line incurved from costa to inner margin closely followed by a second shade line, the two almost touching. Discal dot linear and quite prominent. The extra discal line is double as the intra discal line, but the one nearest discal spot runs slightly wavy from costa to vein 3, then makes an outward curve towards outer margin. The sec- ond intra discal line almost touches the first except just below costa, where it is curved outwardly form- ing a joint Then it makes a sharp inward curve, then outward, forming a second point, making two toothed projections as it were. Below the second projection it makes a third very slight projection and then curves inwardly to inner margin. An indistinct irregular sub-terminal line connected below apex with black apical streak- Secondaries, unicolorous pinkish brown, without markings, except in one fe- male where there is faint curved band. Beneath primaries, deep pink, along border fuscous shaded 46 THE LEPIDOPTERIST below. Secondaries deep pink also without any markings, except black discal dots which are on all wings. Fringe whitish, slightly checkered. This is very closely allied to boreata Pack, described in the Proc. of the Peabody Academy of Sciences, taken on Mt. Washington, N- H. Boreata Packard has priority over alpmata Packard, described on the same page, the differences being merely sexual. Dyar placed boreata and alpinata Packard as syno- nyms of the European paludata, but Barnes and Mc- Dunnough in their recent check list give it racial rank and correctly so, I believe from the description that lahr-adoriensis Som. is the same as boreata Packard, but the latter type in the Boston Society of Natural History is not fresh and it is hard to ban conclusions on one specimen- I have quite a series of labrado- riensis from Roma, Labrador, before me and there seems to be very little variation. Thaxteri has a pink head, where the Labrador form has a gray one, and the color of primaries also separates them. I think from the genitalia, it should be listed as distinct from paludata. The European paludata lacks the long sac- culus of the Labrador and New Foundland forms and the shape of the outer margin of costa is very distinct. In the American form the outer margin of costa has a deep excision, forming a kind of jaw, as it were. I can hardly see how any of the Labrador or New Foundland forms can be regarded as palu- data, the valvae being of a different shape. The penis is very long but rather bulbous, at base the simial duct seems to have minute armature close to sedoca- gus. I think that boreata Packard will prove to be same as l-abradoriensis. Som-, the former having priority and thaxteri being a race of it. I take pleas- ure in naming this pretty form after Professor Ro- land Thaxter, whose collection forms an important part of the Museum collection. Expanse 23 to 25 m. m. Holotype 6, Aug. 5,-15, 1885, Salmonier N. F. col- lector R. Thaxter. THE LEPIDOPTHRIST 47 Allotype 9, Aug. 5,-15, 1885, Salmonier N- F. collec- tor R. Thaxter. Paratypes 2 (5 and 1 $ from same locality and also two specimens in American Museum of Natural His- tory, N. Y. Oporinia autumnata hensliawi var. nov. This race has been going under the name of dilu- tata Schiff in the east- It is of a pale ashen white with irregular zig-zag lines on primaries. Head and thorax, ashen white, body slightly ochreos ; palpi, short, rather ochreos. Basal line starts from costa at right angles to medium vein, then runs straight to inner margin ; following this are three or four irregu- lar brown lines, forming points on medium and mar- ginal veins. The intra discal is a broad line shaded widely with brownish, starting from costa, it makes a strong angle inward, then outward, to medium vein forming a point. Below medium vein it angles back td marginal vein, then to inner margin. The mesial space is white with discal spot of black. The extra discal line is broad and shaded as the intra discal, but bends outward below costa and above discal spot, then runs straight down in scallops to inner margin. Beyond the extra discal line is a narrow, irregular, whitish space, with a zig-zag line running through it. The outer margin is fuscous with white line running through it. Double black points at end of veins, at base of fringe, which is checkered black and white. Hind wings, pale ashen, with traces of five or six scolloped brown lines, the sub-terminal being heavi- est, pointed inwardly on the veins. The discal spot is very faint on one specimen. This race approaches auti{m>iota of Europe very closely in markings. The more trongly angled extra discal line of henshaici will separate them in my series, but this may not hold. I have placed this as a race of autumfiata as the genitalia show no relationship to dilutata, it may later prove to be a distinct species. The octavels of henshawi are wide apart and the papillae are very small, not raised up as diluta or autumnata- The costa of the valvas has a distinct arch in the middle. 48 THE LEPIDOPTERIST also the valvae are differently shaped, lacking the sacculus. The uncus is longer and more tapering than either dilutata or autumnata, but approaches nearest the latter. The bursa capilatrix of the female has the signum very small and minutely spined, cen- trally they form rather a triangular body, rounded at the top. Holotype 6 Oct. 16, 1910, Bedford, Mass. Allotype ? London, Ontario, Canada, from Miss E. Morton. Paratypes 1 tion. Combination Breeding and Pupa-Cage, own invention, from $2.S0 to $4.00, according to size. Best thing ever made in the line, as recommendations show. All Supplies are hand made by experts in the branch. New England Entomological Co. oept. a supplies, see Arborway, Jamaica Plain, Mass. THE LEPIDOPTERIST 81 THE LEPIDOPTERIST Subscription, 7$ cents per year, payable in advance. Extra copies , 5 cents each. Foreign postage, extra, 25c. per year. Advertising Rates. One space, 50 cents; 4 spaces or more, lO^c discount. Per issue, cash with copy. AH advertising matter must be in the hands of the Editor by the ist of the month to insure publication. Trade Column ADVERTISING rates ic. per word. Matter solid. No display. Cash with copy. FOR SALE, Fertile eggs of Bomhynmore, 10 cts. per one hundred. Theodore Greer, Aledo, Illinois. WILL buy or exchange Cato- calse. W. F. Eastman, 75 Maple St., W. Roxbury, Mass. WANTED, to buy Catocalse. Send list and price. H. J. Law, 131 Savin Hill Ave., Dorchester, Mass. GEOMETERS wanted from all southern states. Good cash prices will be paid. Species wanted from Washing- ton, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming. Oregon, New Mexico. S. E. Cas- sino, 20 Naples Rd., Salem ,Mass. WISH to buy good specimens of the following species of Catocala : Sappho, agrippina, moderna, barnsei, beaniana. meskei (from eastern local- ities.) Samuel E. Cassino, Salem, Mass. WANTED, species of Apan- tesis (Arctiidae) from any part of America; Cash or exchange. Werner Marchand, 29 Vandeventer Ave., Prince- ton, N. J. WANTED to exchange east- ern for western Catocalae. N. Stowers, 15 Anson St., Jamaica Plain, Mass. WANTED to exchange East- ern Catocalas for those of other localities. Rudolf C. B. Bartsch, 46 Guernsey St., Roslindale, Mass. FULL GROWN LARVM Me- litasa chalcedon feeding on plan- tain and Sasilarchia astyanan feeding on wild cherry, ^1.50 per dozen including postage. Remit- tance with order. New England Entomological Co., 366 Arbor- way, Jamaica Plain, Mass. WANTED— Geometrids from high altitudes in all parts of the West, and from Arizona, Texas, Idaho and New Mexico. Sam- uel E. Cassino, 20 Naples Rd., Salem, Mass. FOR SALE :— Perfect butter- flies in papers. 100 Lye. ica- roides at loc, 10 I>yc. dacdalus at 5c., 40 Lye. acmon at 3c., 75 Lye. marina at 5c., 50 Pieris rapa: at 2c., 35 Mesoleuca trun* rata at 5e. All are bred speci- mens except icaroides and daeda- lus. Esther P. Hewlett, Nellie, Calif. GEOMETRIDS from a large number of localities offered in exchange for unidentified species. Samuel E. Cassino, 20 Naples Rd., Salem, Mass. S2 THE LEPI'DOPTERIST CATOCALAE Specimens and Eggs Bought, Sold and Exchanged Desiderata and offerta lists should be placed early for this season^s catch. THE KATO KALA CO., Rudolf C. B. Bartsch, Mgr. 46 Quernsey Street, - Roslindsle, Mass. WILL COLLECT FOR CASH Butterflies and Moths this fall on request JOSEPH LIENHART, PARISH, FLORIDA THE KATO KALA CO. Contracts for Catocalae catches for season of 1917 solicited. 46 Guernsey St., Roslindale, Mass. Will collect for cash any order of insects this season on request, specially butter- flies and moths, Catocala specimens and ovae. TOM SPALDING Provo, - . - Utah Official Bulletin of the Boston Entomological Club, Samuel E. Cassino, Publisher. Salem, Massachusetts. \'()L. I. Al-gust, 15, 191/. Xo. 11 Editor's ^ number of people have asked for information about the Boston Corner luitomological Club. The club at present has 33 members residing in several states. Most of the members live within twenty-five miles of Boston, but no restrictions are placed on members in regard to the state in which they live. Anyone can apply for membership, and as practically all en- tomologists are good people there is small chance that they will be rejected. Membership carries only one obligation — 50 cents a year. Meetings arc held the second and fourth Tuesday of the month. From seven to fourteen members are usually present. After a short formal meeting a talk is given by one or more members, and then an op])ortunity is given members to have their duplicates sold at auction. A member can offer only ten items at any one meeting. Mem- bers could exchange specimens, but it has seemed bet- ter to sell in this way, and many members both bu}- and sell. Prices are usually much below the "list" prices but it frequently occurs that an esjiecially fine e.xamplc will bring more than catalogue rates. This is especially true in regard to Catocala?. Members residing at a distance may send insects for the auction, and may also send bids. It has been suggested that lists of species to be sold be printed in "The Lepidopterist" so that absent members mav 84 THE LEPIDOPTERIST send mail bids, but so far this has not been practical. Members submitting specimens for a sale may limit the price. A commission of 10 per cent on net sales is charged by the club. This, and membership fees, may be used in paying for printing "The Lepidop- terist."' The auction may be thought to indicate that the club is "commercialized" but every member is an ardent collector and uses money simply as a con- venient method of conducting an exchange. Colias Philodice Godt. rothkei Plate VII- Vol. I, No. 1 1 Lcpidoptera — Rhopalocera BY William Reiff, Jamaica Plain, Mass. Upperside. All veins black, the yellow parts of primaries on inner margin close to marginal band heavily clouded with black scales. Costal area of secondaries also heavily clouded with black. The other parts of the yellow surface of all wings is not as densely covered with black scales but enough to cause the dark appearance of this specimen. Underside : Secondaries normal, but primaries from inner margin up to discal area deep black with small gray spot enclosed on inner margin. Veins of primaries black. Collected August 27, 1905 in the Susciuehana Val- ley, Pa., by my friend Max Rothke. Type 1 male in Mr. Rothke's collection. This specimen is very similar to the one I found September, 1909 at Forest Hills, Mass., which was placed in the collection of the Bussey Institution of Harvard University. The specimen here described is of particular interest because it is a male. Most records of melanistic Colias specimens refer to fe- males.* *See paper on "Colias philodice Godt. f. nigro-- fasciata Reiff," pages 22 & 23, Vol. I. No. 3 of The Lepidopterist. also concerning the causes of the origin of such aberrations. THE LEPIDOI'TERIST 85 The Reminiscences of A Lepidoplerist B\ R. Otlolciujiii, Xci^' York, N. V. When 1 was about eleven years of age 1 was sent to a salubrious summer resort in the pine woods of Summerville, So. Carolina, to rid myself of a bad cough. 1 was one day amusing myself with a net, catcliing butterflies, when the Minister stopped me and asked this question : "Little boy, are you catching those insects just to amuse yourself, forgetting that you are destroying life, or are you making a collec- tion with the idea of studying a branch of Natural History ?" I only had about a tenth of a second to come to a decision, with those mild but steady eyes looking straight into my brain, but 1 prom})t]y decided to "study natural history." This purpose once aroused of course 1 captured everything that came to my net, little dreaming of the space that would 'be required for such a collection. College and the study of my profession interfered somewhat with my collecting zeal but it never quite died out. and after moving to New York, sometime in the eighties 1 began again on a more systematic scale, deciding to devote myself to lepidoptera. And now we approach the moral of this little narrative. It was not very long before I discovered that even lepidoptera was a large lield. Hence I again limited myself, this time calling it Macro-lepidoptera. Hut soon s]mce compelled another elimination, and 1 pre- sented Dr. Hulst with all my Geometridae, and at once began to taste one of the greatest pleasures that I find in collecting; viz: to give a specialist something that he wants, and which 1 can easily spare without hesitation. Aly collection grew until it fiiled one hundred large drawers. Ry that time I had becon.e more especially interested in moths, and desiring more cabinet room disposed of my diurnals thus recovering a cal)inet of twenty drawers. From then on, while devoting mvself to the ac- 86 THE LEPIDOPTERIST quirement of Sphingidse, Bonibycidse and Noctuidae, 1 really became more interested in the Plusia group, and in 1902 issued my monograph thereon, having the pleasure of figuring at that time every valid species found in Boreal North America, from photo- graphs made by myself. In my own collection like- wise I had every one of these species except two unique types, one in the National Museum and the other in the collection of Dr. Barnes, but both de- scribed by myself. This work completed I fear that I lost interest some- what. I kept my collection in good condition but I dropped out of active collecting for thirteen years. Just at the outbreak of the war I was in London and visited the British Museum and examined the collection there. When I found numerous species which I possessed, absent from this great collection, all my ardor was resumed. On my return home I went through the literature of the past thirteen years and discovered that in all that time but three species had been described. About this time I was obliged to give up my house and move into an apartment and for lack of room was completed to abandon my general collection. I determined however to keep the Plusias and resume work thereon. And now at last comes the moral. I have had more pleasure in collecting during the past two years than ever before. Of course one cannot restrict captures to one's favorite group, but one may say when taking a good thing, "This will please my friend X" or ''this will please my friend Y." Selfishness passes, and one is glad when away in some distant mountain or at the sea shore to be able to add perhaps to the collections of his friends. Then again the craze for collecting is just as well satisfied with a small group as with a large collec- tion. Who can ever hope, with a large collection to obtain "the best collection in the world !" But the specialist may still do this. He may also make long series of specimens, recording variations, local forms, etc., etc., until at length he finds that there is Colias philodice f. rothkei f. nov. Plate VII. Vol. I, No. ii THE LEPIOOPTIRIST 87 no such word as "linis" in a specialist's collection. 1 particularly mention this because the chief change that 1 note in the entomological world, that, whereas fifteen years ago lepidoptera and coleoptera attracted the greatest number of students, today the lepidop- terists and coleopterists are growing scarcer every year. I can see no e.xplanation save in the notion that these fields have been worked out ; that there are no new species to discover. But this is not true. As 1 have above mentioned, in thirteen years the general col- lectors discovered but three new species in the Plusia group, yet in two years workings as a specialist I have acquired one of the two species absent from my col- lection in 1902, two of the new species described in the interim, three or four new species, and three or four new varieties or races. Moral : Lepidoptera is still a fertile field for the student. A Sugaring Trip For Catocalas By X. Stoivers At the regular meeting of the Boston Entomological Club on Tuesday, August 14. a collecting trip was planned, as usual in the summer months, for a week from the following Saturday. As the woods in and around Salem, Mass. seem to be the most productive and easily accessible, we decided to go there. So those of us who live in Boston met on the 5 o'clock train, in the smoker, (every entomologist I know is an in- veterate smoker) and immediately began to conjecture as to the weather, the moon, our chances, etc. In half an hour we were in Salem, where we met two more of the party and then started for the collecting grounds. As only the "Catocalists" were on this trip we chose an ideal Catocala grove, of nut. wild cherry and oak trees; mostly nut. I say "ideai" because the trees are the right size, about ten inches in diameter, and because there is no under!)rush to tangle your feet ; but it is far from ideal in regard to mosquitoes, for 88 THE LEPIDOPTERIST I know of no other place where they are half as thick or a tenth as large. The grove, of about four hun- dred trees, extends over an area a quarter of a mile long and about two hundred feet wide. We divided our party, one half taking the upper edge and the other half the lower edge, and started "sugaring" about fifteen minutes before dark. A mixture of stale beer, rum, brown sugar and old molasses, about the consistency of maple syrup was used. With a one-and-a-half inch brush we put a spot about five inches long and two inches wide on every tree along the path. By the time we reached the end of the grove, darkness had fallen and the wind, which before had been rather cool, had died out so that the evening was quite warm. By great good luck there was no moon. All in all, a fine night ! What would we get ? We didn't wait a minute but snapped on our elec- tric lights, put a jar in every pocket and started. From then on our hearts never left the vicinity of our mouths. Did we sugar this tree? Is there anything on it? Ah, there is one! Suppose we miss it! What's that? Is it a new variety? These and a hundred other possibilities provided enough excitement in an hour to furnish a month of reminiscenses next w'in- ter. At the end of the first round both parties compared notes and found that several specimens were taken on the very first trees, although it was only a few minutes after dark. It is interesting to note that every one of the eight species and two varieties that were taken during the evening were seen on the trees on this first trip, although only seven of them were caught. Two more round trips were made and' then we de- cided to pack up and start for home. All specimens were removed from tlie jars and pinned in relaxing boxes made of marshmallow tins with moist peat in the bottom. Then when every speci- men had been securely pinned and bags tightly packed we were ready for the home trip, the time when you learn what the other fellow has caught, how many of THE LEPIDOPTERIST 89 a kind, what varieties, etc. Our chatter, boiled down, said that we had taken eight species (namely, Cato- cala viduar luctuosa, concumbens, ultronia, prae- clara, goynea, habiHs with the female from basilis and badia) and two nice varieties, (variety lucinda of ultronia and variety phoebe of badia). The most of any kind was fifteen of ultronia, the least being one vidua and one pra^clara. The largest number seen at a time on one tree was five. Forty-eight specimens was the total. No other Noctuids or Geo- metrids were taken, although many specimens were seen. THE LEPIDOPTERIST Subscription, 7? cents per year, payable in advance. Extra copies, 5 cents each. Foreign postage, extra, 25c. per year. Advertising Rates. 50 cents nn inch; 4 spaces or more, 10% discount. Per issue, cash with copy. All advertising: matter must be in the hands of the Editor by the ist of the month to insure publication. All communications must he addressed to Samuel E. Cassino, Salem, Mass. Officers of the Boston Entomological Club President; S. E. Cassino. Vice-Pres.; R. C. B. Bartsch Treasurer; H. J. Law Sec. ; Nathaniel Stowers Supt. of Sales ; Wm. ReifT Trade Column ADVERTISING rates ic. per word. Matter solid. No displa)'. Cash with copy. WILL buy or exchange Cato- calae. W. F. Eastman. 75 Maple St., W. Roxbury, Mass. WANTED, to buy Catocalae. Send list and price. H. J. Law. 131 Savin Hill Ave., Dorchester, Mass. WANTED to exchange east- ern for western Catocalae. N. Stowers, 15 Anson St., lamaica Plain, Mass. WANTED— Geometrids from high altitudes in all parts of the West, and from Arizona, Texas, Idaho and New Mexico. Sam- uel K. Cassino, 20 Naples Rd., Salem, Mass. GEOMETRIDS from a large number of localities offered in excliange for unidentified species. .Samuel E. Cassino, 20 Naples Rd., Salem, Mass. 90 THE LEPIDOPTERIST Entomological Books Largest assortment in America Send for Catalogues 3, 4, 5 (Catalogues 4, 5 fo issue in October) JOHN D. SHERMAN, JR., 24 Claremont Avenue MOUNT VERNON, - - NEW YORK BARGAINS Absolutely perfect specimens. Ornitboptera hecuba c? $175 Ornithoptera hecuba 5 $1.00 Hebomoia glaucippe d" $0.15 Vanessa gonerilla, pair $3.25 Morpho cypris 6 $1.50 Morpho amathonte c? $1.25 Papilio phaeton S $0.60 Papilio nealces cT $0.20 Papilio Columbus Koll. s $0.60 Catagramma lyca d $0.25 All in papers with correct data. Remittance must be sent luith order. New England Entomological Co. 366 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, Mass. Official Bulletin of the Boston Entomological Club. Samuel E. Cassino, Salem, Massachusetts. \^0L. 1 November 15, 1917 Publisher. Xo. 12 Hooverize At the present time of increase in prices on all com- modities, everyone is talking economy. How can I get the most for my money ! How can I save a few cents on this or that ! "Hooverize" has become the slogan of the world. No matter who you are, nor where you are. it should be your individual responsi- bility to make a dollar go as far as possible, both to help yourself and to help Uncle Sam. Where can you get any more for your money than in the "Lepidopterist" at fifty cents a year? That means roughly four cents a copy. A half of this goes to the post-office department to insure prompt and safe delivery. For the other two cents you get descriptive articles from people all over the world, of- ten accompanied by plates ; you get notes on club af- fairs; you get helpful hints gathered from the experi- ences of others ; and, through the advertisements, you get ofifers of specimens for sale or exchange. Cer- tainly fifty cents could go no further. Invest in the "Lepidopterist" and get 100 per cent, value. If you are already a subscriber tell your friends what an invaluable magazine it is and get their subscriptions. N. S. To The Subscribers The Boston Entomological Club wishes to apologize for the appearance of Mr. Rudolph Bartsch's name as Editor of number ten of "The Lcpidopterist," as he was in no way responsible for the same. 92 THE LEPIDOPTERIST The Work of W. H. Edwards We must all recognize W. H. Edwards as the greatest butterfly student which this country has ever produced or probably ever will. He described a good majority of our species; but his work on the life- histories was greater yet. The key to his great success in these two lines was his numerous correspondents in every part of the country to which he exhibited the greatest unselfishness in help and encouragement. He was really a great teacher, and I believe in that way his life work was greater than in his descriptive or life-history work. His correspondents were not mere collectors but were students as well, who observed, thought and wrote. Look at the co-operation in the Butterflies of North America. Here are some : Hy. Edwards, Behrens, Mead, Wright, Rivers, Bruce, Wittfield, Geddes, Fletcher, Behr, Stretch, Morrison, Baron and others. It was surely a great inspiration to work under such a great man and teacher as W. H. Edwards. Edwards took a trip to the Amazon river in Brazil, before he took up the study of the American butter- flies, and on his return he wrote a book of his travels there. The reading of this book by Wallace and Bates decided them to go to the iVmazon country together. So he had a direct connection with the development of the evolutionary idea. Later W. H. Edwards con- tributed largely to the evolutionary theory in his work on temperature effects on butterflies. The many sided- ness and the greatness of our great butterfly student has hardly, 1 believe, yet been brought home to us. He was a poet also. And he wrote a genealogy of the Edwards family. The three volumes of "The Butterflies of North America" rank with Audubon's "Birds of America" as a classic in natural history and it will probably never be exceeded in quality, scientific value, or in- terest. F. Gkinnell, Jr. THE LEPIDOPTERIST 93 Some Notes on Basilarchia astyanax and var. albofasciata Newc By Dr. Robert Unzickcr, Chicago, III. Uefore 1 describe my experience with the different food plants of astyanax, 1 want to give a short de- scription of the meihou by which I obtained the var. albofasciata. During the last years 1 noticed that in Chicago's surroundings albofasciata specimens were not very rare. I never saw one in the spring; all were ob- served in the fall, especially in August and Septerii- ber. I thought that it might be possible to obtain the variety in the same way as antiopa var. hygiaea is obtained. To this purpose I waited till I got some larvae from choke cherries so I was sure they would not be dissippus as the differences in the larvae of these two species are very insignificant. After they had fastened themselves to change into the pupa stage 1 placed them in an icebox and there they w^ere left for one week. Some could not be induced to change under these conditions so I took them out again till they changed into pupae and then I placed them back in the icebox. From about 60 caterpillars treated in this way only one var. albofasciata emerged and one specimen with white stripes on the forewings but nor- mal hindwings. The others did not approach at all the whit{;-banded variety. I hope to be able to repeat the experiment again next year. Concerning the food plants 1 am convinced that the caterpillars of astyanax. feed as well upon wil- lows and Cottonwood as upon cherries. In July I found far out in the prairie and half a mile from any other tree or shrub, a cottonwood tree and on its bark a caterpillar which I supposed to be disippus. I fed it with cottonwood leaves and after ai)OUt one week it pupated and after ten days more there emerged a fine astyanax specimen of more than 3 inches expan- sion. Later I found in another place on the prairie 94 THE LEPI'DOPTERIST many caterpillars upon willows and special big ones upon a willow with large, dark green leaves. There were about 80 larvae and I fed all with the small leaves of willows I was using for larvae of polyphe- mus and of Sphingidae. From this number 21 asty- anax emerged. It therefore cannot be doubtful any more that astyanax feeds upon willows and cotton- wood as well as upon cherries. Entomological Conditions in and Around Chicago By Dr. Robert Unzicker, Chioago, III. The old entomologists here say that twenty years ago the opportunity to catch many specimens of good species was very much better than at present, but still Chicago has yet a long record of species of Lepidop- tera; however, it is necessary to know the places in which one can find them. It is a tough job to hunt all over the surroundings of a big city to find a place that looks opportune for collecting, but such places are still there and I found more than one good hunting- ground. For instance, there is a big lot right beyond one side of the city limits where we can find a large number of larvae of Bombycidae and Sphingidae up- on the numerous willows and grapes. There is an- other place not far from Chicago, only one hour's walk, where we can find a real gathering of larvae of all kinds of butterflies and moths. In one of the big- gest cemeteries are hundreds of Saponaria flowers and when we go hunting there in the summer evenings we always come home with a good catch of moths. The parks again are specially good for spring collecting. I have so far this year collected and bred over 2500 caterpillars and I am not through with collecting yet. They were all found in the city and just beyond its boundaries. The following gen- eral list shows what larvae I have already found this year: THE LEPIDOPTERIST 95 Different species, 1223. Polyphemus, 2^7 . Sphingidae on graj^e, 400. Sphingidae on willow and tilia, 278. Turnus, 28. Cerura species, 22 Acronycta species, 95. I am in hopes to get at least 500 more larvae before the season is over. Included in the number of different species are many Pap. asterias, Arctiidae, Notodontidae, Cucul- liae, Catocalae, and other Noctuidae. Acronycta Am- ericana was found in large numbers, and also another large Acronycta caterpillar which was feeding upon Acer campestris. I don't know yet what species will emerge from these larvae. The Sphingidae, feeding upon grape, were ache- mon, thysbe, abbotti, nessus, myron and some which I have not identified. The other Sphingidae were auscitiosa, geminatus, myops, chersis, drupi- ferarum, excaecatus, undulosa and some others which are unknown to me in the larval stage. Many of the polyphemus cocoons are extremely large and heavy. They seemingly do not suffer as much from parasitis as does cecropia. From these I found about 80 full grown caterpillars and not one was free from parasites. The polyphemus were parasitized to only about 2 per cent. Sesiidae were numerous this year and I found a copula of a large species with reddish thorax and black spots and the characteristic last pair of legs resem- bling brushes. At present the Catocalae are on their wings and my collection has already fresh specimens of nurus, amica ilia, cerogama, cara and unijuga. Abbotti and nessus were flying in larger numbers this year than I ever noticed. Cat. vidua and Apantesis vir- go will appear about the middle of September and a little later Tolype velleda and the two Euthisanotia species. Lineata was not seen the whole summer, but other entomologists probably have met with this species. 96 THE LEPIDOPTERIST Below is a list of subscribers to The Lepidopterist whose addresses are missing from the files. If you know the addresses of any of these kindly send them to us. Baylis, E. Chagnon, G. Coxey, Judson Dean, F. R. Dirks, Jack Erhardt, H. Fletcher, Frank C. Foster, Roberta Friedle, Wm. A. Funk Gladden, Geo. Grove, Miss Jennie Houghton, Wm. M. Kennedy, Archie Keyworth, Thos. Kilbourne, A. Gray Kircher, Chas. Knetzger, Aug. Landsea, Oscar E. Lemmer, Fred Liljeblad, Emil Martin, C. J. McAllister, Alice Metzner, Dr. F. Oslar, E. J. Philbrick, L. O. Schaefer, Norman J. Schander, J. Sinclair, James Slocomb, Leon Smallen, Harry J. Wiess, Harry B. Williams, R. C., Jr. Wood, W. C. Wright, W. S. Zaiser, P Exchange For Catocalae I am desirous of securing specimens of common species as well as rarities mounted or only pinned, of catocalse from all parts of North America. Good specimens only are wanted, and I will gladly exchange or buy for cash. Send me a list of what you need and what you can supply. Samuel E. Cassino, Salem, Mass. QUESTION BOX What is the most successful method of keeping naked pu- pae over winter? G. C. What is the best way of keeping insect pests out of a collection? M. M. Will some one please de- scribe the best method of degreasing specimens. N. S. The editor will be glad to have records of rare finds from any part of the country. Interesting notes, information or suggestions of use to brother entomologists are very welcome. Authors may send descriptions of new- species and secure prompt publication. THE LEPIDOPTERIST 97 Annoancement In reply to continuous inquiries concerning the whereabouts of specimens originally contained in the famous "Jacob Doll Collection" we wish to state that we sold : The Plusia group with its related genera to Dr. R. Ottolengui of New York. This series included the native as well as the exotic species of that group. All North American species of the following fam- ilies, in total 7588 specimens, including 15 Types, 29 Cotypes and 100 Homotypes, were sold to Dr. Wm. Barnes of Decatur, 111. : Noctuidae with the exception of the Plusia group and except the genus Catocala ; Hesperidae ; Agaris- tidae ; syntomidae ; Pyromorphidae ; Pericopidae ; Lithosiidae ; Nolidae ; Limacodidae ; Cossidae ; Hepia- tidae ; Syntomidae ; Pyromorphia ; Pericopidae ; Platypterygidae and Thyatiridae. The Geometridae went to Samuel E. Cassino of Salem, Mass. All other families are still in our possession, al- though there have been considerable sales in some groups, specially in the Sphingidae. NEW ENGLAND ENTOMOLOGICAL CO., 366 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, Mass. THE LEPIDOPTERIST Subscription, 50 cents per year, payable in advance. Extra copies, 5 cents each. P'oreign postage, extra, 25c. per year. Advertising Rates. 50 cents an inch; 4 spaces or more, 10% discount, per issue. Cash with copy. All advertising matter must be in the hands of the Editor by the ist of the month to insure publication. A\\ communications must be addressed to Samuel E. Cassino, Salem, Mass. Officers of the Boston Entomological Club President :Samuel E. Cassino Treasurer : H. J. Law Sec. : Nathaniel Stowers Supt. of Sales: Wm. Reifif Trade Column .ADVERTISING rates ic. per word. Matter solid. No display. Cash with copy. WILL buy or exchange Cato- calae. W. F. Eastman. 75 Maple St., West Roxbury, Mass. \y. ANTED Literature on Catocalac, also eggs and specimens. Theodore Greer, • Vledo, Illinois. 98 THE LEPIDOPTERIST ILLUSTRATING CARTOONING Entomological Work a Specialty FRANK W. MORTON, JR. 229 LONGWOOD AVE. BOSTON, MASS. TELEPHONE BROOKLINE 4677.M ENTOMOLOGICAL SUPPLIES. Spreading Boards, 19 inches long, 40c, 50c, 60c. Spreading Board Cabinet, with 10 boards and three empty spaces for additional boards, $8.50. These cabinets are our invention and they have proven to be the best method for safely keeping and drying specimens while on the boards. Exhibition Boxes, glass covered, all sizes. Prices upon application- Combination Breeding and Pupa-Cage, own invention, from $2.50 to $4.00, according to size. Best thing ever made in the line, as recommendations show. All Supplies are hand made by experts in the branch. New England Entomological Co. oept. a supplies, 366 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, Mass. SPECIAL CHRISTMAS OFFER 100 butterfliesin 100 SpeCJeS from Colombia, South America, in good average condition ^5.00, two lots $8.00. Second quality ^2.50, two lots ^4.00. All in papers with correct dates and al- most all are named. Remittance must be sent with order. Postage and packing free. From same locality: 50 Papilios in 20 species, good average condition, $5.00. All with correct dates and names. NEW ENGLAND ENTOMOLOGICAL CO, 366 Afborway, - Jamaica Plain, Mass. <{\,%Q^y'my!!7f}^ Official Bulletin of the Boston Entomological Club. "— — -^— '^ Samuel E. Cassino, Salem, Massachusetts. Publisher. Vol. I. December 15, 1917 No. 13 Editor's Corner Thirteen numbers of "The Lepi- dopterist" have been published since November, 1916; the present number completes Volume 1 of the magazine. It has been said that no paper which specialized in this par- ticualr branch of Entomology would receive sufficient support, either financial or otherwise, to make it a success. "The Lepidopterist" in the year 1917, has proved exactly the opposite to be the case. We have at present almost two hundred addresses on our sub- scription list, seventy-five per cent of these being out- side of New England. Many of the subscribers have subscribed years in advance. We have received adver- tisements from three of the largest Entomological supoly houses in the country and from many of the smaller collectors. Our "Trade Column" has always been filled to capacity. Surely this is adequate finan- cial support ! We have published many descriptions of new species or varieties. There have been several interesting "notes" on collecting trips, etc. These ar- ticles have been contributed by various collectors and we continually receive letters from subscribers com- menting on the high standard of our articles and es- pecially praising the illustrations which we print with descriptions when they can be obtained. Surely, this is not lack of support! The only objection we have received is that the copies have invariably ap- f)eared much later than they should. 100 THE LEPIDOPTERIST This was not due to lack of support, but solely to faulty administration by the staff itself. In his connection we must say that the Board of Di- recors of he Boston Entomological Club found it nec- essary on Oct. 21, 1917, to ask for the resignation of Mr. Rudolph C. B. Bartsch, because of failure to properly carry on the affairs of "The Lepidopterist." This resignation was not obtained and on November 20, 1917, his name was officially dropped from the list of members. The first mail auction of our Club will be held at the first meeting in February, 1918. A complete list of specimens offered will be printed in the January number (Vol. 2, No. 1.) The Lepidopterist trade column advertising will do all that can be done to shorten and simplify your hunt for that missing specimen. A New Apantesis By Sainncl E. Cossiiio, Salcni, Mass. Apantesis californica n. sp. Female : — Head yellow and black. Antennae black with exception of the upper side, which is yellow, from near the head, half the length of the antenna. Thorax, red and black. Collar, yellow with two black dashes. Abdomen yellow with strong reddish tinge, more pronounced near the thorax ; prominent black dorsal band and lateral lines. Under surface of ab- domen with two lines of black spots extending half the length of each segment. Primaries : — Chrome, lemon and black. The center of the lemon maculation tinged with gambogs. All veins are yellow as in ornata. Two black dashes at base of primaries, on either side of median vein. Two black patches about the center of the primaries ex- tend from the costa to vein 2, the inner one being the narrowest, the outer being wide at the costa and tap- ering to a point. Two black dashes extend from the THE LEPIDOPTERIST 101 center of wing on either side of vein 1 to inner angle. The dash below the vein is broken by yellow. The black portion above the vein is broken in two places by yellow. Two large light triangles extend from the costa nearly to the inner margin. The outer margin is black, the light portion extending nearly to the margin at two points, forming two triangles, with a black spot in the centre of eah triangle. There is an elongated black triangle extending inward from the hind angle above vein 1. Secondaries: — The secondaries are vermilion and black. Between the black and vermilion maculation is a very narrow line of redish yellow. A black, ir- regular border extends along the costal and outer mar- gin, fading out near the inner angle to two black spots. A black basal dash near the inner margin, beyond which is a black spot. Above this black spot is an-' other spot which is connected with the black costal margin by a smaller spot. A rather larger oval spot near the costal margin half way between the base and apex. Fringes, lemon yellow. Under side of primaries, yellow with black mark- ings similar to upper surface on the costal and outer margins. Under side of secondaries slightly more red- ish than primaries, with black maculation similar to the upper side but slightly smaller. Expands 1 3-4 inches. This species belongs near ornata. Type 1 ? in the collection of the author, rs, ... , Two Weeks at Rockledge, Florida By William h'ciff and Samuel E. Cassiiio (Continued from No. 10.) Jt would have been a very agreeable matter to ob- tain some rare Catocalae for our collections, but the season was still too early for adult specimens. The vegetation of our hunting grounds, especially the coun- try south of Rockledge, was of such a nature that we 102 THE LEPIDO PTERIST felt certain that at least the oak-feeding Catocalae were present, for there was an abundance of "live oak" and "water oak." We were already planning to make the usual burlap traps for Catocala larvae, when Mr. Reiff found quite accidentally an almost full- grown larva resting on a large oak tree and well hid- den in a deep crotch. Now knowing where to find these larvae we at once started to hunt for them; and we were well rewarded. On the average, we found a larva about every ten min- utes. In most cases they were from one to five feet above the ground; only a small percentage were rest- ing higher up on the trees, and only three specimens were out of reach. All larvae were in harmony with their surroundings; in some cases the protected posi- tion of the larva together with its resemblance to the bark was indeed astonishing. No doubt we missed many, yet our total catch was about seventy-five lar- vae. Those on "water-oak" were discovered the easi- est, as the bark of these trees is rather smooth and does not offer the larva as much protection as the bark of the "live oak." We noticed that no larvae were found on the bark of low-branched trees nor where the woods were thick. In fact, collecting was best on isolated trees. Like all Catocala larvae, those we found were full of vigor. They were moving rap- idly when placed in the collecting boxes and would try to escape at the first opportunity. Judging from the structure of the larvae we were in possession of four different species, and we were anxious to bring them to pupation. Two days previous to our departure from Rockledge the first larva began to get ready for pupation and others followed in quick succession. They could not possibly have chosen a more unfit time, as they now had to undergo the transition from larva to pupa under the influence of the move- ments of the railroad train. We took every precau- tion to give them the best train service, but all was in vain. Some changed into deformed pupae while traveling, but the largest number died during the transportation period. We obtained only twenty pu- THE LEPIDOPTEklST 103 pae and from these only three specimens emerged : two badly crippled Catocalae, which perhaps were similis f. aholah and one specimen of a Homoptera. This one came from a small lot of larvae in which the head structure was different from all the other larvae, but we had not thought that this group might give rise to a species of Homoptera. The other pu- pae transformed into adults but were too weak to break the pupa shell and thus died inside of it. This sad experience will be a lesson for us when we go South again. The next time we will stay there till our Catocala larvae have pupated. We have at least the satisfaction of knowing where to look for them. During our hunt for Catocala larvae we came across a 'water-oak" in which there were numerous holes which were apparently caused by a species of Cossus inhabiting this tree. While we were still con- sidering the possibility of finding Cossus specimens at that season, Mr. Cassino suddenly pointed to some- thing that looked like a knob in the bark. A second look proved to our pleasant surprise that it was a freshly emerged female of some Cossus species. A few moments later we found the pupa shell, still soft, protruding from the tree. The opportunity to obtain additional specimens was so good that we decided to trap the whole trunk as high as possible. The needed supplies were obtained in the next village, and with the help of fallen trees and large stones to stand upon, we were able to cover ten feet of the trunk. A number of small sticks were used to hold the cloth off the tree so that the specimens after emerging would find space enough for their development. On the after- noon of the next day we made our first inspection and to our joy found one male and one female. The next day we found another male, the last one. Apparently we had made the discovery at the very end of the flying period of that species. Without going into de- tails it may be mentioned that it is perhaps an unde- scribed species, for neither sex agrees with anyone of the known Cossids. THE END 104 THE LEPIDOPTERIST Note on Catocala Helena Cassino In The Lepidopterist, \'ol. 1, No. 8, I described a Catocala under the name of helena. As this name is occupied by a synonym to micronympha described by Pilate I substitute the name ''patricia." As the illus- tration representing this species was unsatisfactory, a new three-color half-tone will be given in a future is- sue of The Lepidopterist. Samuel E. Cassino. A New Variety of Catocala lacrymosa By Samuel E. Cassino Plate VIII. Catocala lacrymosa f. albomarginata, f. nov. As will be seen by referring to the illustration de- picting this variety of lacrymosa, the outer and inner margins of primaries closely resemble sappho. The apical patch is dusky white, growing darker at the apex. The entire outer margin from the subterminal line is grayish white, very much lighter than f. paul- ina. Along the inner margin the grayish white border extends the entire length but is broken into by the t. a. and the t. r. lines and the median shade. The un- der surface is marked like lacrymosa, but much lighter. Type I c? in the collection of the author from the Doll Collection. Plate VIII will be sent with one of the early num- bers of Vol. II. The Lepidopterist trade columns are the natural channels of communication between people who want things and people who have things to offer : THE LEPIDOPTERIST 105 THE LEPIDOPTERIST Subscription, 50 cents per year, payable in advance. Extra copies, 5 cents each. Foreign postage, extra, 25c. per year. Advertising Rates. 50 cents an inch; 4 spaces or more, 10% discount, per issue. Cash with copy. All advertising matter must be in the hands of the Editor by the ist of the month to insure publication. .All communications must be addressed to Samuel E. Cassino, Salem, Mass. Officers of the Boston Entomological Club President iSamuel E. Cassino Treasurer : H. J. Law Sec. : Nathaniel Stowers Supt. of Sales : Wm. Reiff E. F. Knight, Adv. Mgr. Trade Column ADVERTISING rates ic per word. Matter solid. No display. Cash with copy. WILL buy or exchange Cato- calae. W. F. Eastman, 75 Maple St., West Roxbury, Mass. VVANTED Literature on Catocalae, also eggs and specimens. Theodore Greer, Aledo, Illinois. FOR SALE— Perfect but- tcrflies in papers. Lyc.icar- oides, Grapta satyrus and niarsj'as at loc. each ; Lye. acmon, Lemonias virgulti, Phyciodes montana, and Hes- peria occidentials at 5c; Colias barbara at 12c; Co- lias keewaydin at 3c. In lots of twenty of each species, 6c. each. .'Mso pinned moths for sale. Esther P. Hew- lett, Nellie, California. WANTED to exchange east- ern for western Catocalae. N. Stowers, 15 Anson St., Jamaica Plain, Mass. WANTED— I desire series of Apantesis from all parts of North America. Would like at once specimens from Southern States. Will name and return if desired. Sam- uel E. Cassino, Salem, Mass. WANTED to buy Exotic Butterflies, perfect speci- mens. Wm. Ewers, 67 Hampstead Road, Jamaica Plain, Mass. Wanted to buy, briliantly colored Exotic Butterflies, perfect specimens. G. Col- man, 64 Seaver St., Rox- bury, Mass. WANTED, for cash, speci- mens of Beetles of the genus Saperda. Only perfect speci- mens considered. Unusually large individuals, local varia- tions of form color, etc., par- ticularly wanted. Series from one locality of Saperda Candida, concolor, cretata. fayi, moesta, mutice obliqua, populnea, puncticollis, vesti- ta, etc., particularly wanted. John A. Gcddes, 331 High Street, Williamsport, Pa. WANTED, for cash, speci- mens of rare or uncommon Beetles from all parts of the U. S. Particularly Cerambyci- dae and Buprestidae. John M. Geddes, 331 Higli St., Williamsport, Pa. 106 THE LEPIDOPTERIST THE BOSTON ENTOMOLOGICAL CLUB Unanimouslv votes to extend a CHRIST- MAS GREETING to all of our Sub- ** scribers. The editor suggests that as this number of The Lepidopterist is mailed December 28, this greet- ing applies on the 1918 account. SPECIAL NEW YEAR'S OFFER 100 butterflies in 100 SpSCieS froni Colombia, South America, in good average condition $5.00, two lots $8.00. Second quality $2.50, two lots $4.00. All in papers with correct dates and al- most all are named. Remittance must be sent with order. Postage and packing free. From same locality: 50 Papilios in 20 species, nood average condition, S5.00. All with correct dates and names. NEW ENGLAND ENTOMOLOGICAL CO,, 366 Arborway, - Jamaica Plain, Mass. <3 "MST Official Bulletin of the Boston Entomological Club. Samuel E. Cassino, Publisher. Salem, Mas sachusetts. Vol. II January 15, 1918. No. 1 Editor's This issue is the first of Volume 2. 1^ The subscription price is 50 cents which pays for twelve issues. It is not promised that a number will be published on the 15th of each month. Various matters may prevent, but every subscriber will receive the full volume of twelve nurnbers. While The Lepidopterist is the "official organ" of the Boston Entomological Club, it is entirely under the management and control of the editor and all communications relating to its affairs must be addressed to the publisher. Names of ama- teur and professional entomologists are desired by the publisher and sample copies will be mailed to ad- dresses of people who should be interested. Subscribers are requested to send short lists of species offered and desired in exchange. Such lists will be printed free. Notes From Provincetown By Carleton E. Preston During a season of collecting at Provincetown I used regularly to sugar certain trees in a roadside grove. Approaching these one night in the gathering darkness and without a light, I saw, besides news- papers scattered on the ground by a recent picnic Copyright. !9li, by Samuel E. Ctnino. All rifhtt reterred THE LEPIDOPTERIST party, a fairly sizable piece of brown paper stuck to the sugar I had placed on one of the trees the previous night. Advancing to pull it off in order to renew the bait I was startled by having the paper take flight and whiz by my ear. A few nights later I caught, on a tree about two hundred yards distant, a rather bat- tered specimen of Erebus odora. The following sea- son I secured another and much better specimen on the same tree. Among my early moth-hunting trips as a boy, I re- member one in which I found a pair of moths, Geo- metrids, I think, copulating in such a position as to resemble very closely the form of a drying birch leaf. A similar instance of protective resemblance in this necessarily quiet position, — a condition not due to a single moth but to the combined appearance of the pair — is one which I recently came across at Province- town and of which I was fortunate enough, with the aid of a long-bellows camera, to secure enlarged pho- tos in two positions. The moths in question were Harpyia borealis Boisduval. Resting on a small stick they so closely resembled a mere patch of bird ex- crement that I twice passed them by before deciding to return and investigate. Protective devices of this nature are very common in the case of a single moth or butterfly ; but instances where the protection depended on the relative position of two individuals have, I believe, been rarely noted. A New Apantcsis By Samuel E. Cassino, Salem, Mass. Plate I. ApANTESIS FLORI'DANA n. sp. Male expands one and one half inches. Antenna? black or very dark, densely bipectinate, the pectina- tions tapering to the tip. Head and thorax of the same colcr as the primaries. The under surface and sides of head, thorax and abdomen black. A broad THE LEPIDOPTERIST black band extends from the thorax the entire length of the abdomen, bordered by a reddish yellow band on each side of the abdomen. Primaries black, with broad bands of lemon yellow. Obtusely rounded at the apex. About twice as long from the base to apex as the distance from the internal angle to the costa. A band on the costa, narrower at the base, tapers out just be- fore reaching the apex. The yellow costal band is invaded by a round black spot which is connected with the black of the discoidal cell, just beyond the middle of the costa. A broad, longitudinal, yellow band ex- tends from the base about two-thirds the distance to the outer margin. This band bifurcates about the middle of the wing. The branch is quite small and does not, in the type, attain the inner angle. A yellow band connects the costa with the median longitudinal band, which it crosses towards the inner angle, but soon disappears. The branch of the median band bi- furcates near the inner angle in some specimens. The inner margin is bordered from the base to the inner angle with a broad yellow band. Fringes are all yellow. The secondaries are reddish yellow, with dark ir- regular maculations. A small dark spot midway from the outer and inner angles, and a little removed from the margin extending along the costal and upper por- tion of the outer margin. These are not as black as in the primaries. The reddish color of the secondaries is deepest near the base, becoming yellowish at the mar- gins. The maculations of the under side of the wings are like those of the upper side but are not as deeply tinged with red. Female expands one and one half inches. The primaries of this beautiful insect are a rich velvety black and lemon: elongate; the apex well defined, but the outer and inner margins constitute a continuous graceful curve, leaving little indication of an inner an- gle. A narrow band of lemon color on the costa hard- ly attains the apex. A horizontal band extends from the base one-third the length of the wing, the basal half being broadest, and is finally lost. This line is 4 THE LEPIDOPTERIST broadest at the centre, where it shows indications of bifurcating. In the cotype this longitudinal band is in- dicated only by a pin point of yellow. The secondaries in the $ are vermillion and black. The black constitutes an irregular band along the costal and outer margins covering more than half the surface of the wing. The under surface of the thor- ax and abdomen are black. A larger portion of the thorax is black than in the male. The black band on the upper surface of the abdomen is margined by a band of vermillion, or reddish yellow. Antennae black. Bred from one female specimen taken by Mr. Reiflf at Rockledge, Fla., March 20, 1917. Types (^ 5 in the author's collection. 12 c?. 12 ? Cotypes in collection of Mr. William Reifif. ApANTESIS FLORIDANA F. OCHRACEA. F. NOV. In this variety the primaries are the same as in floridana, but secondaries are lemon yellow and only slightly tinged with reddish at the base. Type c? in collection of Mr. William ReifT. Co- types 4 ^ Oh THE LEPIDOPTERIST 13 Mr. L. Trouvelot, who was an accomplished entom- ological artist, did not "carelessly allow the moths to escape through an open window." Some of the cocoons were blown out of the window and M". Trouvelot, when the loss was discovered, not only searched diligently for the missing cocoons but ad- vertised the loss in the American Naturalist and the local papers. Plate III. A New Aberration B\ Dr. John Adams Comstock Curator of Entomology, Southwest Museum, Los Angeles, Cal. NEOPHASIA MENAPIA FELDER, F. NIGRACOSTA ABERR. NOV. Plate IV Figure 1, upperside. Figure 2, underside. Primaries, upper surface, differ from typical form as follows: the black bar running along the costal margin is broadened as a suffusion posteriorly over the anterior half of the discal cell. It also is ex- tended outward toward the apex, entirely obscuring the white of the subcostal area. This suffusion re- sults in a partial obliteration of the white marginal spots, and a marked blurring of the white submarginal area between the discal cell and the apex. The under- side of primaries show all the suffused areas carried through but to a lesser degree. The white marginal spots are not involved, however, in this suffusion. Secondaries, upper surface shows a slight tendency for the dark venation to carry through from below, along the marginal area, this feature varying a little in the two specimens before us. The under side of secondaries show a tendency for heavier lineation of of the nervules. Described from two males collected by the author in the high Sierras of Tulare County, California, al- titude 9000 to 10,000 ft. (near Orlancha Peak). Plate IV Fig. 1. August 20, 1917. Fig. 2. Aug. 25. 1917. Fig. 3 shows a normal male for comparison. Types in the author's collection at the Southwest Museum, Los Angeles, Cal. 14 THE LPIDOPTERIST A New Race of Catocala delilah Streckcr By Samuel E. Cassino CATOCALA DELILAH F. UTAHENSIS. In general appearance utahensis is much lighter than delilah. Delilah is a rich. Van Dyke brown, in some specimens a Roman sepia, while the general ef- fect of utahensis is a bluish gray in the lighter portions of the superiors. The t. a. and t. p. lines are com- posed of black scales, but are not heavy and broad as in delilah or desdemona. The whitish scales in the apical patch of desdemona are bluish gray in utahensis. The line of whitish scales near the sub- terminal line in desdemona is only very faintly indi- cated in utahenscs. The subterminal line is barely indicated except by two black arrow points. The scales of the median space are bluish gray in- stead of the rich brown of delilah and desdemona. The subterminal space or outer margin is darker, and between this and the median region the scales are lighter brown. A black spot on the costa above the reniform and a smaller one a little nearer the apex. Reniform not very distinctly marked; subreniform distinctly marked. The space between the outer mar- gin and the t. p. line and extending from the inner margin half way to the costa is devoid of very distinct maculation, but in desdemona this is not the case. The secondaries do not differ from desdemona ex- cept that the mediam black band is somewhat nar- rower. All the specimens I have seen from Utah belong to this race, and are readily distinguished from those taken in Arizona or Texas, by the lighter coloration. Type $ in the outhor's collection. Taken July 24. 1912 at Provo, Utah. Paratypes 5 d" 5 ? in the author's collection taken from July 3rd to Aug. 3rd at Provo, Utah, The accompanying plate \'^ figures delilah Strecker and forms desdemona Hy. Edwards and utahensis Cassino. THE LPIDOPTERIST 15 THE LEPIDOPTERIST Subscription, 50 cents peryear, payable in advance. Extra copies, 5 cent! each. Foreign postage, extra, 2SC. per year. Advertising Rates. 50 cents an inch; 4 spaces or more, 10% discount, per issue. Cash with copy. All advertising matter must be in the hands of the Editor by the ist of the month to insure publication. All communications must be addressed to Samuel E. Cassino, Salem, Mass. Trade Column ADVERTISING rates ic per word. Matter solid. No display. Cash with copy. EXCHANGE desired with other periodicals. 2 copies preferred. Editor. WANTED, to buy Catocalae. Send list and price. H. J. Law, 131 Savin Hill Ave., Dorchester, Mass. WISH to buy good specimens of the following species of Catocalae : sappho, aggripina, moderna, barnesi, beaniana, meskei (from eastern local- ities.) Samuel E. Cassino, Salem, Mass. Wanted to exchange insects from Fullerton, California for Eastern or Exotic mate- rial. Coleoptera and Lepi- doptera preferred. E. G. Osterhoudt, 241 East Trus- low. Fullerton, California. I DESIRE specimens of the Plusia group from all parts of North America. Wish to ar range with collectors for the coming season. Samuel E. Cassino, Salem, Mass. WANTED to exchange east- ern for western Catocalae. N. Stowers, 15 Anson St., Jamaica Plain, Mass. WANTED— I desire series of Apantesis from all parts of North America. Would like at once specimens from Southern States. Will name and return if desired. Sam- uel E. Cassino, Salem, Mass. Wanted to buy, briliantly colored Exotic Butterflies, perfect specimens. G. Col- man, 64 Seaver St., Rox- bury, Mass. WANTED, for cash, speci- mens of Beetles of the genus Saperda. Only perfect speci- mens considered. Unusually large individuals, local varia- tions of form color, etc., par- ticularly wanted. Series from one locaHty of Saperda Candida, concolor, cretata, fayi, moesta, mutice obliqua, populnea, puncticollis, vesti- ta, etc., particularly wanted. John M. Geddes, 331 High Street, Williamsport, Pa. WANTED, for cash, speci- mens of rare or uncommon Beetles from all parts of the U. S. Particularly Cerambyci- dae and Buprestidae. John M. Geddes, 331 High St., Williamsport, Pa. 16 THE LEPIDOPT ERIST Send 50 cents for Vol. II of THE LEPIDOPTERIST Better complete your files of Vol. /, as only a few of some issues remain SAMUEL E. CASSINO, Salem, Mass. ENTOMOLOGICAL SUPPLIES. Spreading Boards, 19 inches long, 40c, 50c, 60c. Spreading Board Cabinet, with 10 boards and three empty spaces for additional boards, $8.50. These cabinets are our invention and they have proven to be the best method for safely keeping and drying specimens while on the boards. Exhibition Boxes, glass covered, all sizes. Prices upon application- Combination Breeding and Pupa-Cage, own invention, from $2.50 to $4.00, according to size. Best thing ever made in the line, as recommendations show. All Supplies are hand made by experts in the branch. New England Entomological Co. oept. a supplies, see Arborway. Jamaica Plain, Mass- » LEPIDOPTERISTS Get ready for the comingf collecting season and order yowr entomologfical supplies NOW. Twice since the outbreak of the world war we have been compelled to advanee our prices; conditions may changfe again and every collector should take advan- tage of our PRESENT prices. Our latest supply catalogue No. 33 sent free of charge. Send for this, also for our revised pupae list No. 128, lists No. J29, J29a, I29b, and J30 covering native and exotic butterflies, and lists No. J3I and 132 covering native and exotic Coleoptera. Fertile eggs of Antheraea yamamai of Japan, 1 5c. per dozen, including postage. Ward*s Natural Science Establishment, 84-102 College Ave., Rochester, N. Y. P. S. Please mention the Lepidoptera when or- dering. 1919 Samuel E. Cassino, Salem, Massachusetts. Vol. II March 25, 1918 Publisher. No. 3 Notes on the Larvae of Catocala and Their Habits Bv William Beufenmuller, New York. The larvae in shape are elongated, tapering towards both extremities, rounded above and flattened beneath. They are smooth with the lower parts of the sides provided with filaments or fringes which are more or less prominent or are wanting entirely. The eighth segment is generally provided with a dorsal elevation or protuberance or is entirely smooth. The eleventh segment is a^so sometimes more or less elevated. The two first pair of abdominal legs in the young larvae are rudimentary and scarcely discernible. The pairs of legs gradually develop in the succeeding stages and rarely if ever, attain the same size as the two last pair of abdominal, causing them to be semi-loopers in walking. The anal legs are elongated. The head of all the species is very characteristic in shape and subject to no modifications, as far as my observations go. The markings are quite constant and subject to very little or no variation. The head may be used as a good distinguishing character of closely allied spe- cies. On the first prothoracic segment beneath, is an eversible gland, as has been detected by Prof. Poulton. This gland probably emits a pungent liquid or dis- agreeable odor used in defense for the larva against its enemies. Mr. William \\'hite (Proc. Ent. Soc. Copyri|rht, I9ig, hy Samuel E. Cauino. All rrirhta rf««rT«d 18 THE LEPIDOPTERIST London, 1886, p. XVI) called attention to some re- markable processes upon the underside of the larvae of Catocala, a character which is said to exist only in the Catocalincc. Upon the underside of the two European species, C. fraxini and C. electa, he found a curious marking between the legs of the second and third thoracic segments, and a further series of marks of various forms upon the third, to seventh abdominal segments. These markings are of a dark mahogany brown color, fading into dull orange all around. (These markings in our species are black, brown, or- ange, red or pink). In connection with them there is found to be, when examined with a strong lens, a development of some strange process of a pocket-like appearance. These pockets are subcutaneous and are not actually upon the surface, as they appear through the transparent cuticle to be, and vary considerably in grade of development amongst the segments. The functions of these processes do not seem to be clearly understood. In the North American species these glands and processes are also present. Notes on the Habits of Larvae of Catocala By William Beutenmuller, Xezv York. All the larvze of Catocala are arboreal and as a general rule nocturnal, while those of a few species are also sometimes diurnal in habit (badia, anti- nympha, mulierciila, etc.). They lie hidden and motion- less during the day in the crevices of the bark, usually at the base of the tree or shrub and often in the grass nearby. At dusk they become active and ascend the trees to their respective feeding places. They feed on the young and tender leaves on the tips of the branches. They eat only the soft parts leaving the midrib and usually the hard lateral veins. In color nearly all are brown or gray, varying from light to dark, owing to the more or less density of their black markings. The larvae of C. illccta and amestris are gayly colored and differ in this respect from all other THE LKl'lDUl'TKKlST 19 known species. When at rest they lie lengthwise with their flattened underside closely pressed against their places of concealment. This habit, together with their protective coloration, makes it very difiicult to detect them. \Vhen disturbed they jerk themselves from side to side and move ofif rapidly with the gait of a semi- looper. They may be trapped by placing boards or paper close to the trunk or on the ground at the base of their food-plants. They leave their feeding places about day break, but during their earlier stages do not ■.vander far away. The Uxjvx of the following species have been described, but additional notes are still needed for most of these. Aholibah, amatrix, amestris, arnica, antinympha, aspasia ( ?), badia, beutenmiilleri, blandnla, californica, cara, ceroganm, clintoni, coc- cinata, concumbcns cousor, crataegi, dcsdcmona. cpionc, flebilis, grynca. Iiabilis, ilia, illecta, iunubcns. insolabilis, irenc, jitdith, lacrymosa, micronympha, 1)1 in Ufa, meskei, midicrcula, neogama, nubilis, ophclia. obscura, porta, paleoganw, piatrix, pretiosa (?), pura, residua, refecta, relicta, serena, stretchi, ultronia, nnijuga, vereciinda, vidua, viduata, soe. They are not general feeders and oak, hickory, poplar and iviUoiv are the principal food-plants. A paper on the same will soon appear in the Lepid- opterist. An Interesting Letter from Mr. Tom Spalding, Provo, Utah. The follow^ing, taken from a personal letter from Mr. Tom Spalding to the editor, is interesting enough to print. It was not written for publication, but is published with Mr. Spalding's consent. Editor. In re Mr. (jrinnel's article in June 15 number I look a lot of Hepialus lenzi one year at Stockton. One night I was cooking my supper — I was leasing a block of ground on the .^00 level in the Ben Harrison Mine, and "baching" in the old bunkhouse — about 8 o'clock, and outside the window on some scrub oak, I noticed what I thought to be a moth swinging on a 20 THE LEPIDOI'TERIST spider's thread, like a pendulum — forth and to — as the Cousin Jacks say, swinging in an arc of 6 or 8 inches. In a few minutes 1 looked again and he was still there, and again later, so I went out to investigate — and burnt the slapjack of course — took a jar along, and lo ! and be dammed ! it was H. lenzi. Next night I was going up the trail to the bunkhouse about 8 and saw another "swinging on a thread," went for my net and captured it, and another a little higher up. So 1 hunted for a while and took a few more but about 8.30 the supply gave out. Next night I started out about 8 and in a few minutes began taking them, but at or just before 8.30 they disappeared. I got a lan- tern and followed the trail to camp, and on the higher side, about a foot from the ground on oak leaves, sprigs of sagebrush, grass etc., I found several couples in coitu, but none flying. Sometimes there would be one or two S THE LEPIDOPTERIST Subscription, 50 cents peryear, payable in advance. Extra copies, 5 cents each. Foreign postage, extra, 25c. per year. Advertising Rates. 50 cents an inch; 4 spaces or more, 107o discount, per issue. Cash with copy. All advertising matter must be in the hands of the Editor by the ist of the month to insure publication. All communications must be addressed to Samuel E. Cassino, Salem, Mass. Trade Column ADVERTISING rates ic per word. Matter solid. No display. Cash with copy. EXCHANGE desired with other periodicals. 2 copies preferred. Editor. FLORIDA Lepidoptera for ex- change, .\ddison I^llsworth, Johnson City, N. ^■. WISH to buy good specimens of the following species of Catocalae: sappho, aggripina, moderna, barnesi, beaniana, meskei ("from eastern local- ities.) Samuel E. Cassino, Salem, Mass. Wanted to exchange insects from Fullerton, California for Eastern or Exotic mate- rial. Coleoptera and Lepi- doptera preferred. E. G. Osterhoudt, 241 East Trus- low, Fullerton, California. I DESIRE specimens of the Plusia group from all parts of North America. Wish to ^^ range with collectors for t^*: coming season. Samuel E. Cassino, Salem, Mass.i WANTED to exchange east- ern for western Catocalae. -N^. Stowers, 15 Anson St., Jamaica Plain, Mass. WANTED — I desire series of -Xpantesis from all parts of North America. Would like at once specimens from Southern States. Will name and return if desired. Sam- uel E. Cassino, Salem, Mass. Wanted to buy, briliantly colored Exotic Butterflies, perfect specimens. G. Col- man, 64 Seaver St., Rox- bury, Mass. FOR SALE— Perfect butterflies in papers. Lye. icaroides, Grapta satyrus and marsyasat loc. each; Lye. acmon, Lenionias virgulti, Phyciodes montana, and Hes- peria occidentalis at 5c; Colias barbara at 12c; and Colias kee- waydin at 3c. In lots of twenty of each species, 6c each. Also pinned moths for sale. Esther P. Hewlett, Nellie, California. WANTED — Correspondence with lepidopterists everywhere, for exchange of specimens, ex periences and ideas. Addi,'?sus centerensis and many otheis. List free. WISH to buy good specimens of the following species of Catocalc-e: sappho, aggripina, moderna, barnesi, beaniana. meskei (from eastern local- ities.) Samuel E. Cassino. Salem, Mass. Wanted to exchange insects from Fullerton, California for Eastern or Exotic mate- rial. Coleoptera and Lepi- doptera preferred. E. G. Osterhoudt, 241 East Trus- low, Fullerton, California. I DESIRE specimens of the Plusia group from all parts of North America. Wish to ar- range with collectors for the coming season. Samuel E. Cassino, Salem, Mass. WANTED— I desire series of Apantesis from all parts of North America. Would like at once specimens from Southern States. Will name and return if desired. Sam- uel E. Cassino. Salem, Mass. FOR SALE— Perfect butterflies in papers. Lye. icaroides, Grapta satyrus and marsyasat loc. each; Lye. acmon, Lemonias virgulti. Phyciodes montana, and Hes- peria occidentaHs at 5c; Colias barbara at 12c; and Colias kee- waydin at 3c. In lots of twenty of each species, 6c each. Also pinned moths for sale. Esther P. Hewlett, Nellie, California. WANTED — Correspondence with lepidopterists everywhere, for exchange of specimens, ex periences and ideas. Addison Ellsworth, Johnson City, N. V. I'ieginiiin;:;- with the i?site of Ma\- I will l)C edited by Louis \\'. Swett Cassino. he I ,epido]iterist and Samnel E. Editors Samuel E. Cassino, Louis W. Swett Publisher Samuel E. Gassing Salem, Mass. \\)L. II May 25, 1918 Xo. 5 £ditor*s ^^ \\''\'i\\. to notify our sub- scribers that "The Lepidopterist" CxOrner from now has no longer any con- nection with any club or society. It is published and financed solely by Mr. Samuel E. Cassino of Salem, Mass. "The Lepidopterist" will cover an entirely different field from the past, devoting its pages to structure and biology, with collecting notes, lists of insects, descriptions of new forms, and newest methods of entomotaxy. Notes on the Eggs of Catocala By William Beutenmuller, Nezv York The eggs of Catocala are laid in masses in the crev- ices of the bark, and little concerning them is known. They are spheroidal in shape or are more or less flattened on top and at their base. The surface is grooved longitudinally, with many furrows. When flattened they are usually laid overlapping one another somewhat like the shingles on a roof (C palccogama). The eggs remain unhatched until the following spring, after being laid, and all the species are single brooded excepting Eiiparfheiios nubills (and possibly Allofria clonyuipha), which is double brooded and hibernates in the pupa-state. The tgg stage lasts from about 150 to nearly 300 days, for example, — Copyright, 1918. by Samue E, Caiaino. All ri(hti reterved. 34 THE LEPIDOPTERIST eggs laid in June, July or August, do not hatch until late in April, May or June the following year (in the latitude of New York). Mr. A. Koebele obtained eggs of C. dintoni which hatched only after 15 months had past. This, however, may be considered an abnormal condition. In color the eggs are dirty white, gray purplish or greenish gray. One of the best methods of obtaining the eggs is from females captured in the field and permitting them to deposit in captivity. This may be done by keeping the females alive, feeding them on sugar water, or sweet fruit juices. The moth will then, usually, deposit on pieces of bark or thin cloth, folded into pleats, in the breed- ing cage or jar, which should be kept well ventilated. The eggs of the following species have been described. AhoUhah, amafri.v, aspasia, beutenmidleri, californka, cara, dintoni, dcsdemona, ilia, irene, minufa, Ophelia, palceogama, piira, rctecta, relicfa, sfretchi, verecunda, vidua, zoe. Melitaea anicia: Two New Aberrations By Dr. John Adams Comstock Los Angeles, Cal. Mel. anicia Dbldy. & Hew. MELANODISCA aberr. nov. Plate VI. Figure 1, upper side. Figure 3, under side. Figure 2 shows upper side of typical form. This aberration is of the typical form of anicia which has heretofore gone under the name of brucei Edw., namely the small dark high alpine variety found in Colorado, and which Drs. Barnes and McDunnough have shown to be synonymous with the type. DESCRIPTION. Primaries, upper surface : the the discal cell contains two red patches, one at the lateral end, the other running: across the centre. The THE LEPIDOPTERIST 35 remainder of the discal cell and also the entire discal area is solid black. In the linibal area the black band of the typical form is replaced with a brick-red and the outer row of yellow spots is nearly suppressed. The inner row remains but is considerably blurred, and is a little more prominent on one of the two specimens before us (Figure 3) than on the other. The submarginal black line is intact, but blurred, and the marginal line of red is much as in the typical form. The nervules are finely dusted with black. Secondaries, upper surface : all of the typical yellow markings are completely suppressed and their places taken by a black suffusion. The entire wing, in fact, is a solid black with the exception of the marginal band of red, one row of red spots running through the centre of the limbal area, and a single blurred irregular red spot in the outer and upper portion of the discal cell. Primaries, under surface: much as in the typical, but with the yellow of the discal area largely sup- pressed, and its place taken by a dark powdery suf- fusion, more marked anteriorly. The limbal area has the reds and yellows blurred and indistinct. The submarginal black line is blurred, and partially or nearly suppressed. Secondaries, under surface: all of the yellow spots of the basal and discal areas have been suppressed, and their place taken by an irregular mottling of black and brick-red. The line of red spots running through the limbal area on the upper surface is repeated below but is more clearly a line, also it is margined with yellow. The marginal red border is intact, and in- ternal to it there is a clearly defined black band, vary- ing somewhat in width on the two specimens. Described from two females, both taken by the author in Hall Valley, Colorado, at an elevation of about 10.000 feet. Figure 1. taken Tulv 18th. Figure 3 taken July 20th. I<>d2. Types in the author's collection, .*^oulh\\cst I\[u- seum, Los Angeles, Cal. 36 THE LEPIDOPTERIST : ^iRUBROLIMBATA aberr. nov. Plate VI, Figure 4, under side. This aberration. I am inclined to believe, is of the race of anicia termed capella Barnes, which occurs not uncommonly at lower levels than the typical form in Colorado. Primaries, upper surface : all of the yellow spots suppressed except for one line which runs across the inner portion of the limbal area. There is a repression of the black bands and mottlings of the limbal area, giving the appearance of a brick-red wide margin. The venules, however, are edged with black, and there is also a fine black submarginal line. The basal area is predominantly brick-red, with black lines crossing the discal cell, and a darker powdering at the inner edge of the area. All yellows in this area are sup- pressed. Secondaries, upper surface: all yellow spots and lines are wanting, and all black bands in the limbal area missing except for the black lineation of the ner- vules and a submarginal narrow band. This gives the same characteristic brick-red wide margined appear- ance as that of the primaries, which is further height- ened by an almost complete sufifusion of the basal, and inner part of discal area with black. One semilunar red spot only occurs in the outer part of the discal cell. Primaries, under surface: not dissimilar to mela- nodisca except for the lighter color of the discal cell and costal erea. Secondaries, under surface: the black bands and spots of the typical form have been suppressed except for the striping of the nervules, a fine line running around the basal area, and a narrow submarginal stripe. The marginal and discal areas are a solid yellow crossed longitudinally in the center by a red band. The basal area is predominantlv brick-red. with some irregular yellow spots margined with black. The pattern is well brought out in the plate. (Fig. 4.) Described from one male, taken bv the author in South Park, Colorado, July 13th, 1902. -^■^J THE LEPIDOPTERIST Z7 Type in the author's collection, Southwest Museum. Los Angeles. Figure 5 represents an interesting variation of Melitiea nubigena Behr, — figure 6 representing the typical form of this species Both the specimens are males. In the variation it will be noted that a blurring of the outer submarginal row of yellow spots has occurred on the primaries. There is also a widening of the red band in the limbal area of the secondaries. The specimens were taken by the author in Tulare County, Calif. August, 1917, at an elevation of 8500 feet. ' [ Notes On Distribution By A. W. Lindsey, loma City, J a. (Continued from page 31) Euxoa niz'eilinea Grote. Smith, B. ,38, U. S. N. M., p. 139, 1890: Arizona, New Mexico." Sioux City, la., Sept. 7, 1915, 2 S . Both fresh specimens and very well marked, though the second- aries are quite heavily powdered with fuscous along the outer margin above. Tccniocanipa utahensis Smith, Proc. U. S. N. M. X, 473, 1887. Described from specimens from Utah. In his description Smith says: "S. t. line obsolete, barely traceable by a few pale scales," but in the speci- men in the writer's collection, this line is very well marked, even better that in some specimens of oviduca. The genitalia of this specimen agree with the figure of the genitalia of ntahcnsis which Smith gives. (Proc. U. S. X. M. xii. pi. xxiii. fig. 8) as well as with the original description of these organs. Sioux City, la., Sept. 7. 1915. 1 $ . Das\'poudea liicens Morrison. Smith, Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. X, 214. 1882: "Nebraska, Montana. Col- orado." Dyar's List, p. 214, "Rockv Mts." I^ioux City. Tn.. .Tuly 16. 17. 1917. 2 specimens. I note that this has also been recorded at Decorah, in the northeastern part of Towa, by Mr. A. F. Porter (Fnt. New? ix, ?>72. 1908. ), and T have sn-u specimens 38 THE LEPIDOPTERIST from the southwestern part, so that Iowa may well be included in its normal range. Tarache virginalis Grote. Dyar's List, p. 214, "Ar- izona". Smith, Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. xxvii, 79, 1900: "Denver, Col. ; Arizona." Moderately common at Sioux City. I have also a small series taken in Dickinson County in August, 1915. Thysania senobia Cramer. A single battered speci- men of this great moth was picked up on the campus of the State University in late September or early October, 1917, and later came into the possession of the writer through Mr. L. L. Buchanan, at that time assistant in Entomology in the University. Smith says that its range is "Florida ; Southern States ; occasional northward; Colorado" (B. 44. U. S. N. M., p. 367) in this country, and Holland mentions it as "a very abundant species in Mexico and South America" (Moth Book, 279.). Fernaldella fimetarla G. & R. Packard, Monograph of the Phal?enidge of North America, p. 229, "Waco. Tex., Tune 6, Aug. 18," "Dallas, Tex., May 15." Dyars List; p. 303, "Rocky Mts." Xanthotype crocataria Fabricius With descriptions of new species. By L. W. Swett, Lexington, Mass. My attention was attracted to the differences of a series of Xanthotype crocataria Fabricius, as I was working over the collection of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge, Mass. I tried to arrange this species according to markings, but found that specimens from certain locali- ties differed widely from one another. Next I made slides of the genitalia of the different forms and an examination of the same showed different species and races. I appealed to my kind friends for more material and was fortunate in securing large series from numerous localities. These showed, after a careful study of tlie genitalia, more races and speccies. It was then necessary to determine what THE LEPIDOPTERIST 39 crocataria of Fabricius could be and select a type answering nearest to the description. Fabricius in the "Supplenientuni Entomologiie Systemati- cse" Page 450, No. 43, 1798, describes crocataria as "a yellow geometrid from Virginia." The description calls for a yel- low geometer with minute dots and transverse spots, the latter having pale centers. It is evident from an examination of a series that this description might apply to a number of races and species. The females, from all localities, tend in most instances, to having the pale centered innner marginal spots. The males of the same species may or may not have the pale centered spots, so it is evident that this is of no specific value. Therefore, it is rather difficult to select a type from such a meager description. The locality Virgina shows it to be an Atlantic Coast form and probably about the same as would occur around Washington, D. C, New Jersey or New York, possibly Pennsylvania. I have a species among my material which answers to Fabricius descriptions and oc- curs in the states mentioned above. This species I have selected as the type because it is most readily recognized from the genitalia and les hable to be confused with the more complicated forms. It is very difficult to classify from the markings except in one or two cases as practically all species look about alike. There may be good characters in the markings which could be made out when a large series of bred specimens and life histories are available but until then we must rely on the genitalia. Figures I. and II. show typical male and female genitalia of crocataria Fabricius. I would have liked to have given the life histories in this paper but hope this will pave the way for a future paper on that subject. The genitalia of male crocataria shows a broad, kite- shaped penis with several spines on the outer margin near top. There is a wart-likc projection on the upper costa of valvae, covered with spines, which is called the ampulla and is, in some cases, an important character. There is a horn- like projection near the base of the valva; which I have termed the ceros, and in typical crocataria this organ is much reduced. (To be continued) 40 THE LEPIDOPTERIST THE LEPIDOPTERIST Subscription, 50 cents per year, payable in advance. Extracopies, 5 cents each. Foreign postage, extra, 25c. per year. Advertising Rates. 50 cents an inch; 4 spaces or more, 10% discount, per issue. Cash with copy. All advertising matter must be in the hands of the Editor by the ist of the month to insure publication. All communications must be addressed to Samuel E. Cassino, Salem, Mass. Trade Column ADVERTISING rates ic per word. Matter solid. No display. Cash with copy. EXCHANGE desired with other periodicals. Editor. J. Siclair, Dealer in Rare Insects, Los Angeles, Cal., can furnish such rarities as P. pergamus, P. brevicauda, P. indra, P. ore- gonia, Vanessa hagiaea, P. curvi- fascia Cossus centerensis and mnay others. List free. FERTILE eggs of Sphinx drupiferarum, Ceratonia am- yhtor, Marumb'a molesta, Citheronia regalis, 50 eggs, $1.00. Actias luna, Automeris io, 50 eggs, 50c. No orders for less than 25 eggs ac- cepted. Cash with order. A. J. Potter, East Killingly, Conn. Wanted to exchange insects from Fullerton, California for Eastern or Exotic mate- rial. Coleoptera and Lepi- doptera preferred. E. G. Osterhoudt, 241 East Trus- low, Fullerton, California. I AM now rearing a lot of Cato- calse and will have them ready for sale or exchange spread and in Ai condition after July ist. If interested write me for list and prices. Also have Southern Butterflies in papers. Mrs. O. F. Hiser, Nevada, Iowa. AM willing to contract at special rates with museums, colleges, schools, and private collectors for any order or groups of insects that are to be had in this State this season : — Duplicates always on hand at very reasonable prices. Ernest J. Oslar, 4535 Raleigh St., Denver Col. FOR SALE— Perfect butterflies in papers. Lye. icaroides, Grapta satyrus and marsyasat loc. each; Lye. acmon, Lemonias virgulti, Phyciodes montana, and Hes- peria oceidentalis at 5c; Colias barbara at 12c; and Colias kee waydin at 3c. In lots of twenty of each species, 6c each. Also pinned moths for sale. Esther P. Hewlett, Nellie, California. WANTED — Correspondence wath lepidopterists everywhere, for exchange of specimens, ex- periences and ideas. Addison Ellsworth, Johnson City, N. Y 500 PIN-LABELS 25 CENTS ! All Alike on a Strip Smallest Type. Pure White Ledger Paper. Not Over 4 Lines nor 30 Characters (13 to a Line). Additional Charaters l cent each, per line, 50o. LEPIDOPTERA FOR SALE. LARGE ? $ WANTED. R. V. BLACKBURN, 12 Pine St.. STONEHAM, MASS., U. S. A f" Editors Samuel E. Cassino, Louis W. Swett Publisher Samuel E. Gassing Salem, Mass. \\n.. II June 25, 1918 No 6 Xanthotype crocataria Fabricius With descriptions of new species. By L. W. Swett, Lexington, Mass. (Continued from page 39) The organ in the middle of the valvae called the harpe, is rather short and blunt in crocataria. A glance at the penis and ceros of typical crocataria will separate it from all other forms. The minor characters of crocataria are the prominent ampulla;, broad rounded valvae and serrate lower costa, or in some species smooth. The female genitalia ccxisists of an elongated bag or bursa and a round, doughtnut-shaped body called the signum, which rests at about the center of the bag. I will discuss the genitalia further and the important parts under some of the other species. The life histories and notes will be given at the end of this article so I will not include them here. Typical crocataria occurrs around Washington, D. C, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Illin- ois, and undoubtedly in most of the Atlantic Coast States, possibly as far south as Georgia, but I .have no other re- cords than those above. A series of typical crocataria will be figured later in this article as the plates of the other forms were made first, and the markings are not so im- portant as the genitalia. Copyright, 1918. b; Samue £. Cawino. All ri(bti rcierrtd. 42 THE LEPIDOPTERIST In 1825 Huebner described a form of crocataria as "Therapis citrinaria," Zutrage Exotische Schmetterlinge" Page 26, No 250, figures 499 and 500. Huebner's figures are very good and show the female with pale centered inner marginal spots, and from the description it would undoubtedly seem to be crocataria. The type was from Herr Escher taken in "North America" and according to records Escher collected from Georgia to Pennsylvania. Therefore, with- out much doubt citrinaria is an Atlantic States specices and evidently the same as crocataria. The name citrinaria is not given the full termination in either Dyar's or Barnes and McDunnough's lists, so should be corrected. In 1886 Hulst in the Entomologica Americana Vol, I, page 208 described caelaria as a form of crocataria but gave no type localities. The description calls for a yellow geometrid with brownish spots having pale centers. It is unfortunate that Hulst selected this form as both Fabricius and Huebner's names have priority. The variation is not a marked one and occurs in most species and forms and might be produced in rubbed specimens. Thus it would seem that Hulst's name, caelaria must fall before ithe older one, crocataria. His two types are also not conspecific, one being from Long Island, New York, and other from Colorado. The Long Island type is in the collection of the Brooklyn Institue of Arts and Sciences and the Colorado type in the Hulst collection at New Brunswick, N. J. I shall restrict the type to the Long Island, N. Y. specimen rather contrary to custom, as it leads to less difficulties. Mr. Samuel E. Cassino kindly examined the type of caelaria and sketched it for me. He stated that it was in wretched condition, practically only the right and lower wings remaining, but the markings at inner margins plainly showed the brown spots with pale centers. The sketch of the type leaves little doubt that it is a typical crocataria and probably a female as there are very few strigations. The Colorado type, as stated before, is not conspecific and I shall describe as new later on in this paper. Typical crocataria so far as I know is not abundant in any particular place and is scattered over quite a wide area of territory. It may occur throughout New England, but so far Massachusetts is my only record, then south to Georgia possibly, and then through Illinois to Turtle Mountains, T HE LEPIDOPTERIST 43 North Dakota. The North Dakota specimens appear to be exactly hke eastern except for more serrate tip to valvae where there is one or two rather longer spines than usual. The markings of the North Dakota specimens are very similar to those from the Rocky Mountains, yet the genitalia are entirely distinct. Possibly with the series of slides and a long series of specimens there might be minute differences in the markings, but they are not apparent at present. In Bedford, Mass. I took typical crocataria flying about in the dense wooods among the brake ferns, and it also ccmes to light readily. There are sometimes two, possibly three, species occurring in the same state, and no doubt this has lead to confusion. Then again some of the species are double brooded but there are only minute differences in the genitalia here. For convenience I have called the upper and lower edge of the valvae, upper and lower costa. Sometimes the lower costa in certain species is smooth without serra- tions in other species it is very serrate. However, too much stress should not be laid on this as I find in apparently double brooded forms one brood may have the costa more serrate than the other. The penis is very reliable, the shape and character of spines being important. The horn, or ceros, as I have termed it, at base of lower costa is another very important character. The shape of the valvae and harpe carry some weight but vary some in the same specimens. However, possibly more slides might give more definite re- sults. I cannot give the life histories of the new species so T will give here the references in regard to crocataria Fabricius as we have known it in the past, and in some cases they may apply to the new forms. I am greatly indebted to my kind friends Dr. Barnes and McDunnough, Watson and Lutz of the the American Museum, New York, Jacob Doll of the Brooklyn Institute, Dr. H. G. Dyar of the National Museum, and Samuel E. Cassino, for loan of large series of specimens which has made this paper possible. Also Mr. Nathan Banks has helped me greatly in the loan of specimens from the Museum of Comparative Zoology, and with suggestions in regard to nomenclature and literature. Mr. S. E. Cassino of Salem, Mass. who drew many of the plates for Packard in his Monograph of the Geometrids, executed the plates and 44 THE LEPID OPTERIST drawings for this paper, and I owe him a debt of gratitude for his assistance. The records of crocataria so far as I can find them are given below for what they are worth. Packard in his Mono- graph, Plate IX, Fig. 52 gives an idea of some of the speci- mens of crocataria. Others seem to lack the strigations al- most entirely. Whether this be the true crocataria may be a matter for conjecture as no locality is given so far as I can see. Holland in the "Moth Book, Plate XLIV, figure 39, male and figure 40, female, published in 1903, really gives the best idea of eastern crocataria. This form is not especially typi- cal as the transverse spots should have pale centers but I think this should be disregarded and all considered typcal crocataria whether having pale centered spots or not. This Atlantic state species will now become the genotype of Xanthotype Warren. On W. H. Edwards^ Types of Catocala By Wm. Beutenmuller, New York. While preparing my monograph of North American catocala I made an effort to locate and consult all the types of the species in collections, but could find no trace of those described by W. H. Edwards- These were supposed to be with the American Entomolog- ical Society, but I could not find them there nor in any other collection. I consequently wrote to W. H. Ed- wards shortly before his death asking for information on the matter and he informed me that all his catocala went to Mr. Julius Meyer, Brooklyn, N. Y. After Mr. Meyer's death his collection was bought by the Kny-Scheerer Co., New York, and Dr. G. Lagai writes me that the catocala part of the same was sold to Hon- Walter Rothschild, Tring, London, England. If Edwards' types are still extant the same will prob- ably be found in the Rothschild collection. They are as follows : C. marmorata, californica, tristis, walshi, nebulosa, serena, similis, gracilis, minuta, var. parvula. X - o "a re 2 2 5" ^- ^- ^- &r ftT' ST' ^ r- r- P P &^ ""* nl.— . s s £ n.n.H'.'" '^ ^ -t -t n p p ;u S' ry^ '^ ^ ^ ^ •J1 y~jin^ <: ^ n n n ;? > Xp p c J>^2 =£.p p o" .:r .:t c y}~ '^ n r. k ■6 -6 -6 ^- p r. ' ' ' r^ fi n> (^ " ^"^ r/; ^^1 = p; y o V2 X: S q 2 =: H H S o ^ .^ o- .^ I:! p s - ■ ^jo. f" o c ^^iiK_^ ^ -.f^ ■■*\ THE LEPIDOPTERIST 45 Notes on Collecting, Preparing and Preserva- tion of Ledidoptera By Rudolph C. B. Bartsch, Roslindale, Mass. (Continued.) During the warm clays of late April and early May we find the little reddish colored Geometer Brefos infans, reminding one of our small copper-colored Chrysophanus hypophlaeas, flying among the birches and alders. The cutting of gagshes in the birch-trees allowing the sap to flow- makes a very good bait for this little moth. Among the butterflies appearing at this time of the year, we have the early seasonal form of Colias phi- lodice, Pieris rapse forma immaculata, the various forms of Lycsena psuedargiolus, and the sombre col- ored Theclas. The Theclas and Lyczenas can be found in sunny barren wood paths where violets are bloom- ing or on the blue-berry blossoms along the edges of the paths. Many of the Theclas are uncommon and are in many cases quite local in their distribution. For the collector desiring members of the Hesperida group the month of May is most ideal in this vicinity. With the blooming of the lilacs, aszelias and rhoda- dendrons we find many of our Hawk moths seeking the "Sweets" late in the afternoon, just before it be- fore it becomes dusk. As the season advances the number of species increases rapidly until the maximum is reached in the middle of June. Then the flight decreases gradually to the early part of August when when there is again a steady increase to the latter part of September. From this time on the flight of the insects depends on the weight of the early frosts. To collectors of the Xoctuid group, especially the forms which appear in the fall and hibernate over the winter appearing agagign on the wing in early spring, T would recommend "sugaring" in the late fall. At this time many of the "hard-to-get" species are at seasons quite plentiful, in beautiful condition, and 46 THE LEPIDOPTERIST usually very plentiful at "sugar. Here are included the Zylinas, Agrotis, Acronyctas, Mamestras and allied groups. I have taken over 500 perfect specimens of these groups in one night's "sugaring" at Concord, Mass. in the middle of October. For Catocalce collectors there seems to be a general rule, which of course has exceptions, that seems well to follow. The appearance of the various species can be divided quite definitely into three groups as follows : first appearing^, the oak feeders, followed by the willow and poplar feeders, and last the hickory feeders. The groups overlap to some extent and such species as C. badia, C. ultronia, C. antinympha being found mostly during the middle period. A New Form of Catocala Sappho CaTOCALA SAPPHO FORM CLEIS FORM NOV. By Samuel E. Cassino, Salem, Mass. This form of sappho is so dififerent from the type described by Strecker that it deserves a name. In the typical sappho the t. a. line is broad and black on the costa but soon fades out and almost disappears, but in Sylvia it is of a uniform blackness and very pro- nounced. The t. p. line is much better defined than in sappho, and plainly geminate. The sub-terminal line is faint but fully developed. The scales on veins near the outer edge are darker than in sappho. The reni- form is composed of brown scales, surrounded by a line of white scales defined by black. There are more dark scales between the reniform and the t. p. line than in sappho. Sub-reniform black on the inne side but open on the outside. The line of brown scales which follows the t. a. line is well defined and darker, almost black on the costa and the inner margin. There is a dash of brown scales above vein 1. b. extending from the t. a. line to the t. p. line. Terminal lunules darker than in sappho. The under side of the wings dififer from sappho in having the white bands consid- Oi -U Oo K) >-« O < ^ CT- ■< 3 cr !" &5 V p (U VQ OfQ -1 CQ &3 -t P s !U -J 3 T^ - m 12 ^' n 5' 'p' :/; 5' •o_ ''" . C/^'V) m '^ W flj (ij rt ft cn n << a. < +0 -! S "1 > 2^ 2_ c' o o ft ST p rt o !5 ■-t ■^ !5 •'i 5' 5' c n 5 en Ln 5 --; £ < (U Stj' ^ cr. n> ft r-j 1^ ri n p +0 a. P 7^ n * ^ ft r^ — r- r~ ^ — ' J^ ^ o r^ ^ - »<^ Q. ro ^, (T> n ? O r"_ 3 ?r r— ^ < y. 3 on -I 1 ft ft ft ft nn o o THE LEPIDOPTERIST 47 erably wider. This is a most beautiful form of our most attractive catocala which Strecher very appropriately called "the ermine of the catocalae." l^iken at Tampa, Florida, May 18, 1918. Holotype. S Six Co-types in the author's collection. NOTE In LEPIDOPTER^ Mr. William Reiff calls atten- tion to the description of Catocala minuta f. hiseri Cassino in the Lepidopterist for April 25 which seems to him to be anonymous. It is usually understood that unsigned articles and notes are by the editor, but that there be no misunderstanding is may be well to state that the author of the description is Samuel E. Cassino. The Occurrence of Hemileuca lucina in Massachusetts By Rudolf C. B. Bartsch, Roslindale, Mass. Hemileuca lucina has never to my knowledge been previously recorded as being found in the state of Massachusetts. While Trout-fishing in a brook running through Camp Devens, during the latter week in May I was very much surprised to find several clusters of larvoe of this i)retty moth feeding on Meadow Sweet (Spirsea salicifolia). The larvae had already passed through the first moult. Having collected larvae of Hemileuca lucina for several seasons at Raymond, N. H., I feel that there is not the slightest doubt as to the correct identity of the larvae found at Camp Devens. How- ever, 1 shall rear as many as possible from this new localitv and report the results at a later date, June i, 1918. 48 THE LEPIDOPTERIST THE LEPIDOPTERIST Subscription, 50 cents peryear, payable in advance. Extra copies, 5 cents each. Foreign postage, extra, 25c. per year. Advertising Rates. 50 cents an inch; 4 spaces or more, 10% discount, per issue. Cash with copy. All advertising matter mutt be in the hands of the Editor by the ist of the month to insure publication. All communications must be addressed to Samuel E. Cassino, Salem, Mass. Trade Column ADVERTISING rates ic per word. Matter solid. No display. Cash with copy. EXCHANGE desired with other periodicals. Editor. FOR SALE— Perfect, pinned, bred specimens of new species. Apantesis ornata h e w 1 e t t i, Barnes & McDunnough, at two dollars each. Esther P. Hewlett Nellie, California. FERTILE eggs of Sphinx drupiferarum, Ceratonia am- yiitor, Marumb'a molesta, Citheronia regalis, 50 eggs, $1.00. Actias luna, Automeris io, so eggs, 50c. No orders for less than 25 eggs ac- cepted. Cash with order. A. J. Potter, East Killingly, Conn. Wanted to exchange insects from Fullerton, California for Eastern or Exotic mate- rial. Coleoptera and Lepi- doptera preferred. E. G. Osterhoudt, 241 East Trus- low, Fullerton, California. I AM now rearing a lot of Cato- calae and will have them ready for sale or exchange spread and in A I condition after July ist. If interested write me for list and prices. Also have Southern Butterflies in papers. Mrs. O. F. Riser, Nevada, Iowa. AM willing to contract at special rates with museums, colleges, schools, and private collectors for any order or groups of insects that are to be had in this State this season : — ^Duplicates always on hand at very reasonable prices. Ernest J. Oslar, 4535 Raleigh St., Denver Col. FOR SALE— Perfect butterflies in papers. Lye. icaroides, Grapta satyrus and marsyasat loc. each; Lye. acmon, Lemonias virgulti, Phyciodes montana, and Hes- peria occidentalis at 5c; Colias barbara at 1 2c; and Colias kee waydin at 3c. In lots of twenty of each species, 6c each. Also pinned moths for sale. Esther P. Hewlett, Nellie, California. WANTED — Correspondence with lepidopterists everywhere, for exchange of specimens, ex- periences and ideas. Addison Ellsworth, Johnson City, N. Y 500 PIN-LABELS 25 CENTS ! All Alike on a Sttip Smallest Type. Pure White Ledger Paper. Not Over 4 Lines nor 30 Characters (13 to a Line). Additional Cliaraters 1 cent each, per line, 500. LEPIDOPTERA FOR SALE. LARGE 9 9 WANTED. R .V. BLACKBURN, 12 Pine St.. STONEHAM. MASS., U. S. A Editoks Samuel E. Cassino, Louis W. Swett Publisher Samuel E. Cassino Salem, Mass. \'oi.. 11 TuLv 25, 1918 No. 7 '-^ A Few Missing Types Located By Rodrigues Ottolengui, New York City. In Smith's Catalogue of Noctuidse of Boreal North America {Bulletin 44, U. S. National Museum p. 249), speaking of Plusia f ormosa he says : "Mr. Grote men- tions incidentally in the Can. Ent. XXI, 124, that he returned it (the type) to Mr. Treat after descrip- tion. What became of it afterward, I cannot say." This winter, while looking over the collection in the Museum of Comparative Zoology,at Cambridge, Mass., 1 was surprised to find a specimen of this species labeled "type." Subsequently I wrote to Mr. Nathan Banks in regard to the authenticity of this "type" and he wrote to me as follows : "Formosa was described from the collection of J. H. Treat of Lawrence, Mass. by Grote in 1865. The Treat collection was given to us some years ago and contains several Grote types. The label reads: 'Leptina formosa, Grote, Type. Law.' I have no doubt it is Crete's original label. The specimen is also labeled *J. H. Treat's Coll.'" Grote described formosa as a Leptina. In Smith's Catalogue above mentioned, (1893) it is listed as Plusia. In Dyar's List of North American Lcpidop- tera {Bulletin 52, U. S. Museum, 1902, p. 198) it occurs among the Polychrysia. llampson in his cata- Copyxlght, 1918, by Skmue K). Cauino. All right! rcaerrcd. 50 THE LEPIDOPTERIST logue (Vol. XIII, 1913, p. 583) calls it Abrostola. Barnes and McDunnough, 1917, follow Hampson. In the Cambridge Museum I found another very in- teresting specimen. In Smith's Catalogue (^w/Z^fm 44) speaking of vaccinii Hy. Edw., he says : "The type is with Dr. Thaxter," but he gives no authority for this statement. In the Edwards Collection, now in the Museum of Natural History in New York, there is a specimen of this species carrying a label in Edwards's handwriting reading "vaccinii. Type 2," This would seem to indicate that he did return the primary type to Mr. Thaxter, In his description Edwards says : (Entomologica Americana, Vol. II, p. 170) "we owe the discovery of this species to Mr. Roland Thaxter who took it on Mt. Washington, N. H. in July, and also raised it from the larva found by him feeding upon a species of vaccinium." The Thaxter Collection is in the Cambridge Museum. I did not find any specimen of vaccinii with a type label, but I did find one carrying labels from which I quote the following interesting statements. "White Mts. Alpine. 2 Laid eggs Aug. 5th." A larger label reads : "Eggs truncated, spherical, base rounded off, closely beset with vertical narrow ribs, too numerous to calculate, coming to the apex above and below, and regularly and closely wrinkled or bead-like ; dirty, pale greenish yellow, with irregularly scattered black dots, each giving rise to an attenuated streak, all perhaps foreign to it ; Diameter .03 in. Height about .024 in ; Laid about 40, very adhesive, on Aug. 5th. Hatched about Aug. 1.3. When dead, seen to greenish, hairy worm with two pairs of ab- dominal prolegs." The words "seen to", near the end of the above do not fit the context, and are perhaps misread as the writing is very minute. Possibly Mr. Thaxter meant to write "seem to be," or "seen to be." As I found no other specimen of vaccinii among the Thaxter material, I have taken the liberty to attach a manuscript label reading "Probably the primary type. Ottolengui." In my monograph of this group (Journal of the THE LEPIDOPTERIST 51 New York Entomological Society, Vol. X, P. 66-7), speaking of culta I said : "I examined the type of culta in the presence of Professor Lintner and he gave me one of the two accompanying specimens which he de- clared were from the original lot. I make this state- ment as authenticating my specimen because since Dr. Lintner's death 1 have been unable to Hnd the type in the Albany collection." I made a second search for this tyj)e about a year ago, but it was absent from the collection proper. A while later, however, the State Entomologist, Mr. E. P. Felt, found a "duplicate" box containing some speci- mens, and this box evidently was before us when I con- ferred with Prof. Lintner. In it was the missing type of culta, together with some specimens of vaccinii, bearing my labels, and evidently donated by me at that time. I belive that 1 may consider my specimen to be a genuine "paratype" as it bears a manuscript label written by Prof. Lintner, and a MSS. locality label reading "Albany, March 5th, 1883, Dr. Salvin." In Lintner's communication (Lintner's Second Report Ins. N. Y. P. 94, 1885) he says: "bred from larvae found destroying plants in a hot-house in Troy, N. Y., in the month of I'^ebruary." I have a manuscript note by Dyar on this subject reading "May not this be some South American species introduced with the plants " Dr. Dyar is probably correct in this surmise, as this specimen, placed by myself as a synonym or rogationis, and by Hampson grouped with dyaus, rogationis and others as 00, is much closer in color and size to the Central and South American forms, which seem to be rather uniformly smaller than those found in the United States. I would be grateful for information concerning authentic types of the Plusiina? ; especially would I like to know what became of Grotc's types of species, described after his main collection went to the P.ritish Museum, 52 THE LEPIDOPTERIST New Species of Catocala By Samuel E. Cassino, Salem, Mass. Catocala atala sp. nov. Expands 68 mm. Head and thorax dark gray ; abdomen pale brown. Primaries dark gray, sprinkled lightly with brown scales. Lines black and heavy. T. p. line broad and black on the costa, then narrow on the sub-costal vein, forming a tooth, thence at right angles to the costa, forming two more denta- tions, the middle one being the smallest, then extend- ing to the inner edge parallel with the outer margin in a zig-zag line of six serrations. The t. p. line is followed outwardly with a more or less distinct line of white , scales. The t. a. line is heavy, very broad on the costa, irregularly dentate. Space between the t. a. line and base uniformly dark gray. Indistinct black spot on the costa near base. Reniform black, connected with costa, center with light gray scales. Sub-reniform large, distinct, enclosing very light scales. Space between reniform and t. a. line very light, shading darker towards costa and becoming very light near the sub-reniform. Median space be- low reniform dark; deepest on inner edge near t. p. line. Sub-terminal well defined very dark gray. Terminal lunules dark. Veins near the outer edge niarked with dark scales. Space between t. a. and sub-terminal lines gray, but lighter midway between costa and. inner edge. Secondaries. Rather light red. Median black band broader than the red band, reaching almost to the inner margin. Marginal band as in briseis. Un- der side of secondaries much as in groteiana. Fringes white. Habitat: Hymers, Ontario, Canada, Sept. 18, 1911. Holotype c^ in the collection of the author. Catocala Barbara sp. nov. Expands 70 mm. Head and thorax brown ; ab- domen light brown. Primaries pale grayish brown. Plate IX. \'(.l. 11. N'o. 7 l-is. 1 Catocala atala Cassino l-ig. J Catocala barbara Cassino Fig. 3 Catocala niira var. dana Cassino Fig. 4 Catocala elizabeth Cassino THE LEPID OPTERIST 53 somewhat like arizonae, but with lighter maculations and ground color not so dark. The lines are well developed but not so much contrasted as in arizonae. This species resembles irene somewhat but is cjuite distinct. T. \). line geminate with lighter scales in center, dark on the points of serrations; fades out just before reaching the costa ; with long dark dash parallel with inner margin. T. a. line broadly gemin- ate with center of slightly lighter scales. Space be- tween the t. a. line and base and between the t. p. and t. a. line of nearly even color, but with a dash of light scales just inside and below reniform. Reni- form dark, prominent, with light center, connected with costa by two dark spots; a dark spot just inside and three dark spots outside. Sub-reniform defined ])ut not prominent, with lighter scales. A curved line, indistinct in part of its course, extends from the sub-reniform nearly to the costa between the reniform and the t. p. line. Secondaries, lightish red. Median black band not as wide as the red ending some distance from the inner margin. Marginal band broad. Beneath, the median 1)and is broader than the red. Fringes black and white. Habitat: Los Angeles, Calif. Holotype : 1 c? in author's collection. C.XTOCALA ELIZABETH SP. NOV. Expands 70 mm. Head and thorax dark gray ; ;d)flomen ashy brown. Superiors dark. T. p. line black, not well differentiated, is lost in very dark space on the costa and is considerably confused throughtout its course by a very dark shade, slightlv tinged with dark brown scales near the center. Sub- Ireminal not i)rominent, is bordered on inside l)y very light scales. y\pical space, and between s. t. line and outer edge, uniform dark gray. Prominent black spots on the outer edge. ])ct\vcen the veins, l-'ringe l)lack and white. T. a. line heavy and black followed inwarrlly by line of lighter scales. Basal space very 54 THE LEPI DOPTERIST dark. Reniform dark in middle, ringed with light scales and surrounded by black. Sub-reniform well defined and composed of dark brown scales. Reni- form and sub-reniform bordered outwardly by a large somewhat triangular patch with one angle touching the t. p. line. Between the reniform and t. a. line a dash of white scales. Secondaries : red ; median black band attains the inner edge ; red band same width as black. Fringes white, becoming sordid near the anal angle. The bands of the under side of wings similar to those above. Habitat : Truckee, Calif. Taken in August. Holotype ? in collection of the author. CatOCALA MIRA VAR DANA VAR NOV. Expands 48 mm. The primaries are a pale grayish brown, not as even and dark as in mira, and lack the rusty brown scales which the characterize the type form. The reniform and sub-reniform are lighter, and the apical dash and lines are more prominent, owing to the light ground color. The maculations being more distinct than in mira give this form a general appearance similar to pretiosa from which, however, it is entirely distinct. The line of brown scales near the t. a. line is much deeper than in mira. The fringe on the back wings of the allied forms is alternately black and yellow. In dana, next to the outer band it is yellow bordered by brov>n. Otherwise, hind wings are similar to mira, but not as deep yellow. The chocolate line outside the t. p. line is more prominent than in mira. Habitat: Springfield, Texas. Holotype <$ in the collection of the author. THE LEPIDOPTERIST 55 Notes on the Pola— Minuta Croup of Melitaeas, With Description of a New Species By John Adams Comstock, M. D., D. O., F. E. S. Curator of Entomology, Southwest Museum, Los Angeles, Cal. In examining a series of Melita^a secured in the Alonache Meadows of Tulare County, during the summer of 1917 I was led to an intensive study of the Pola-Arachne-Nympha group. The result of this investigation has led to the con- viction that we have in California a distinct species, or perhaps well differentiated local race of this group. In defining the special characteristics of these nearly related forms, a few notes are in order. The various memhers of this group which have re- ceived descriptions are : MELITAEA minuta, Edwards Proc. Acad. Nat'l. Sciences, Phila. 161, 1861. Type loc. "Texas" pola, Boisduval Ann. Soc. Ent. Belg. xll, 56, 1869 Type loc. "From one specimen caught in Sonora." arachne^, Edwards Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. 11, 372, 1869. Type loc. "One female, Colorado." nympha, Edwards Pap. IV, SX 1884 Type loc. So. Arizona, approximata, Strecker. Authorities are agreed that a])pro\imate is synony- mous with minuta. {To be conthvued) 56 THE LEPIDOPTERIST THE LEPIDOPTERIST Subscription, 50 cents peryear, payable in advance. Extracopies, 5 cents each. P'oreign postage, extra, 25c. per year. Advertising Rates. 50 cents an inch; 4 spaces or more, 10% discount, per issue. Cash with copy. All advertising matter must be in the hands of the Editor by the ist of the month to insure publication. All communications must be addressed to Samuel E. Cassino, Salem, Mass. Trade Column ADVERTISING rates ic per word. Matter solid. No display. Cash with copy. EXCHANGE desired with other periodicals. Editor. Wanted to exchange insects from Fullerton, California for Eastern or Exotic mate- rial. Coleoptera and Lepi- doptera preferred. E. G. Osterhoudt, 241 East Trus- low, Fullerton, California. I AM now rearing a lot of Cato- calas and will have them ready for sale or exchange spread and in A I condition after July ist. If interested write me for list and prices. Also have Southern Butterflies in papers. Mrs. O. F. Hiser, Nevada, Iowa. AM willing to contract at special rates with museums, colleges, schools, and private collectors for any order or groups of insects that are to be had in this State this season : — Duplicates always on hand at very reasonable prices. Ernest J. Oslar, 4535 Raleigh St., Denver Col. LEPIDOPTERISTS Get ready for the comingf collecting season and order your entomological supplies NOW. Twice since the outbreak of the world war we have been compelled to advanee out prices ; conditions may change again and every collector should take advan- tage of our PRESENT prices. Our latest supply catalogue No. 33 sent free of charge. Send for this, also for our revised pupae list No. t28, lists No. J 29, 1 29a, J 29b, and J 30 covering native and exotic butterflies, and lists No. J3I and J32 covering native and exotic Coleoptera. Fertile eggs of Antheraea yamamai of Japan, J 5c. per dozen, including postage. Ward^s Natural Science Establishment, 84- J 02 College Ave., Rochester, N. Y. P. S. Please mention the Lepidoptcra when or- dering. ionian '""^ Editors Samuel E. Cassino, Louis W. Swett JUN 2 1919 Publisher Samuel E. Cassino Salem, Mass. Vol. II Aug. 25, 1918 No. 8 Notes on Collecting in Florida By J. G. Bonniwell There are many features of collecting in Florida that are entirely unlike those in the North and other sections of the country. For instance sugarnig for moths. This is a standby method of obtammg quan- tities of lepidoptera in other parts of the United States but it has been my experience, coupled with that of many others, that sugaring in Florida is a failure. 1 have tried dozens of different mixtures and have yet to hnd one that will repay a collector for his time, much less his trouble. The most successful method that I have found to collect moths in this warm part of the country is by light trap. 1 use a powerful gasoline gas-mantle lamp that is wind and rain proof. My method is not original as I am indebted to Messrs. Denton Bros, for the suggestion. I use a single large flat pan (or a set of four smaller ones) about thirty inches square and three or four inches deep. In this I put a couple of inches of w-ater and pour on this sufficient coaloil so as to form a thin film. The lamp, which burns two whole nights with one filling, I set in the center of this pan, using a block of wood or any convenient object as a rest for it. The Copyright, l9lSi by Skmaa E| CtiilDo, All rithti tttcrrtd. 58 THE LEPIDOPTERIST moths are attracted to the Hght and in their down- ward dash land in the tilm of oil which kills them. Next morning I carefully remove such specimens as I wish to keep and laying them on a sheet of blotting paper the excess oil is soon absorbed. I then im- mediately place them in a shallow pan filled with gasoline and allow them to remain in same for half an hour. Again I remove them with care and place on a fresh sheet of blotting paper, which together with the air, rapidly absorbs the effects of the gaso- line bath and as soon as they are thoroughly dry I pin them or place in relaxing jar for future mounting. By this method my wife and I have taken hundreds of nice specimens and the beauty of the scheme is that it "acts while you sleep." In seaching for larvae in the semitropical climate of Florida the collector must bear in mind that as a jule the food plants, even of the more common things, will be dififerent. Then, too, in the matter of season he will find accepted months for laval state of certain species, decidedly topsy-turvy. As an example, I will say that I have taken freshly hatched specimens of the common Ute. bella during every month of the year with the possible exception of December. Seasons overlap and are very con- fusing. There does not seem to be any definite dormant season as in the North — most things being a case of almost continuous performance, excepting, of course such things as are purely single-brooded. Even in the latter case the actual season of emerging is often much longer than elsewhere. The following are a few notes on the food plants and habits of some of the species that I have parti- cularly observed. Dahana atripennis, Grt : This rare little moth I have taken on flowers near evening during the months of March to June. It deposits its eggs singly on the fresh new filaments or leaves of the Spanish Moss. The eggs are small — about the size of Aut. brassicae white, but turn a lovely shade of lavender just be- fore hatching, which takes place in from four to five THE LEPIDOPTERTST 59 days. The little caterpillars eat the soft outside of the leaves and show a tendency to burrow into the flower and leaf joints. The pupae are to be found encased in a loose cocoon, usually fastened to the moss and on account of its similar gray color it is a singularly difficult thing to see. Pholus fasciatus : The food plant of this is given as any species of Viticeae but I have never found a caterpillar of this lovely hawk-moth on anything save a species of Jussiaea, probably J. leptocarpa — a tall shrub-like weed with yellow primrose-like flowers, that grows in damp places. The caterpillar of this moth is dimorphic, some are banded in colors like a stick of candy, other are almost solid green with only a slight white striping. Syntomedia epilais : The oleander hedges of Key West are a fruitful hunting ground for this species while in the larval state. I have not taken it north of that point. Cydosia majuscula : The food plant I do not know but I suspect the oak as I have found numerous lar- vae and pupae on fences that enclosed groves of oaks, the queer little baskets hanging to the barbed wire. Apantesis placentia : Have found the caterpillars on the common low scrub oak but could not swear that same was its food plant. Sierarctia echo : Holland gives the food plant of this as the Sabal palmetto but my experience after raising hundreds of specimens is that the natural food plant is the "coontie" or Zamia integrifolia. They will eat the blossom buds of the low saw-palmetto but I have yet to find one on sabal or cabbage pal- metto. Halisidota longa : the food plant is a wide-bladed marsh grass that grows near fresh water lakes and ponds. The caterpillars can be found just before dark and look very much like Tsia isabella. Composia fidclissima : the flies can be taken on the wing in the bright sunshine on most any of the extreme lower Keys of Florida. 60 THE LEPIDOPTERIST Prodenia ornigalli: have raised hundreds on the melon-pawpaw tree (papaya). Dilophonota ello and alope : Look on the under side of wide leaves of the melon-pawpaw tree for caterpillars. Rhodophora guarse: For the larvae of this beauti- ful moth you must look on the flower stems of the Guara and as it is pink like the flowers you will not find them easy to locate. Artace punctistriga : Oak and possibly ash. Oiketicus abbotii : Oak and various plants. The "bags" exactly resemble Thy. ephemerseformis. Sabine stimulse: To the lengthy food plant list of this pest I wish to add the cocoa-nut tree. I have seen them almost denuded by "pack-saddle" cater- pillars. Logoa pyxidifera: Oak and possibly pear as in common with other Megalopygidse. At a later date I may send in some data on the food plants of the diurnals and also as to the sort of places a collector is apt to find them. Descriptions of New Catocalae By William Beutenmnller, New York City. CaTOCALA ROSA SP. NOV. Forewings with the ground color rose colored, evenly overlaid with brownish scales. T. a. line gemi- nate filled with pink. T. p. line narrow with the dentations not sharply pointed and followed by a nar- row pink line. The lower inward bend of the t. p. line is very indistinct, and at the end almost straight to the inner margin. S. t. line pinkish, scarcely edged with black outwardly. Reniform. pink, black-ringed and not strongly defined. Subreniform closed, pinkish dusted with brown, dark ringed, and very indistinctly connected with the t. p. line. Between the t. p. and s. t. lines is a paler pinkish shade at the middle and subapically there is a slight blackish shade. Terminal row of spots small, black. Fringes pinkish, with a blackish, very narrow, wavy line. Hind wings pinkish Apantesis calif oriiica Cassino Vol. I, No. 13, page 100 -^ Apantesis floridana Cassino c? Apantesis floridana Cassino 2 Apantesis floridana f. ochracea Cassino Vol. IT., page d THE LEPIDOPTERIST 61 red, median black band not broad, terminating bluntly, some distance before the inner margin. Outer black band continuous. Fringes creamy white, slightly brown on the veins, and almost wholly so at the hind angle. Head and thorax pink mixed with brown- black. Expanse, 68 mm. Habitat: Huachuca Mts., Arizona. One male. Type, Coll. Samuel E. Cassino. CaTOCALA huachuca SP. NOV. Forewings pinkish gray heavily overlaid with black particularly at the base and the lower half of the wings to the subterminal line, obscuring the t. a. line and lower half of the s. t. line. T. a. line black and scarcely evident. T- p. line black and rather sharply Identate, the two teeth opposite the cell rather long. Reniform dark ringed filled with brown, and preceded and followed by a lighter shade dusted with black ex- tending to the t. a. and t. p. lines. Subreniform pale, scarcely visible in the dark shade, and probably con- nected with the t. p. line. S. t. line broad, pinkish with the dentations vaguely edged with black- Between the t. p. and s. t. lines at the middle dull pinkish, and from the teeth opposite the cell to the apex is a blackish shade. Fringes concolorous to the outer pinkish gray part of the wing. Hind wings pinkish-red, median band rather narrow, slightly bent terminally and ending some distance before the inner margin. Outer black band continuous ; fringes yellowish white mixed with brown. Expanse : 70 mm. Habitat: Huachuca Mts., Arizona. Type. One male. Coll. Samuel E. Cassino. CaTOCALA RITA N a SP. NOV. Forewings uniform purplish brown, evenly over- laid with darker and glaucus scales. All the lines and markings present, but not strongly defined and con- trasting. T- a. line blackish, geminate, with three outward curves. T. p. line black, with the teeth not very strongly defined. S. t. line 62 THE LEPIDOPTERIST glaucus, edged with blackish. Reniform, black ringed. Subreniform scarcely evident, only indicated by a somewhat paler shade. Below the apex to the s. t. line is an indication of a blackish shade. Hind wings dull red, with the median black band broad, and almost of uniform width, and bluntly pointed some distance before the inner margin. Outer black band quite broad, the inner part almost even and but very slightly excavated before it reaches the hind angle. Fringes sordid white, cut with brown. Head and thorax color of the forewings. Expanse, 70 mm. Habitat: Santa Rita Mts., Arizona. Altitude 5-8000 feet. (F. H. Snow.) Type. One male. Coll. Samuel E. Cassino. CaTOCALA ELSA SP. NOV. Forewings pale ashen gray, somewhat glaucus, sparsely dusted with brown scales. T. a. line broadly geminate, brown, most distinct on the costa ; it is pre- ceded by a dark brown line extending to the lower end of the basal line. T. p. line with long sharp teeth, with a long, broad, inward loop at the lower part. The dentations are blackish, followed by a very narrow pale gray shade. S. t. line wavy and not continuous, and vaguely defined, especially at the middle where it is confluent with the brown shade between the t. p. and s. t. lines. Reniform, brown, dusted with blackish, and with two shade lines of this color to the costa. Subreniform large, closed and very narrowly connected with the t. p. line. It is dark ringed, and filled with creamy brown. Terminal part of wing pale grayish, row of spots small and black. Fringes gray, lined with brown. Hind wings, yellow- ish red. Median band rather narrow, slightly curved and ending some distance before the inner margin. Terminal black band continuous, slightly notched with yellowish red outwardly and at the apex. Fringes white cut with brown on the veins. Head and thorax gray, mixed with brown. Expanse 70 mm. Habitat: Prescott, Arizona. Type. One male. Coll. Samuel E. Cassino. THE LEPIDOPTERIST 63 C'aTOCALA CASSINOI SP. NOV. Forewings evenly and uniformly covered with light blue and black scales. T. a. line black and scarcely defined, most distinct on the costa. T. p. line practi- cally lost in the ground color with the dentations scarcely evident. S. t. line bluish with the black denta- tions not strongly indicated. Terminal row of spots, lunate and touching on the veins with outward dashes. Reniform black ringed, filled with bluish scales. Subreniform slightly indicated by creamy white and its shape not defined, and with no indication of being connected with the t. p. line. Between the t. a. and t. p. lines below the middle of the wing is a black longitudinal dash. Fringes gray. Hind wings red. Median band irregular with slight indication of ex- tending to the inner margin. Outer black band rather broad, continuous. Fringes sordid white, brownish at the base. Expanse 80 mm. Habitat: Vineyard, Utah. (T. Spaulding.) Type. One female. Coll. Samuel E. Cassino. CaTOCALA GEORGEANA SP. NOV. Forewings black, rather heavily overlaid with pale blue scales. T. a. line faintly black, not contrasting, almost obscured by the black ground color and filled with bluish white. T. p. line black, distinctly defined, and with long and sharply pointed teeth as in C. nevadensis. S. t. line dentate, broad, pale bluish white edged with black, with indications of black streaks to the row of terminal black spots which are marked with white dots outwardly. Fringes, bluish gray. Reniform confluent, black with a few bluish scales, and a central whitish dot. It is preceded by a small whitish patch. Subreniform, whitish, scarcely indi' cated, connected with the t. p. line and with the black ring lost in the ground color. Space between the t. p. and s. t. lines creamy white, dusted with black, especially at the costa and inner margin. On the costa on the inside of the t. p. line to the lower part of the long tooth is a narrow, bluish white streak. {To be continued.) 64 THE LEPIDOPTERIST THE LEPIDOPTERIST Subscription, 50 cents peryear, payable in advance. Extra copies, 5 cents each. Foreign postage, extra, 25c. per year. Advertising Rates. 50 cents an inch; 4 spaces or more, 10% discount, per issue. Cash with copy. All advertising matter must be in the hands of the Editor by the ist of the month to insure publication. All communications must be addressed to Samuel E. Cassino, Salem, Mass. Trade Column Wanted for cash or ex- change : Clisiocampa ameri- cana ? $, Euproctis chrysorr- hoea d" c?, Zuezera pyrina <^ c? and ??. Ward's Natural Science Es- tablishment Rochester, N. .Y I HAVE many good species of Catocala and other noctuid moths and butterflies for sale. Will collect anything desired to order. Write me. Tom Spalding, R. F. D. I— Box 274, Provo, Utah. Catocala and Geometridae to ex- change. Will also buy speci- mens from many localities. Samuel E. Cassino, Salem, Mass. I WOULD like to correspond with lepidopterists in the western part of Mass. Harold Shepard, So. Royalton, Mass. WILL exchange Missouri Cat- ocala for Catocala and Butter- flies from other localities. ROY DEAN, 3465 S. Spring Ave., St. Louis, Mo. We can ofifer the following exotic Lepidoptera, papered, all in first class condition and with data given : Papilio Regular list price, $4.30. insurance, 13 cents. cloanthus. $ .'25 bianor, .50 castor. .15 helenus. •IS eurypylus, .20 Papilio rhetenor, $ .15 Prioneris thestylis, .15 Euploea midamas .15 Hypolimnas bolina, .15 Sephisa chandra, .25 All above for $2.00. Postage and WARD'S NATURAL SCIENCE ESTABLISHMENT 1 02 College Ave., Rochester, N. Y. •v\V^' Editors Samuel E. Cassino, Louis W. Swett Publisher Samuel E. Cassino Salem, Mass. \ OL. 11 Oct. 25. 1918 Nos. 9 and 10 Descriptions of New Catocalae By PVilliam Beutenmuller, Nezp York Cit^. (Continued from page 63) Head and thorax, blackish, mixed with gray and white. Hind wings^ red. Median band quite broad and not reaching the inner margin. Outer band, black, ad scarcely excavate, before the hind angle. Fringes, white, mixed with brown at the base. Expanse 78 mm. Habitat : St. George, Utah. Type. 1 male. Coll. Samuel E. Cassino. CatOCALA STRETCHI VAR. MARGHERITA VAR. NOV. Forewings pale bluish gray, rather heavily and evenly overlaid with black scales giving a dark gray appearance to the wings. The transverse Hues are quite indistinct and almost obliterated in one example. When evident, the wavy t. a. line is preceded by an ochreous shade overlaid with black scales. The denta- tions of the narrow t. p. line are short with the two opposite the cell but slightly longer than the others. The s. t. line pale with black dentations, very indis- tinct in some examples or wanting. Reniform in a black cloud, extending to the costa in two black marks. Cepfllght, 1918, by Samne E. Cftuino Alt ri«hti r«>«rv«d. 66 THE LEPIDOPTERIST Subreniform ochreous, with black scales, narrowly black ringed, and connected with the t. p. line. Term- inal row of black spots small. Hind wings, salmon pink, with the median black band narrow and termi- nating in a distinct hook some distance before the inner margin. The outer black border broadest at the anterior margin, gradually becoming narrower, deeply excavate or broken at the hind angle. Terminally, the wing is rather broadly salmon pink, with black dashes on the veins. Fringes, white mixed with brown on the veins, except at the apex. Expanse 65-70 mm. Habitat: Mendocino Co., California. Type. Coll. Samuel E. Cassino. Cotypes Coll. William Beutenmuller. CaTOCALA BRISEIS VAR. CLARISSIMA VAR. NOV. Forewings rather light gray, dusted with black atoms. Transverse lines and other markings black and strongly contrasting on the pale . ground color. T. a. line broadly geminate. T. p. line narrow, edged with pale gray outwardly. S. t. line, pale gray edged with large black lunules inwardly. Terminal row of black spots large, edged with pale gray. Space be- tween the t. p. and s. t. lines creamy brown, especially along the middle. Reniform in a black cloud. Sub- reniform black ringed, narrowly open and connected with the t. p. line. Hind wing as in briseis. Expanse 63 mm. Habitat: Cartwright, Manitoba, Canada. (E. F. Heath.) Winnipeg, Canada. (J. B. Wallis.) Type. Coll. Samuel E. Cassino. Cotype Coll. Wil- liam Beutenmuller. Life History of Catocala nuptialis By O. F. and J. S. Hiser, Nevada, la. The egg is shaped like an inverted bowl, battened on top with 18 elevated, much branched ridges running up the sides, and short ridges between them. Color of egg is light gray. THE LEPIDOPTERIST 67 Eggs began hatching May 18. 1918. Mr. E. A. Dodge of Santa Cruz, Cal. had advised us to try Amorpha canescens for this group C. whitneyi abre- viatella and nuptialis, as he and his brother, the late Geo. M. Dodge, were almost sure that was the food plant. When the first nuptialis hatched we offered it leaves of A. canescens which it refused and died without eating. They hatched slowly one or two at a time, and when the next one hatched on May 20th we gave it a leaflet of Amorpha fruticosa which it ate readily. The larvae when newly hatched are 1-8 in. long. 1st. molt May 25th. 5-16 in. long, body color white striped longitudinally with dark brown lines. 2nd molt, June 1st. The larvae now take on the markings that they keep with a few minor changes through all later molts. 3rd. molt, June 8th. 4th molt, June 16th. Spun, June 27th and pupated July 1st. Moth emerged July 27th. Mature larva is 2 1-8 in. long. Head white, a gray line slightly divided at the jaws runs through the middle of the face over top of the head. On each side of this a black branching line from back of head down the face nearly to the jaws. A double line out- side of this much branched on back of head extends down the face and connects as one line above the jaws. Still another line outside of this on each side with several short black lines running obliquely along the side of head. Lobes have an orange shade. After second and third molt the line running down center of head is black instead of gray and much heavier and extends over the second segment to the third where it branches into the dorsal line of three rows of dark dots. This larva is a smooth slender worm Tt has no horn or other elevation anywhere, and has no filli- ments. The ornmentation consists entirely of numer- ous spots or dots arranged in longitudinal bands with the white of the body color showing as narrow lines between. The dorsal line is composed of many fine black dots gradually widening to the 9th segment, 68 . . THE LEPIDOPTERIST where it again narrows to the caudal shield. Sub- dorsal line is a broad band of heavier black spots. Lateral line, three rows of fine dots, the outer two black and center one brown. Spiracular line a broad band of very heavy black spots. Spiracles on lower edge and black. Between each of these rows there is a single row of faint brown dots running through the center of white stripes. The black spots on the second segment are large and arranged very irregu- larly making that segment appear much darker than any of the others. Below the spiracular line there is a broad band of the white body color with a line of brown spots through the center. This band is a dis- tinctive feature. Below this is a band of fine black dots just above the legs. True legs white with black markings. Prolegs and caudal shield white with black spots. Tubercles orange with a fine short hair spring- ing from each. Ventral surface white, entirely covered with small black dots. A large black spot on each segment. The four on the segments between the prolegs large and very black. All others longer than wile and all are connected by a heavy line of fine black dots. Pupa slender, 7-8 in. long, deep purplish brown and covered with a rather heavy white bloom. On June 16th we beat a few plants of Amorpha fruticosa and got 6 larvse ranging in size from one fourth to one and a quarter inch long. A few days later we beat another clump of the same plant and got 7 more larvae. These varied some. Eight were like the ones reared from the eggs and were undoubt- edly nuptialis. One differed only in having the mark- ings more pronounced and another with the markings less pronounced than the one described. There were three others that were surely a dififerent species. They were from three fourths to one and a quarter inches long and had the bands on the body arranged in the same way as nuptialis described, but the spots and dots were larger and very black and did not have the line of brown spots running through the white spaces between bands. There was no brown Catocala iiuptialis \\ alker THE LEPIDOPTERIST 69 on it at all, and was a much blacker looking worm owing to the heaviness of the black spots and the ab- sence of the brown. The line down center of head was not so heavy as in the nuptialis larvje and was broken in the middle. The large one died when two inches long and the two small one were parasited. Were they larvse whitneyi or abreviatella? Nuptialis appears here on the wing about a month later than the other two, but we have taken belated specimens of whitneyi along with the first nuptialis. To our great disappointment we were unable to get any of these wild larvae through. A large number of them were parasited and the others died. This seems to be a very delicate species as we were only able to rear to maturity one nuptialis from nine hatchlings. This was not due to lack of care, for a "million dollar baby" never got better care than this interesting family of worms. The growth of the larvae hatched from the eggs was so slow and they seemed so delicate that we were in doubt as to whether they were getting the proper food plant, but finding them in such numbers on Amorpha fruticosa established it as their true food plant without question. Mr. Dodge says that in Nebraska where Amorpha canescens was common these three species were also common, and where it was scarce they were feeding on canescens. After finding them on A fruticosa we examined a lot of A. canescens, but failed to find any, and the canescens or "shoe string" showed no signs of having been eaten. Drawings of egg and head were made by Mr. E. A. Dodge from eggs, a cast head and description of head sent him by us. Photographs of larvae by Frank Tngalls. 70 THE LEPIDOPTERIST Notes on the Pola — Mmuta Group of Melitaeas, with Description of a New Species By John Adams Comstock, M. D., D. O., F. E. S. Curator of Entomology, Southwest Museum, Los Angeles, Cal. (Continued from page 55) The clearing up of a long-standing misidentifica- tion of minuta and pola has resulted from Drs. Barnes and McDunnough's figures and notes on the two species (Contrib. Vol. Ill, No. 2, p.92). Oberthur's figure of the type of pola (Et. de Lep. Comp. IX, 2, Fig. 2188) is practically the same as W. G. Wright's figure of so-called minuta (PL XX. Fig. 194.) The specimen shown was taken in Southern Arizona. The true type locality of pola is doubtful. Dr. Skinner believes it was Sonora, Mexico, and Drs. Barnes and McDunnough "any- where in the desert region of southeast California." We have seen specimens identical with this figure from Arizona, close to the California border, in the lower Sonoran life-zone. These are doubtless as near topotypes as can be secured. They do not differ in any particular from specimens we have taken in the lower zones throughout Colorado. Dr. Henry Skinner believes arachne to be a syno- nym of pola. Drs. Barnes and McDunnough retained it in their list as a race of pola, but they have in recent letters affirmed that there seems to be no essential difiFerence. It is safe therefore to place arachne as a synonym. This would leave only nympha and minuta to consider. From Drs. Barnes and McDunnough's notes, and from specimens taken at Comfort, Texas, I am con- vinced that minuta is a very distinct form, not repre- sented outside of a limited territory in Texas. (Fig. 4.) _ From specimens of nympha collected in west Texas which match Edwards's description fairly well and are not dissimilar to the figure shown by Wright (PI. THE LEIMDOPTERIST 71 XX. F. 191, "So. Ariz.") I would judge this form to be more closely related to pola than to minuta. We possess specimens from Colorado tallying with this form on the upper side, but which have a much greater proportionate area of cream-white on the under sur- face, showing distinct pola affiliations. Intergrades between these forms occur, (h'igures 5-6.) I believe the forms characterized by dark ground color with a band of whitish through the discal area may be considered typical nympha, and the lighter checkered forms with two shades of buff spots as a ground color may be accounted typical pola. Our Tulare County captures differ from all of the above in several particulars, and may be described as follows : Melitaea monache sp. nov. Figures 1 to 3. Male. Upper side. Primaries, ground color uniform ochrous, crossed by numerous irregular fine black lines. Outer margin fringed with alternate black and white, the black at ends of nervules, with the white slightly in excess. Fine double marginal stripe tend- ing to fuse into a single black wide marginal line. Limbal area, nervules very finely lined with black. A series of irregular narrow broken black lines crossing the limbal area at right angles to the fine striped nervules. which marks off a series of irregular squares and oblongs. The outer band of yellow thus defined is however made up of dentate rather than squared spots. The black lines are partly or completely want- ing between the 2nd and 3rd median nervules (more marked in the female). In the inner portion of discal area a heavy tortuous black line shaped somewhat as a cupid's bow, tending to be interrupted at the 3rd median nervvile. At the outer end of discal cell an irregular ochrous oblongate spot bordered with black. Discal cell crossed by two wavy black lines. At the base of the cell a narrow black constricted O enclos- ing an ochrous spot. Below the discal cell an irregular figure 8. Upper side. Secondaries. Fringe and marginal lines as on primaries. Nervules, narrow black lines. 72 THE LEPIDOPTERIST Two constricted lines crossing the limbal and outer part of discal areas, more regular than the lines on primaries, and dividing this portion of the wing into an outer band of ochrous oblongs, a middle band of more or less regular squares, and an inner band of oblongs. Internal to this a wider band of black, clos- ing in the end of the discal cell at its centre. A round or oval ochreous spot edged with blade occupies the centre of the discal cell. Inner portion of basal area blackish. Inner margin light ochreous toward the anal angle, tending to black tov/ard the base. Both primaries and secondaries are quite uniform as to the ochreous ground color, the ochre greatly in predominance over the black. There are no lighter colored spots as in pola (arachne) and the wings have the appearance of being striped irregularly with black, rather than checkered. Furthermore, the secondaries are not markedly darker than primaries as with the average nympha. Pola (arachne) shows character- istically the "deep fulvous sinus in discal cell of sec- ondaries" (variable) while monache always shows the centrally placed O. There is no "whitish" band on upper side of sec-- ondaries in monache as with pola. Upper side. Primaries. Similar to pola, but the ochrous color of the basal and discal areas is a little richer, and the yellowish-white is confined to a narrow subapical area. The same four bands of cream-white occur on sec- ondaries as are found in pola, but the marginal band tends to be wider (not distinctly composed of cres- cents as in arachne). The centrally placed wide light- colored band is relatively narrower than in pola, and is bordered by wider, more nearly complete black lines. The outer black border in particular is practically an unbroken line in monache. The basal whitish patch is almost obsolete. Palpi and abdomen much as in pola. Antennae show a shade more ochre. Female, similar to male, but with slightly greater ^ x" t^ a 3 "^ o ^ ^'g - o . X ^ Oj : Si rt c 6 M 3< •X) rt '"^ - - » ^ g P rt c^ c^ ■5 >. >> o o o r- rr C ^. d- ^^ tfl OS OS CIS 4J _• 'i -^^ -f >r.\o' i. .\ii rlflits rpscrvoi). 82 THE LEPIDOPTERIST Monograph of the Genus Catocala It is a pleasure to announce the publication of Il- lustrations of the North American Species of the Genus Catocala by William Beutenmuller, with ad- ditional plates and text, by Wm. Barnes, M. D, and J. McDunnough Ph. D- It is issued as a memoir of the American Museum of Natural History. New Series. Vol. III. Part I. October, 1918. This im.portant work will be noticed in a future issue of The Lepidopterist. The Lepidopterist has received the Proceedings of the Entomological Society of British Columbia for ]\Iarch, 1916 and IMarch, 1917. They contain im- portant papers on the Geometrids of British Colum- bia by E. H. Blackmore, the President of the Society. The rarer species are figured in well printed plates, and the article is well worth reading. A New Geometrid By L. W. Swett, Lexington, Mass. ClEORA EXHUMATA SP. NOV. The head, thorax and abdomen are fuscous gray, palpi moderately long ; primaries dull ash gray, second- aries the same color ; intradiscal band runs with slight curve from inner margin towards discal spot, reaching the costa about opposite it. The discal dot is large, round and black on all wings, the extra discal line curves slightly outwardly from inner margin to median vein where it is ac- centuated on the veins by four or five serrations ; it is accompanied by a brown shade line following the same course ; a whitish indeterminate band follows the shade line, then another brown one running parallel ; outer margin pale gray with intervenullar dots at the base of the fringe, which is long with a hair line run- ning through it. The secondaries are same color as primaries and are full and rounded except on the outer margin op- THE LEI'IDOPTERIST 83 posite discal spot there are two or three sHght serra- tions; a faint basal line running straight from inner margin, fading out just above discal spot where it almost touches ; extra discal line curves slightly from inner margin to outer, just below discal dot being accentuated on the veins ; this line is followed by two brownish bands with white in between, the margin of wings is dusky shaded and has the usual intervenuUar dots. Beneath the primaries are smoky gray with no lines showing only the round discal spot apparent; secondaries are marked the same as the primaries. This species is associated with inconspicua Hulst, wrightiaria Hulst, formosata Hulst and agrestaria Grossbeck. In general appearance it is nearest in- conspicua Hulst which is said to be a svnonym of aethalodaria Dyar. The genitalia separates this species easily from the rest and is very distinct. The harpe is strongly de- veloped in this species and can be made out with the naked eye In wrightiaria as limited by Grossbeck, the harpe is short with projecting rod, short and nar- row, in inconspicua it is long, with a long narrow projecting rod, in exhumata the harpe is long, with long, wide projecting rod. There are other differ- ences in the shape of the uncus or tegumen as some prefer to call it, and in the spining of the penis. Gross- beck wrote an article on this group correcting some of Pearsall's determinations in the "Journal of the New York Entomological Society," Volume XX. No. 4, page 290. December, 1912. Mr. Grossbeck. how- ever, mixed this closely allied species with wrightiaria, calling them all that species. This can readily be ex- plained .Ts there were few collectors at that time inter- ested in Geometers and without the great amount of material which is available now, it was impossible to see that there were to be so many closely allied species. Expands 26 to 27 mm. Holotype S \T, 4, 1911 San Diego, Calif. (G. Field) and in mv collection. Allotype ? \T. 18. 1911. San Diego, Cal. (G. Field) and in the collection of Mr. Field. 84 T HE LEPI'DOPTERIST Paratypes - 9 c^'s San Diego, Cal. and in the collec- tion of Mr. Field. 4 ) Allotype ? Dallas, Texas (Boll), and in the Museum of Comparative Zoology collection. Paratypes c? Dallas, Texas (Boll), and in the mu- seum of Comparative Zoology, 2 Ss Greenville, Miss. (G. Dorner) in the collection of Dr. Barnes; S Dallas, Texas (Hunter No. 919, Aug. 28, 1905) F. C. Pratt collection, and in the collection of the United States National Museum. ? Dallas, Texas (Boll) and in the Museum of Comparative Zoology collection. This species seems to be rather rare as this is all that has come to my notice and is one of the few that can be differentiated in most cases by the markings. The solid band at inner margin w^ith forking above median vein is quite distinct.. A form which I have recently received from Plum- mets Island, Maryland, through the courtesy of Dr. Dyar bears such a likeness to attenuaria that I am inclined to place it as a race of the latter rather than a distinct species, and propose to describe as follows : Xant hotype attenuaria Marylandensis var. nov. Fig. 5G. Primaries lemon yellow with numerous strigse, the usual band of spots and the extra discal band is composed of a prominent blotch at inner mar- gin with blotch above extending to median vein. The forking of the band above the median vein is not ap- parent in this species. The secondaries have few strigae with no basal band apparent. The extra discal is represented by a small blotch at inner- and outer margins ; intervenullar dots in the fringe. The geni- talia seems to separate this race best from the other species. See Figure 5G. The ampullae are broad and high as in attenuaria ; the harpe is the same shape but differs in that it pro- THE LEPI'DOPTERIST 87 jects to level of upper costa and not above it. The valvae are rather short and broad and the lower costa is only serrate near tip and not on the lower part as in figure. The ceros is very broad with long heavy spines. The figures 4 and 5G do not show these spines clearly enough. They are quite noticeable on the upper edge of the ceros. The penis is not so broad or havily spined as in attenuaria and the spines are finer. Expanse r runniuL^; about on fallen timbers. We left our tra]) lantern here, preparing to collect on our return in the evening. We then started for the Half Way House, intending to eat ou*- lunch there as it is a good three or four hours climb from the base. The balsams began to ap- pear and once or twice a Eupithecia fluttered out. They proved to be latipcnnis Ilulst and catskillata Pearsoll. Hydrelia inornata became quite abundant and I should not be surprised if either balsam or spruce were its food plant. Also what apeared to be a wild currant was in flower, with a number of yellow and black spotted longicorns feeding on it. So far we had seen only geometers and one or two noctuids mostly Notodontans, but no butterflies. As we progressed towards the third mile post the climb became harder and the air cooler as we were some 2100 ft. in altitude. On the right the trees became thinner and we could see a great valley spread out below. The birchs were hardly leaving out and the flowers of the bunchberry were quite green. We saw two or three Lyca^nas fluttering along the road, the first butterflies we had seen. Beyond the third mile post the trees became more stunted and there were practically nothing but diptera about. After quite a walk we came to the Half Way House where we sat down for a rest and had luncli. In reality it is only an old house where the men who repair the road stay and is not inhabited in the winter. It overlooks the country for miles around and is held down with chains to keep it from blowing over during the mountain storms. In the rear there is an old iiarn used to keep the teams and a path running down to an old pasture in the rear. There were no flowers in blossom except what ap- peared to be the shad bush. It was quite chilly and the wind was very strong so that it was impossible to collect any Lepidoptera. Evidently at the altitude of the Half Way House. 4000 ft. there is httic to be taken so early in the season- Mr. Cassino decided to return down the road where we left tlie lantern, while his son and Mr. Sweet prepared to go to the top of Mt. 94 THE LEPI'DOPTERIST Washington and down through Tuckerman's Ravine. We went along the carriage road noting the condi- tions, especially as we made the sharp turn just be- yond the Half Way House. It is here in August one usually sees for the first time Brenthos montinus Scud- der about the dwarf goldenrod along the roadside. The Labrador Tea was just budding but only a few leaves of the goldenrod were visible. Except for a few very hairy black spiders and ground beetles, which we disturbed from under stones, there was no other insect life. We passed the fourth mile post just around the curve and made for a small clump of stunted pines on the right side of the road, hoping to find some insects in this sheltered spot. We only found two wild currant bushes in flower, about which were a few Syrphidse. Pushing on towards the fifth mile post it became colder as there were many snowbanks around, and just as we made the turn we noted a few small white flowers growing from moss-like clumps, and a dwarf willow about six inches high which had started to form white catkins. The country was now spread out beneath us as we had left the tree line at practically the Half Way House, and the mountain resembled a giant pile of broken rocks. Later in the season at about the fifth mile post we are accustomed to look for Eurymus interior Scudder (so called) and Autographa u. aureum Gn. (Vaccinii Hy Edw.) on the flowers of the sand wort. We saw nothing and kept on towards the summit. It was cold and bleak nov/, but as we approached what is known as "the six husbands' trail" before the sixth mile post we saw clutsers of a small purple flower on a low bush. They were quite fragrant and we noted a number of large yellow bees with jet black markings hovering about them. It seemed strange to see flowers at this high altitude when below all was bleak and bare, but this evidently was early spring at the top. We left the carriage road here, following the trail which was simply small piles of stone or a white arrow here and there, over the ridge towards Tuckerman's Ravine, arriving at the top of this ridge after a half-hour's THE LEPI'DOPTERIST 95 hard climb. In a previous trip in August I saw many Oeneis semidea, Say, in this same spot. Watching the clouds carefully to see that we did not get caught in a snow squall we made our way over rocks and around rocks towards Tuckerman's Ravine, which was a coup- le of miles away. We were now in what is known as the "Alpine Garden". The only flowers visible were this small bush with pink flowers. A great snowbank lay in one section, covering an acre in extent, but be- yond this the mountain was free of snow. We noted a webb in between two rocks with the spider in the center. This seemed unusual at such an altitude and in the face of such high winds. Suddenly we saw a tattered specimen of Papilio turnus blown up the mountain and over our heads, but in such a gale it was impossible to secure it. My attention was attracted to a brown crab spider trying to hide under a rock, and after some effort succeeded in catching it. This later proved to be a great rarity, only the type being known, which was taken by Mr. J. H. Enerton about 1875. We approached Tuckerman's Ravine with dread, for if it was filled with snow we would have to retrace our steps back the way we came, and it was then about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. As we neared the brink we could hear the sound of running water and de- cided to take a chance and go down. Excej)t for one or two banks the snow was pretty well melted, making it possible to carefully pick our way to the bottom ; we had to be very careful for a slip meant a fall of 1000 feet. The "arch" as it is called, extended about two thirds of the way to the top and as we descended I noted the false hellelon had grown about a foot in height. Later in the season, in August, this is the place where Eupethecia cretaceata Packard is found. It took us nearly an hour to descend, and we found many of a species of black hairy spider beneath the small stones which we overturned. At the bottom the birch trees were also three feet high and were just beginning to leave- We proceeded along a mountain stream, in and out between boulders for another hour, 96 THE LEPI'DOPTERIST until we came to a grove of small spruces. After about half an hour's walk we arrived at a lake of about an acre or so in extent called Hermit Lake, which is a very famous collecting ground. It has a muddy shore and is full of broken trees around the edge, and is said to have some very rare water beetles. Leaving Hemit Lake we walked along at a brisk pace through spruce woods, up and down hill, for at least four or five hours — it being dark when we reach- ed the carriage road. The trail came out at the two- mile post, which we had passed going up the mountain in the morning. I should think we had walked some twenty miles and I would advise people who intend making this trip to camp at Hermit Lake for the night at it is too much to do in one day. (to be continued) Knowing Insects Through Stories by Floyd Bralliar is a new book issued by Funk & Wagnalls Co. It is illustrated by beautifully printed colored plates and is a useful book for young people or any one interested in a superficial way in insects, and it perusal should lead to a more extended inter- est in entomology- Price $1.75 by mail. To the Editor of The Lepidopterist : I live in New Mexico and have a small collection consisting mostly of local species. I would like to in- crease my collection by exchange. I have not been successful in making exchanges. Why can you not organize an exchange club? Collectors from various parts of the country could send their duplicates and lists could be issued from which selections could be made. The dealers pay so little for what you send them and charge so high for what they sell you that it is discouraging for a beginner. Why can't The Lepidoterist start such a plan? A Subscriber. wfflffiSa''' "«!!?" -A- fc. '™:iu.*^^:^?^ •*•?• ^j:.. - ^'^i.>-. v^V. v^^-^' i;!:'Ji7;^C^i!! HMH,*^'*^!^ iTmjrmicrrMlTTflnT ^m'^mmr>' ^ r» afc'.','-'' ¥▼ T iiiiiiiPii«L:ri±2 U 1 '"^^m,