Article beginning on page 499.
Psyche 6:499-502, 1891.

Full text (searchable PDF)
Durable link: http://psyche.entclub.org/6/6-499.html

The following unprocessed text is extracted from the PDF file, and is likely to be both incomplete and full of errors. Please consult the PDF file for the complete article.

August 1893.1
NOTES ON GLUPHISIA AND
BY A. S. PACKARD,
This paper is mainly based on exam-
inations of the types of the late Henry
Edwards, now preserved in the Amer-
ican Museum of Natural History ; and
for facilities and courtesies I am in-
debted to the curator of entomology,
Mr. W. Beutenmiiller.
I regard Gluphisia as the simplest
and most primitive genus of the group ;
its larva being noctuiform and without
any projections. The larvae are often,
perhaps usually, even, without any red
spots. G. trilineata Pack. is the typi-
cal species.
G. RIDENDA Edw. is very closely
allied, representing G. trilineata in Col- orado. The Edwards' collection con-
tains three $. I have a <3 from Col-
orado which I compared with Mr.
Edwards's type specimen before his
death. Its venation is the same as in
G. trilineutu; its body and wings are
paler gray, the broad median band on
the fore wings is clearer, and pale
tawny yellowish. It is not improbable
that C. ridenda will ultimately prove
to be merely a climatic variety of the
eastern tdineata.
G. RAPTA Edw. I 9, Colorado, I re-
gard as a variety which should be
united with G. ridenda. The single
(type) specimen is a $ , without
antennae or abdomen.
It is of the same size and with the same shape of wings as in G. ridenda.
Head and
OTHER NOTODONT1DAE.-I.
PROVIDENCE, R. I.
prothorax paler than in G. ridenda. Fore wings pale gray, as pale as in ridenda and whiter than in trilineata; base of wings pale, with a black longitudinal streak, a little oblique on the costa, and behind is a diffuse black irregular band ; the inner line is black, and as in ridenda. The inner black line
forming the inner border of the luteous or tawny yellowish median
band is very dis-
tinct, oblique, not bent outward as in
ridenda- The band is much narrower than
in ridenda, the outer and inner black lines nearly meeting on the inner edge of the
wing. The outer line is not so much bent on the costa. No middle line present. The .@ace beyond the narrow file linejust beyond the outer line is dusky, much as in trilineata, where it is pale in ridenda. Submarginal scalloped line not so near the edge of the wing as in ridenda. Fringe checkered as in ridenda and trilineata. The hind wings are as in rz'u'enda, with no transverse line. Be- neath as in G. ndenda, but with a broad
dusky cloud on the outer fourth of the fore wings, not reaching the edge.
G. ALBOFASCIA Edwards.-The 2 $
type specimens are from Utah, and
seem to be only a pale form of G.
ridenda, probably due to its living in a drier, less rainy, more sunny region.
It is to be noted that the western varie- ties named have no longer fore wings
than in the eastern trilineata. It
seems to be identical with G. formosa,
but scarcely separable from G. ridenda,
being, with little doubt, a climatic vari- ety of the latter species. The two 8
marked albofascia resemble G. for-




================================================================================

mosa, only the nearly clear spaces of
the latter in albofascia form dark,
broad, very distinct bands. There are
two dark dusky patches on the hind
wings. The examples of G. albofascia
are more typical of the species (if it be regarded as distinct from ridenab) than
those placed under G. formosa.
The fore wings somewhat luteous-gray at
base; on the inner third is a broad black band widening on the costa, and still wider on the internal edge, where it reaches a little beyond the middle of the wing. A clear
luteous gray median space, beyond which on the outer third of the wing is a broad black "band, between which and the submarginal scalloped line is a gray band. Hind wings with a diffuse broad band on the outer
fourth, forming a dark patch on the internal angle, and another in the independent inter- space. On the under side .of the wings the dark bands show through, as do the two
dusky spots on the hind wings.
G. FORMOSA Edwards.-4 3, all from
Utah. As already stated I regard this
as a synonym of G. albofascia, both
species being with little doubt climatic varieties of G. ride&
The antennae are well pectinated, rather more so than in G. ridendo. The wings are much paler gray than in yidenda, the hind wings being almost white, but the thorax and abdomen are as in ridenda. Fore wings with black scales at the base, but with no definite lines such as are to be seen in trili- aeata and ~idenda, but just beyond the base the wing is more or less luteous, as in
ridenda. Middle of the wing with a broad pale flesh-colored or luteous band, bordered on the inside by a very distinct black line like that of ridenda, becoming wider on the costa. In the middle of the band is a dark line nearly parallel with the inner one, dilat- ing on the veins and all the lines forming distinct dark costal spots.
The outer third
of the wing gray, with dark scales and with an irregular blackish wavy line, much as in ridenda and wta. Hind wings whitish,
with no lines, and with three dark dots on the fringe of the internal angle. The outer third of the wing faintly dusted more or less* with fine dark scales. Wings pale whitish beneath; two blackish costal spots beyond the middle, and costa of both wings speckled with dark scales. A faint diffuse band passes across the hind wings just beyond the
middle; and the margin of both wings is
speckled with dark scales. Body beneath
pale, and the legs (tarsi) ringed with dark scales.
After preparing the preceding de-
scriptions I find that Mr. Edwards adds
to his description of G. fo~mosa the
following remark : "It is possible that
G. ridenda and G. rupta are forms of
one species, and thateG. albofascia and
G. formosa are forms of another, but I
prefer to consider them as distinct until future investigation shall determine
their true position."
G. LINTNERI (Grote) . Originally de-
scribed as a Dasychira; this is a true
Gluphisia, but, with G. severa and avi-
macuh, belonging to a distinct section
of the genus. The $ antennae are pro-
vided with long close pectinations ; the body is stout and hairy ; the costa of
the fore wings is much more convex
than in
G. trilineata, and the apex
somewhat produced as in G. sevem.
G. WRIGHTII H. Edwards, Ent. amer.
ii, n. April, 1886. This species in-
habits San Bernardino, Cal.
It is very
near G. severa Edwards (Ent. amer. ii,
I 67. Dec. I 886).




================================================================================

August 1893.1
PSYCHE.
Of the two female specimens placed
under G. severa in the Edwards col-
lection, one (not the type, which is a 9 from Soda Springs, Cal., April I 5, with eggs), probably added after his descrip- tion was published, I regard as a speci- men of G. wrightii. Its locality is
Sierra Nevada, Cal. (and Mr. Beuten-
muller suggests that it may have been
taken at Mt. Shasta). The specimen
is perfectly preserved, and in its struc- tural character is closely allied to G.
severa. The thorax has a median tuft
as in G. severa. From the type of
wrightii it differs in the more distinct and darker markings, being less rubbed.
A decidedly luteous subtriangular spot ex- tends from the base of the wing to the inner distinct line crossing the wing, which line is situated half way between the base of the wing and the inner side of the median band, this line having been rubbed off in the type of wrightii. The space between this line and the median band is whitish gray. The broad blackish median band encloses a sinu- ous linear luteous discal spot, and there is a luteous patch near the internal edge of the wing. The inner edge of the median band is less distinctly sinuous than in the type of wighfii, and so is the white outer bordering line, which, however, is more zigzag. The edge of the wing is stone-gray, as in the type of wrighfii, and encloses the usual scalloped dark line, as in the type of wrigktii. Hind wings as in the type; a diffuse dark band crosses the wing beyond the middle, and a second outer one is parallel to it, but does not reach the middle, and the two bands en- close a white linear spot, as in the type. As the species occurs in northern as
well as southern California, and is quite variable, severa may have to be united
with it.
G. SEVERA Edwards. The single
type is a (? from Soda Springs, Cal.
The type is much larger than the Sierra
Nevada specimen, and well preserved.
An-
tennae with short pectinations.
Body and
head dark gray. Wings unusually dark;
fore wings dark gray on the basal third, with a very small luteous spot on the median and submedian veins. Median band broad and
dark, almost black, and not bordered by the narrow scalloped outer line, the wing being suffused with black to the outer edge. A narrow faint luteous linear discal spot. Half way between the scalloped pale gray line and the outer edge of the wing is a submarginal series of tawny or luteous patches. Hind wings just as in the Sierra Nevada example, and venation as in w~ightii. Wings under- neath dark and much diffused, the line on the fore wing less sinuous than in the
wrightii type.
Hind wings with two paral-
lel broad dark bands, just as in the Sierra Nevada specimen of G. wrightti. The shape of the head and the wings is the same in the Californian severa and the eastern form. In both forms the hind wings are nearly the same.
I am indebted to Mrs. Annie Trum-
bull Slosson for the privilege of examin- ing and describing a single remarkable
specimen in a perfect state of preserva- tion taken at Franconia. N. H. Mrs.
Slosson, unlike many entomologists, has
kindly allowed me to partially denude
the under side of the wings of her
unique specimen, so that the venation
could be carefully drawn with the aid
of the camera. She has determined the
species to be new. The species was
not to be found in the collections of Mr. Graef Mr. Neumopren. and Mr. Beuten-




================================================================================

502 PSTCHE.
[August 1893.
muller had not seen it in the Henry
Edwards collections, now fortunately in
the possession of the American Museum
of Natural History at Central Park,
New York. I had described the form
as Ceruridia slossoniae, regarding it
as the type of a new genus, allied to but distinct from Gluphisia, owing to the
notable differences in the venation, as
well as the presence of a dorsal tuft,
and other characters given below. After
sending my description for publication
Mr. Dyar wrote me that he had seen the
specimen with my name on it in Mrs.
Slosson's collection, and that it seemed to him to be a dark 9 of Glu$hisia avi-
macula Hudson, adding that Mr. Neu-
mogen's ^MeZia danbyi" is referable
to the same genus, but his name
''Melia" is preoccupied. Mr. Dyar
then rather hastily and with over zeal
published my name. Since then I have
re-examined Edward's type of G. sev-
era, and have received from Mr. Dyar a
specimen of G. Zintneri. Mr. Dyar
also wrote me as his opinion that the
species of Ceruridia or Melia (Eumelia)
are not generically different from Glu-
phisia, as he has collected G. sevem
in the Yosemite Valley, Cal.
As the result of my studies, es-
pecially of the venation, I am inclined
to divide the genus Gluphisia into two
sections and to believe that in the forms mentioned below we have a number of
climatic or temperature varieties of a
species allied to G. lintneri (origi-
nally referred to Dasychira by Grote),
and which is common to both the
Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The syn-
nonomy may then eventually prove to
be somewhat as follows :-
GLUPHISIA WRIGHTII H. Edwards, Ent.
Amer. ii, 11. April, 1886.
Glu$kisia severa H. Edwards, Ent. Amer.
ii, 167. Dec. 1886.
Melia danbyi Neum. Can. Ent. xxiv, 225,
1892.
Eumelia danbyi Neum. Can. Ent. xxv, 25,
1892.
Glu'phisia avimacula Hudson, Ent. News.
ii, No. 8, 155.
Oct. 1891.
Of all these forms the variety dos-
soniae is the most remarkable, from its
very dark markings, and deserves to
receive a distinct name. That these
forms may be the result of climatic
causes, acting on the insect in its pupal state, seems pretty well established from the remarkable results obtained not only by Weismann and W. H. Edwards, but
also the more detailed experiments
made by Mr. F. Merrifield and pub-
lished with elaborate plates in the
Transactions of the entomological soci-
ety of London for 1891 (p. 155) and
1892, 33, (xxxvi).
In comparing G. slossoniae with
Hudson's description of avimacula, it
seems most probable that it is a melan-
otic form, due to the colder and damper
situation of Franconia, N. H., which
is about 1400 feet above the sea. In
slossoniae the thorax is lighter, the pale ochreous basal and discal spots of avi-
macula are whitish gray in slossoniae,
and the basal and middle lines of the
median band are swamped by the
broad black-brown band of slossoniae;
the hind wings of slossoniae agree with
Hudson's description of avimacda.




================================================================================