558 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM

NO. 2192.

DRAG0NFLIE8, CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA—KENNEDY. ₅₅₉

on oneof thepondsonthe

Napa

Insane

Asylum

grounds,and about June15 caughtseveralonChicoRivereast ofthecity of Chico.

Both

Coyote Creek and Chico River are

warm

sluggish streams with

mud

banksand

much mud

bottom.

On

Coyote Creek on

May

10 the species

was

at theheight of its season.

On May

27 it

was much

lessabundant, and onJuly4 it

had

entirelydisappeared.

On

Chico River, June 14 and 15, only an occasional sohrinus

was

seen butthe exuviaewere very abundant, whichwould indicate that at that time their season

was

practically over.

From

the preceding dataitis evident that sohrinusis anearlyspring species, appearing inApriland gone

by

July, and thatitinhabitsthe

warmer

constant streamsof

medium

sizeand to alesserextent ponds. Perhapsit is alsolimited tothe

more mud-bottomed

streams, as Ididnotfind it inthe Feather,Yula, orAmericanRivers,whicharesandy bottomed.

Neither doesit occuron clearspring-fedmountain streams,forone such flowed through the asylum grounds, and another (Stephen's Creek) flowsnotfarfrom SanJose, inneitherof which did sohrinus occur.

On

Coyote Creek where I observed itshabits

more

fully, it does notappearaboutthewaterin

numbers

untilabout

11m

the forenoon.

Earher thanthisitcan be found onthesunnypatchesofbareground backafewyards fromthe creekbank. Itisactiveaboutthewater during theheatoftheday butleavesabout4 inthe afternoon.

The

malesarefourorfivetimesas abundantasthefemales, andusually staylowover the water, seldom risinghigher thanfour orfive feet above its surface.

They

usuallyrest on the bare sandy spots but hghtalsoonlogs,brush andwillows.

The

femalesoviposit

by

tap- ping the surfaceofthewater withthe

abdomen

at irregular intervals as they flycloseoveritssurface. Itisatsuchtimes that themales swoop on

them

and take

them away

incopulatoryflights,which end in a longrestingperiod incopulation on

some

treeor bush.

Many

of thespecimenswhichIhavefitSelys's descriptionclosely,

but thespeciesvaries inaremarkableway, and Ibelieveonfurther study and wider collection will be found to include Selys's species confratemus. If such is found true, the

name

confraternus will supersede thatof sohrinus, astheformerprecedes thelatter in Selys's writings.

The

variations ofthespecies willbedealtwith

more

fully in the discussion of the next and closely related mountain species from

Lake

Donner.^

The

followingare color descriptions of sohrinus:

Male.

— Labium

black in the middle; entire face and frons pale greenishyellow,exceptposterioredge ofhorizontal surfaceof frons, whichisblackasistheentirevertex; occiput yellow; eyesgray,with the posteriorsurfacewith three

yeUow

spots. (Seefig. 279.)

1Seep. 550 of thispaper concerningso6nn«.sfromSeattle,Washington,collectedby R. Osburn and called confraternus.

560 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM.

VOL. 52.

Prothorax black with a mediem and an upper and lower lateral spotyellow.

Figs.272-280.—Gomphxjs sobbinus. 272.Male,segment2. 273-275. Male, appendages. 276-277.

Vulva. 278.Female,occiput. 279-280.Colorpattern.

Mesothorax and metathorax

duU

olive green

marked

with dark brown as follows: Middorsal stripe 1.5

mm.

wide, extending from antealar sinus to the pale posterior edge of the black mesostigmal

wo.2192.

DRAGONFLTES, CALIFORNIA AWD NEVADA— KENNEDY.

561 lamina; humeral and antehumeralstripes,2

mm.

wide, fusedexcept foranarrowgreenlinethroughthe centerof theirmiddlethird;upper half ofmesinfraepisternum (lowerhalf pale); abroad

band

connect- inginferiorendof hmneralstripewith thebroadirregular stripe on the second lateral suture (see fig. 279).

Upper

third ofmesinfrae- pisternum dark but conspicuously edged above

by

pale. Anterior endofmetepimeronblack. Coxaepale,each withablackspot; legs black.

Wings

with largedark

brown

stigmas.

Abdomen

black exceptsegment1,withdorsalandlateralgreenish spots. Segments2-9 each with anarrowtriangularyellow middor- sal spot, the apex caudad, and reaching posterior end of 2-6 and successivelyshorteron7-9,onthelastreachmg buthalfway. Basal articulatory

membranes

of segments 8-9 yellow. Segment 2 with twolarge pale spotsonsides.

Lower

edgeyellow. Segment3with alarge antero-lateralspotandlower edgeyellow. Segments4-7 each withasmall antero-lateralspotyellow. Segment8withalarge yel- low lateral spot reaching three-fourths distance from anterior and towardposteriorend.

Segment

9with a yetlargerspot greater than half thedepthof thesegment and tapering to a point at thelower posterior angle. Segment 10 usually entirely black but in

some

palerbelow. (Appendages,figs.290-293.)

Among

twentyselected atrandom,allfrom

San

Jose,fivehada very smallandobscure spoton_9,whileinanotherit

was

reducedtoafine.

Inonemale lateralspots on 1fusewithdorsal spot. (Seefigs. 299- 300.)

Female.

— Head

and thorax colored as hi male.

Abdomen

with

more

yellow.

Segment 1 greenishwith a black spot above on eitherside. Seg-

ment

2withabroad middorsal yellowstripevariouly

pomted

poste- riorly, abroadlateralstripe and thelateralkeel edgedwithyellow.

Segments3-7similar tosegment2butthemiddorsal spot

more

trian- gular.

A

large antero-lateralspotoneach,caudad towhichextends a

more

orlessdefiniteyellowstripe, which isinterrupted or absent on 6 and 7.

The

lateral keel edged withj^eUow, Segment 8 with middorsal triangularspot one-half lengthofsegment. Lateral spot extendingfour-fifthsalonglateralkeel. Segment9 similar to 8but lateral spot larger, extending along keel full length of segment.

Segment 10usuallyblackwith the three caudallobes yellow.

Ap-

pendages black. Basal articulatory

membranes

of segments 8-10 yellow.

The

femaleillustrated (fig.280)isan alcohohcinperfectpreserva- tionand happenedtobethemost

yeUow

of

my

tenspecimens.

The

abdominal coloration in the female is exceedingly variable,no two of theten being ahke.

The

majority have a pattern

more

hke the male (fig. 279) than like this female. Figures 302-305

show

the

65008°—Proc.N.M.vol.52—17 36

562 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM.

you52.

color pattern in four other females. Figures 272-278

show

the structural details of^thisspecies.

Measurements are as follows: Male, abdomen, 37-40

mm.;

hind wing, 31-32; female, abdomen, 36-39

mm.;

hind wing, 30-32.5

Becauseofpreviousstudies ofthepostanalcellsin Gompliusrela- tive to their useingrouping the species intosubgenera, Igivehere theforms they takein this species.

The

fiftymales wereexamined and24

= A

^(fig.313), 7

=

B; 2

=

C; 9

= D;

2

=

H.

Each

of the other figures represented one specimen each, and one deformed wing

was

notfigured.

The

femaleswerenotexamined.

GOMPHUSDONNERI,newspecies.

One

of the interesting surprises

among

the

Odonata

of beautiful

Donner Lake was

aspecies ofGomplius. This genus,whichisasso- ciated in one's

mind

withthe

warm

sluggishstreamsofthe lowlands,

was

represented hereatanelevationofalmost 5,000feet

by

numerous specimens of an almost black ^species, a close relative of its near lowlandneighborGompJiussohrinus.

Ifirst

saw

aspecimenof thisspeciesonJuly23,whileI

was

collect- ing OpTiiogomplius morrisoni near the outlet of the lake, but after several attempts failed to catch him.

A

^fuller exploration of the lake revealed thesandbeachesaroundthewestend,adifferentshore fromthe cobbleandpebble beachesoftheeastend,and onthesesandy beaches^ofthewestend,this

new

Gomplius. Duringtwodays'collect- ing about 80 males and 2 females were taken, and after extended search several broken exuviae were found around driftwood and boulders along theshore. Because of thevery evidentscarcity of females thespecies

was

probablypastitsprime,thoughstillabundant.

I

was

not fortunate enough to observe it emerging, copulating, or ovipositing. Itpassedmostof itstimerestingonthebarebeachor

some

lowstone, though it occasionally lit on a low bushor weed.

Alongthewestshore,wherethesandy beach

was

continuous,it

was

the only species found, butalong the west end of thenorth shore, where sandy stretchesalternated with gravel androck,it

was

asso- ciated with OpTiiogomplius morrisoni, Enallagma cyaihigerum, and Argiavivida.

Length of

abdomen:

Male, 37

mm.

(35-38); female, 36 and 37.5.

Lengthof hind wings: Male,30

mm.

(28-32.5); female, 31 and 32.

Length of pterostigma of front wing: Male, 2.8

mm.

(2.5-3.2);

female,3.

Type.—

C&t. No. 20815,.U.S.N.M.

A

^{male from}

Donner

Lake,

Nevada

County,Cahfornia, July23, 1914.

Allotype.

—

^{Cat.No.20815,U.S.N.M.}

A

femalefrom

Donner

Lake,

Nevada

County,California, July23, 1914.

NO.2192. DRAGONFLIEti,CALIFORNIA

AND XEVADA— KENNEDY. 563 Apex

ofhindfemui reacliingtoorbeyondauricle,inthe male,with only shortspmes,butin thefemalewith about15longspines

m

the outertwo-thirdsofeach

row

and 8-10shortspines inthe imierthird ofeachrow.

Long

hairs inbasaltliirdoffemurinbothsexes.

An-

terior

hamuh

half aslongas posterior, slightly dilatedupward, then abruptly contracted to ahook which termmates the anterior edge, thetip ofthehookpointingcaudad. Posteriorhamulesleafshaped, the posterior edge thickened, the anterior edge with a subapical point du-ected cephalad. (Fig.281.)

Semmal

vesicle large, black, its anteriorsurface terminating in two broadlyconical projections.

Abdominal segments8and9moderatelydilated, inferioredgeof 9two

and

a

hah

times aslong as10. Superior ajjpendages,

when

viewed fromabove,conical, in

some

specimens terminatingina poorly defined needle point. Viewed from the side, the appendages are sHghtly convex on the dorsal surface for the anterior two-thirds of their length

and

slightlyconcavefortheposterior third.

A

thin ridge or

lamma

extends along theapical three-fourths to three-fifths on the inner, lower side of each appendage. This appears in the lateral view,butislargelyhiddenintheviewfromabove. This ridgeis as wide as one-third the lengthof the appendage, being widest in its anterior third,

and

tapermgregularly totheapex oftheappendage.

Prongs of inferior appendage separated

by

length of inner edge of either prong; prongs diverging, frequently half the inner edge of either prong visible from above outside the superior appendages.

Viewedlaterally,upperandlower finesofprongsubparallelandthe prong terminatmg

m

a shorttooth pointing dorsad. Viewed from above, the outerfineconvexinbasal two-thirdsandstraightorsfigfitly

concavein distal third; tiprounded. (Figs. 282-285, 294-298.) Vulvar laminaoffemale broadlyV-cleft,thelobes aslongas wide, withbluntpomts. Female appendagesaslongas10. (Seefig.286.) In both male

and

female the undersurface of the occiputis not visiblefromabove; thatis,theposterioredge does not turn

up

as in Stylurus. This edgein thetwofemales isstraight; inthe majority of themales asHghtlyconvexcurve, fightlyindented inthecenter.

(Fig. 287.)

Coloration, male.

— Labium

black with yellowlateraledges; enthe face andfrons greenish yellow except posterior edge of horizontal surfaceof frons,whichisblack, asistheentirevertex; occiputyellow.

Eyes gray withthree

yeUow

spotsbehindeach. (Seefig.288.) Prothorax entirelyblack,except obscure median dorsal spot,and in

some

specimensminute upper andlowerlateral spots.

Meso

thorax and metathorax dull grayish olive green,

marked

with black as follows: Middorsal stripe 1.75

mm.

wide, extending fromthe black antealarsinus tothe paleposterioredgeofthe black mesostigmallamina; humeral and antehumeralstrij^esentirelyfused into astripe 2.5

mm.

wide; a broad

band

connectinginferiorendof

564 PROCEEDINaS OF THE NATIONAL MUHEVM.

humeral stripe with lower end of the broad stripe on the second lateral suture; anterior and ventral edge of metepimeron broadly

Figs. 281-289.—GoMPHUSDONNEEi. 281.Male, SEGMENT2. 282-285. Male, appendages.

286. Vulva. 287.Female,occiput. 288-289.Colorpattern.

])lack. Mesinfraepisternum and metinfraepisternum black above, yellow below. All coxae yellow, each with a black anterior spot.

Legsblack. Pterostigmas very dark, almost^black.

NO.2192.

DRAGONFUES, CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA— KENNEDY. 565 Abdomen

black,exceptabroadmiddorsal

band

on segments1 and 2; lowerside of1green,whichisconfluentwith alargegreen spoton side of2 (in

some

specimens a second and minutespotposterior to auricle). Lateralkeel ofsegments 1-3 yellow. Segments3-7 each withanarrowmiddorsaltriangularyellow spotextendingfulllength ofsegments3and4,andsuccessivelyshortertothe eighthon which

itoccupiesonly theanterior fourth. Largeanterolateralspotonseg-

ment

3, theanterolateralspotson 4-7beingreducedtomerepoints.

Basal articulatory

membranes

of segments 8-10 yellow, all others black.

A

large yellow spot, three-fifths the lengthof the segment, occupyingtheloweranteriorangleofsegment8.

A

similarbutlarger spotoccupying the anteriortwo-thirds ofsegment 9 andextending caudad along thekeelbutnot reaching theposteriorendoftheseg-

ment

as in sobrinus.

Segment

10 and appendagesblack.

Female.

—

^{Colorsimilar tothatofmaleexcepton}abdomen, whichis

coloredasfollows(fig.289): Black with

more

extensiveyellow pattern thaninthe male.

Segment

1black,withlargedorsalspotandsides yellow.

Segment

2black,withlargeovaldorsalspotfulllengthof seg-

ment

and broadlateral stripewithasecondnarrowstripealong lower edgeyellow. Segments3-7 eachwithanarrowtriangularmiddorsal spotextendingfulllengthofsegment; eachwithlateralkeelnarrowly yellow.

Segment

3withanirregular lateralstripe. Segment4with ananterior lateralspot followed

by

a secondandsmallerspot. Seg- ments5-7each withananterior lateral spotlarger thanthoseinthe male.

Segment

8 with short triangularmiddorsal spot on anterior endofsegment,and alarge lateralspotextending alongthree-fourths ofthelengthof lateralkeelanddorsadhalfthe heightofthesegment.

Segments9and 10 black,except alarge lateralyellow spoton9 ex- tendingalong theentirelengthofthelateralkeelandatitsanterior enddorsadhalfthe heightofthesegment.

The

threeroundterminal lobes of segment 10 yellow. Articulatory

membranes

of segments 8-10yellow.

The

variations of the cellsbetween

A

and Aj, on being checked againstfigure 313,

show

8

=

A, 10

=

B,11

=C,

15

=

D,10

=

F.

Donneri is very close to confraternus, appearing to differ only in coloration. Confraternus,whichIhavenotseen,has bluntsuperiors but hasadoublehumeralstripe. Donneri andconfraternusbothare smallerthansohrinusand bothhavelittleornocoloronthedorsum ofsegment9.

In the collection ofCornell University are three males and one female from Seattle, Washington, collected

by

R. Osburn,^ which are labeled confraternus. These agree with

my

sohrinus specimens fromCalifornia indetail,havingthelarger size of sohrinus,thedouble humeral stripe, the large spot on the

dorsum

of segment 9, the lateralspoton 9 reaching to the lateral inferior angle of the seg-

1Osbum,R., Ent.News,vol.16,1905,p. 189.