Article beginning on page 212.
Psyche 8:212-213, 1897.
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212 PSYCH-E. [Hay 1898.
female, are narrowly brown on hind
margin, showing the incisures.
It will be seen, by comparing descrip-
tions, that the present specimens have
(at least in the male) more golden
pollen on abdomen than the San Rafael
(Vera Cruz) specimen, thus indicating a
tendency toward still another variety.
GYMNOSOMATIDAE.
(9) GymnosomafuZ~r!>zosa Desv. One
male, August 31 ; and three females,
August 30 and Sept. 3 ; all on flowers
of Solidago canadazxis on acequia banks
within the town of Las Cruces, taken by
the writer in 1897. The number of
specimens previously taken in New
Mexico is seven.
OCY PTERIDAE.
(10) Owtera eitchemr Walk. One
male, August 31 ; and one female, Sept.
2 ; both on flowers of Solidagocanadensis on acequia banks within the town of
Las Cruces, taken by the writer in
1897. Length, 10 to 106 mm. These
are additional to the specimen taken by
Cockerell, August 5, 1897, on flowers of Bigelovia wrightii in the Mesilla Valley, and already recorded (Psyche, Dec.,
18971 PP- 149-1501.
Mr. D. W. Coquillel-t, in his u Revision of Tachinidae," calls this species 0.
ca~olincte Dew. I have no copy of
Desvoidy's Myodaires at hand to verify
this reference.
14. Ocyftera euchenor var. dosiades
Walk, One female, August 25, on
flowers of Clematis 2&us/IcifoZia, on ace- quia banks within the town of Las
Cruces, taken by the writer in 1897.
Length, 7 mm.
This is not the dosides of Mr, D. W.
Coquillett, in his 4c Revision of Tachini- dae," as it has the two pairs of marginal macrochaetae, as well as the smaller
apical pair. It is the form which I
have heretofore always referred to dos-
iades Walk. When Mr. Coguillett ad-
duces some evidence to show that
Walker's types of dosiades possessed no
apical pair of bristles, and but one mar- ginal pair, I will revise the present
determination.
DESCRIPTION OF AN UNUSUAL SAW-FLY LARVA BELONGING TO THE XYKLINAE.
BY HARRISON G. DYAR, WASHINGTON, D. C.
As far as I can ascertain there is no
Dalla Torre in his catalogue gives a
description extant of any larva of the note stating that Xy& jdii lives on subfamily Xyelinae of the Tenthredini- Bet& alba, but without reference to dae. Cameron says in his monograph any description. that the larvae are without feet, and In the vicinity of New York there has Paths t 212-214 tprc.1903). htlp:/lpsyclir.nilclub orE/8/8-212.hid
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May iSg8 I 2's YCii'E. 21 3
been known to collectors for some time
a curious larva resembling the excre-
ment of birds. It is found on the young
tender leaves of the hickory and butter- nut in May and disappears by the end
of that month, not to reappear till the
following season. The larva -is solitary, though when abundant, several may
occur on one leaf. It is nearly footless, the short feet being only feebly func-
tional and the larva wriggles around
very like a Lyda when out of 'its web.
It rests by curling around a portion
of leaf or stem in a single spiral and
only spins a few inconspicuous threads
of silk. It lives freely exposed, pro-
tected, doubtless from birds by its resem- blance to a noxious object. It is very
unusual for saw fly larvae to be highly
specialized enough to mimic particular
objects ; but in this case the resemblance is remarkably exact, as New York col-
lectors will testify.
Mr. W. H. Ashmead, in a paper en-
titled " a synopsis of North American
Xyeliclae," read before the Washington
Entomological society in Dec., 1897,
described two new genera and gave a
generic table of this group. &re has
kindly furnished me with an advance
copy of this table which is given below. Plauro?ienra aviing'rata n. sp. Shining
blue-black, submetallic. Labrum emarginate, with a terminal white line and pair of large round white spots: palpi partly whitish. Joint and extreme base of posterior femora and last four joints of posterior tarsi white. Abdomen and legs shining, head and thorax dull. Xei-vures black, wings nearly hyaline, a truce of smoky bordering the veins of fore wings. Hind tibiae hairy and with six long spurs. Length 13 mm.; expanse of wings
29 mm.
Larva. Last four stages observed.
Sfag'e, width of head 0.8 mm. Head shin- ing brown.
Body shining brown dorsitlly,
milk white subventi'ally, setiferous tuber- cles black, not very large, two transverse rows per segment in dorsal aspect, three in lateral view. The segments are pmnulate, a row of four or five tubercles on each side of second (spiracular) and third annulets, a half row of 1111-en tubercles on the lateral portion of the fourth annulet; subventral folds å´wit scarcely distingi~isl~able rudinien- tary tubercles. Legs colorless; a narrow ob- scure white dorsal line. Feet all unusually small; thoracic ones black ringed; abdominal ones on joints 6-12 and 13; above the anus a pair of low conic setiferous warts. The tubercles usually have two setac each.
The larva wriggles over the leaf when it wishes to move, using the feet poorly.
Next sia~o. Plead 1.5 mm. wide, shining
brown, eye and jaws black. The white color formerly confined to the subventral region is now present also as dorsal patches between joints 4-5 5-6,11-12, and top of joint 13 70s- teriorly. Tubercles brown except the two lower of the anterior row which are still black. Otherwise as before.
Staye before last. Width of head 2.1 mm. Much the same but the brown and white still more inotlled; a broken white dorsal line ; nearly all the dorsnin of joint 5 -white. Last. Singe. Head rounded, dark brown,
shining,shadingpaler in the sutures of mouth parts; width 2.5 mm. Antennae brown, pale ringed, palpi black. Thoracic feet black at base; then pale with testaceons rings.
Seg-
ment indistinctly +annulate, the tubercles vatery, concoloro~~s and obscure, nearly ob- solete and difficult to distinguish. Dorsum shinning olivaceous brown ; a broken narrow white dorsal line; a white patch on joints 3, 4, on 6 centrally to 11 centrally, patches on 12,
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214 PSYCHE. [May IS*.
13 and anal plates, milk white from spiracles to feet, extending higher on joints 4-6 and 11-12, mottled. End of joint 13 swollen
above, light brown; joint 3 a little enlarged dorsally. In the natural position of rest, curled spirally around a leaf petiole, the two largest white patches adjoin each other. Enters the earth without ultimate stage. Single brooded, feeding only on immature leaves.
Staten Island, N. Y., June I; Bellport,
Long Island ; Bedford Park, N. Y., May 25 ; Fort Lee and Plainfield, N. J., May 16 (the youngest one).
Table offenem of Xyelidae.
(By W. 1-1. Ashmead.)
I. Front wings with the intercostal vein uniting with the subcostal; hind wings with one complete submarginal and one discoidal cell. . . . . . . . 3
Front wings with the intercostal vein sepa- rated, distinct from the subcostal; hind wings with two complete submarginal cells and one discoidal cell. . . . . 2
2. Antennae 9-jointed, the six terminal
joints very short, together not longer than the scape and less than half the length of the third joint; clypeus with a median emargina- tion; claws with an erect tooth before the tip . . . . Macroxyelu Kirby.
Antennae 10-jointed, the seven terminal
joints very short, together not longer than the scape or less than one fourth the length of the third joint; clypeus triangularly pro- duced in the middle; claws bifid; all tibiae very spinous, hind tibiae with 4 long spurs beneath between middle and apex
Megaxyela Ashm.
(type X. maj07 Cress.)
Antennae 12-jointed, the nine terminal joints much shortened, together much shorter
than the third joint; both transverse radial nervures originatingfrom the second cubital cell; clypeus and tibiae as in %axyela;
claws with a large erect tooth before middle Ple~6t'O?Zc5uf,a Konow.
3. Antennae 12-jointed, the nine terminal joints slender, lengthened, together as long or longer than the third joint; claws long, slender, with a very minute, nearly obsolete tooth beneath a little beyond the middle 4 4. Front wings with both transverse radial nervnres originating from the second cuhital cell, rarely with the second transverse radial interstitial; clypeus with a median ridge which is slightly extended beyond the an- terior margin, but scarcely triangularly pro- duced . . . . Manoxyela Ashm.
(Type A/. caZ@rnica Ashm.)
Front wings with the first transverse radial nervnre originating from the second cubital cell, the second originating from the third cubital; clypcus triang'iilar~ produced an- teriorly . . . . +la Dalrnan.
RUDOLF LEUCKART.
So many and such valuable contributions
to our knowledge of the morphology and
physiology of insc~tb have come from the laboratories of the late Professor R. Leuckart of tlic University of Leipzig, that a few words of appreci~ition of this master zoolo- gist's labors and of regret for his loss can not be amiss in the pages of PSYCHE. Dr. Leuckart, who died in February in his seventy sixth year, was a zoologist of extraordinary range of study, touching in his work the anatomy and lif~-hi~toi'j of the most "tt-idely separated groups of animals, working indeed through the whole animal realm from
Amoeba to Man. His largest contributions are those to the knowledge of the parasitic worms, but his enlightening studies of the ~nici-opyle and fertilization of insect eggs (1855)~ the reproduction and development of the Pupipara (~Sjs), the alternation of generations, and parthenogenesis among
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Volume 8 table of contents