Miss J. R. Traver.
Ecological Relations of the Lepidopterous Genus Depressaria (Œcophoridæ).
Psyche 26:73-79, 1919.

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19191 Travev-Lepidopte~ou8 Genus Depessaria 7 3 None were observed May 31.
Oviposition continued to June 8?
p, m., at the latest? and the total number counted was 99-51 up to June 2, a.m.? 41 between 2, a.m. and 4, p.m.? 7 between 4, p.m. and 8, p. m. They were laid on the less compact or looser surface of the felt? and some were placed quite deeply among the loose fibers. Evidently they are not always placed singly, for in one instance a group of four was found? and several occurred in pairs. The moth died the evening of June 9. The eggs (infertile in this case) were white to the unaided eye and under an ordinary hand lens, but practically colorless when magnified more highly; oval to ovoid in shape, but a few were somewhat reniform? resembling a type of bean; surface somewhat roughened, marked with nearly sphericaly squarish, or elongate shallow depressions, with very narrow intervening ridges.
Whether the roughened surface, and
the subreniform shape? was due to the age of the eggs-for on June 9, when they were examined, a large proportion had already collapsed-the writer cannot say? although, he might state, it did not appear so.
Eighteen were measured and were found to be -49 to -66 mm. long and 27 to -34 mm. wide. The longest were gcncrally the broadest,
The present record? it might be added? adds to the accumulating evidence, seemingly? that this species rather than Tinea pelZionella Linn. (the case-making moth) is the more common species in the North.
How is the marked difference in degree of activity and sensitivity manifested by the larv~ to be explained? Is it a matter of indi- viduality?
Or, in view of the resulting difference in sex? is it a matter of sex?
----
ECOLOGICAL RELATIONS OF THE LEPIDOPTEROUS GENUS DEPRESSARIA ((ECOPHORIDE) .
BY MISS JAY R. TRAVER,
Department of Entomologyy Cornell University. The members of a group of animals or plants, closely allied to one another in a systematic sense, may yet differ rather widely in their habits of life. While fitted for the same genera1 type of environ- ment, they nevertheless show considerable variation in their adap-



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74 Psyche [June
tations to certain phases of that enyironment. Especially is this true of the ways in which they obtain the two prime necessities of life-food and shelter. The genus Depressaria, of the Lepidop- terous family (Ecophoride, illustrates such variation of habits. As regards this rather large genus, many facts of a biologic nature remain still to be worked out. However, from the data available, some interesting ecological relations have been noted. In treating this genus, the catalogues of Staudinger and Rebel for European forms, and of Dyar for North American forms, have been followed, with additions of such as have been described since these publications, and of such exotic forms as are given in a few other sources. From the British Museum Catalogue, seven species are listed for which no references could be found. These are D. acerbella, Africa, a doubtful member of the genus; lewinella, mele- sella, sobriella, convictella and absumptella, Australia; and moderatella, Tasmania. If these species have been transferred from Depres- saria, no account of such transfer could be found. From Cotes and Swinhoe's Moths of India, seven species are listed, omitting D. gossypiella, which is no longer placed in this genus. One species is also listed from the Biologia Centrali-Americana. The genus as here treated consists of two hundred and forty- nine species, distributed throughout most parts of the world, yet occurring mainly in Central Europe. The table of distribution is as follows :
North America. .......... 48 Russia and the North Coun- .Central America. ......... 1 tries .................. 27 SouthAmerica.. 3 1 . .......... ..--......----.. China. .................. 1
............. British Isles. 19
India.. .................. 9
Central Europe. .......... lo2
Rest of Asia. ............. 30
........ Southern Europe. 59 Africa. .................. 11 ...... ............... Spain and Portugal. 24 Australia. 7 If the grouping be given for continents, Europe has by far the greatest number, and these are in the main located in central Europe. Stainton says: "Though most of the European species seem to be widely distributed, a few are restricted to the south, and some are peculiar to the north. " It is evident that this state- ment still holds good, though the number of recognized species is now nearly three times that known by Stainton.



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h
Of these two hundred and forty-nine spies, the lifdhtories of ninety-few are recorddm R. T. Stahihn has probably given w the most ~~~, in a compact fom but (very compmhmsive, in his Natwal Hhibiy oj the Ti~mia, In volume six of this work, he treats of the life-Esbries of twenty-four species, while in volume twelve he adds twelve ~ O J X to the list, Chretien, Kkd, among recent entom~Iogista, seems to have devoted much the to Me- history work among the dler forms, and he has given us much ~Iuable data of this sort for the genus Depmmria. Besides the thirtydx species treated by Stabton, fiftyeight others have hen reared or othemise studied by other workers, so that their hhih are horn. For one hundmd md eighteen of the remaining species merely distribution and description, usually of adult done, but occasimdy of larva and pupa dm, have been given. Comwlete refmnces for thirty-tk of these species were not available. The references ta the wst of the wies include likewise some men- tion of the food plant of the lam. mat is to say, for 53 per cent. of the genus, something of the Me-histmy Ad habits is horn. Since an emlogiml study of a group depends mainly on such materid this, it is dearly impossible to give more than an dimate of that group, when SQ much remains to IM determined, The tables giwn me, therefore, in no wnse mmplete, but merely an amngement of such biologic howledge of the gmup as has been verified, Ten of the species are horn to be gregarious in their hwid habits, R nnmbr of lame lihg together an the same leaf or in tb mane umbel. Twenty-two, however, ~LE recorded as being solitary in the ha1 state, while no mention is made of the social habits of any of the others.
Of the seasod distribution, no very definite facts codd be learned. SevemI aze known to pass the winter m images, a few a~ lame, and others in the egg stage* Mention is mde by Chretien of one species, D. ~~hildla, which "Iives d h g the winter in the interior of the stems, the shoots and the pulpy lmves of Cdhmum mari~mw.'' It seems ta be generally accepted that the genus is single-bmded a d that the eggs do not hatch till rather late in the spring, In the case of those pasaing the winter in the imago form, it is several times noted that the adult insect is rarely mm in the fall, but more commonly in the spring dk its IAernrdio~~ stain to^ writes of the adult insects: "The perf& insects of the



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genus Depresaaria live very retired, md species may Ix exmidy abmdmt, yet never seen in the pzdect state. Many of the speeie.9 hibernate in the @ect state* and some, which are seldom en Mom hibemation, are comparatively common in the spring; but othm do not show themselves eithm before or after hibernation, " He further mentiom that the adult^ may often be &ken after dusk, m the food plants, when they are found crawling t~p the stems, "When dislodged from my place of retreat, they shuffle dong with msidemble rapidity till they have attained a fmh place of con- cedrnent." The adults are likewise mentioned by Stainton as being fond of sweets.
In the main the pupal state seems to be passed on or nem the surface of the pund, uaudly under sbne~, dried leaves or other mbbish. Thirty-nine me reported as pupating thu? mdly within a light silk moon. h t there are otlms that remain in the tap of the plant for pupation, eith in the umbels or in the silken web in which they found shelter as l m ; seventeen am recorded in this category. One of these remains within a silken gallev which it spun inside a leaf, the outer edges of which were dram up and smly fmtmed. Still a third type of pupal habit is known9 that of pupating within the stem of the plant. Thm speeiw belong here. One of these hm been described as burrowing into the stem for a short distance, then up, after which it erects, mros8 the hollod stem a d dmve the entrace h!e, a silken platform, upon which the pupal state is passed.
The habits of the lama. are perhap of greater inter&, as th- are determind mainly by the need for fd md shelter, Their methods of providing themdves with shelter my ke earnidwed first. Twenty-four are leaf -rollem, ~ ~ 1 1 ~ rolling part of the leaf and securing itwith bands of silk, fins fnming a ghelter for them- aelvm when they am at rest. Twenty-thm me makers of tub, either wholly of silk, or more often partly of leaves or flower head8 and partly of silk, Within this tube they find safety. Still
others, fifty-seven of which are mrded? may be called web spin- ners, since they form hgdrur webs, and with theae dken &mn& draw hveu of a shot or flower-heads in an umbel mm or less together; or perhaps merely pa* of a leaf me thus held md fastened. b e law= are both web spimm and tube makers or leaf mllm. Thrm are known to be leaf miners, at leaat in the



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One feeds prtly upon bark and twigs, Of the six which bore iuh stems, in on1y one case was mention made of the part of the plant fed upon; in this, the larva fed on the stem, Hence it is doubtful
whethey the other five may be considered to be stem feeders, OT whether they merely obtain shelter from the ho~lowed stem, coming for food.
Stainton mites: "The fwd of the larv~ i~ very various, some of them feeding on the leaves of composite plants, others, and by fa? - + * -
to another species," Sixteen diffemt plant families are rep resented among the food plants of the law^ of this genus. Of these, Urnbellifem easily takes the lead, furnishing fi f ty-nine species of Ian-= with food, Composite stands mcond only in favor among .. , . . . . . - . . . .
the greater portion, in the umbels or on the seeds or lea\% of dif- femt species of Urnbellifem; again the larw of two qmie fed on the sa110w. whiM the H?mmicurn &watwrn afb& a pabdurn



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78 Psyche [June
Sanderson's Insect Pests (p . 417) .
D . groteella. feeding upon hazel
and D . robiniella upon locust. are both at times injurious to forest trees . Accounts of these may be found in Packard's Insects Injurious to Forest Trees. with methods of control should the larvae become a pest .
The following is a summary of what is now known of the habits of the genus:
Social habits . Pupation .
...............
...............
Gregarious 10 On ground 39
....... .................
. Solitary 22 In umbels or leaves 17
..................
Hibernation .
In stem 3
................
As egg .. .. ............ 3 In gallery 1 .
..................
As larva 4 Food plants
..............
..................
As adult 19 Umbelliferte 59
...............
Feeding habits . Compositse 33
...............
On leaves ................ 67 Leguminosse 11 Onbuds~rfl~wers ........ 18 Cu~ulzerse ............... 5 .................
On bark or twigs ......... 1 Rutaceae 5
............
On stem ..... .-. ..........
6 Euphorbiacese 2
.............
On fruit ................. 4 Hypericacete 2 ................
Economic importance .
Salicacese 2
...................
D groteella .on hazel
Coniferae 2
..........
.
..................
D robiniella on locust
Cistacese 1
. ........
...............
D heracliana .on parsnip
Lythracese 1
. .....
.................
Rosacese 1
Methods of obtaining shelter . Burseracese 1 Leaf rollers .............. 24
................
Malvaceae 1
Tube makers ............. 23
..............
Rhamnaceae 1
Web spinners ............ 57
.............
Polygonacese 1
Leaf miners .............. 3
Stem borers .............. 5
(Supplementary to catalogues cited.)
Barnes. Wm., and J . McDunnough .
Check list of the Lepidoptera
of Boreal America. Decatur .
(1917.)
Busck. August .
Descriptions of North American Tinenia . Proc .
Ent . Soc . Washington. Vol . 9. pp . 88-92 . (1908.)




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19191 Traver-Lepidopertous Genus Depressaria 79 Chretien, Pierre. Descriptions de deux espGces nouvelles de Depressaria dYAlg6rie (Lep.) Ann. Soc. Ent. France, pp. 276-277. (1907.)
-- . Les chenilles des BuplGvres. Le Naturaliste, Vol. 29, p. 89. (1907.)
-- . MicrolepidoptGres nouveaux pour la faune fran- cake. Ibid.,Vol.3OYpp. 66, 126-127. (1908.) -- . MicrolepidoptGres nouveaux de France et de Corse. Ibid., t. c., pp. 186-187. (1908.) -- . Description complementaire de Depressaria ferocella Chret. Bull. Soc. Ent. France, p. 182. (1914.)
-- . Description d'une espGce nouvelle de Depressaria. Ibid., t. c., p. 159.
(1914.)
-- . LepidoptGres du Nord de lYAfrique. Ibid., pp. 341-344. (1915-16.)
Cotes, E. C., and C. Swinhoe. A Catalogue of the Moths of India. Indian Museum, Calcutta. (1887.)
Dyar, Harrison G., and C. H. Fernald.
A list of North American
Lepidoptera and Key to the Literature of this Order of Insects. Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., No. 52. (1902.) Engel, Henry. New Microlepidoptera. Ent. News, Vol. 18, p.276. (1907.)
Fuchs, A. Alte und neue Kleinfalter der europaischen Fauna. Stettiner Ent. Zeitg., Vol. 64, p. 244.
(1903.)
Krone, W.
Neubeschreibungen einiger Arten und Varietaten von Microlepidopteren. Jahresb. Wiener Ent. Ver., Vol. 21, pp. 39-42. (1910-11.)
Krulikovsky, L. Petites notices Lepidopterologiques IX. Rev. Russe d'Ent. p. 181. (1907.) (In Russian.) Meyrick, E. Descriptions of Indian Microlepidoptera. Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., Vol. 20, p. 166. (1910.)
-- . Descriptions of South African Microlepidoptera 111. Ann. Transvaal Mus., pp. 74, 316. (1911.) -- . Exotic Microlepidoptera I, pp. 115, 253. Marl- borough Witts. (1914.)
-- . Descriptions of south African Microlepidoptera. Ann. South African Mus., Vol. 10, p. 249. (1914.)
-- .
Descriptions of South American Microlepidop- tera.
Trans. Ent. Soc. Sweden, Vol. 15, pp. 210-211. (1915 .)



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80 Psyche [June
-- , Lepidoptera aus Morea. Machtrag 2. Berliner Ent. Zeits., Vol; 50, Nachtr. 2, p. 311. (1906.)
-- . Zwei neue Saturniidse aus Deutsch-Ostafrika. Ann. k. k. Naturhist. Hofmus. Wien, Vol. 19, p. 360.
(1904.)
Strand, E.
Depressaria arctica Strand, n. sp. Arch. Math. Natur- videnskab., Vol. 24, (1903.)
Staudinger, Otto, and Hane, Rebel.
Catalog der Lepidopteren des
Palsearctischen Faunengebietes. Berlin. (1 90 1 .) Walsingham, Thomas.
Spanish and Moorish Microlepidoptera.
Ent. Monthly Mag., Vol. 39, 2d ser., Vol. 14, pp. 266-268. (1903.)
- - Spanish and Moorish Microlepidoptera. Ibid., Vol. 43, 2d ser., Vol. 18, pp. 214-215.
(1907.)
-- . Microlepidoptera of Teneriffe. Proc. London 2001. Soc., 1907, p. 958. (1908.)
-- .
Lepidoptera Heterocera, 4 Biol. Cent. Amer. (1909-15.)
NOTES ON THE EARLY STAGES AND LARVAL LOCO- MOTION OF LEIA BIVITTATA SAY (DIPTERA).
BY HARRY B. WEISS,
New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Several specimens of this fungus gnat were bred during the last of March from the partly decomposed fruiting bodies of Lenzites betulina, which had been collected during February on an old stump at New Brunswick, N. J., and kept in a warm room. It is evi- dently a well distributed species as it was described by Say from Indiana, and Johannsen2 records it from Connecticut, Rhode Island, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan and New York. In Aldrich's Catalogue of North American Diptera it is listed as Neoglaphyroptera bivittata Say, and Smith3 records it under the same name from several points in New Jersey .
Full grown larvae under observation averaged about 13 mm. in 1 Kindly identified by C. W. Johnson.
Fungus Gnats of North America, Part 111, p. 290, Maine Agric. Exp. Sta. Bull. 196. 8 Insects of New Jersey, N. J. State Mus. Rept. 1909.



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