Notes on Brachynemuri of the <I>B. ferox</I> group

173 shown

_somethingof the

same

_tendencyin hisfirstpaper.

The

next

few

_yearswill certainly

show marked

advances inour

knowledge

of the Tineids.

This review indicates that

we

need certain

work

in the

im

mediate future.

A _monograph

of theButterflieswithpracticable sypnotictables, critically revisingboth genera

and

_species;

com

prehensive

work on

the larvae of the Sphingidas ^{; studies}

on

the larvae of the Noctuidse^to

supplement

Dr. Smith's

work on

the adults,

which

should be continued; a review of Dr. Hulst's

work on

theGeometridae,

which might most

profitably take the

form

ofa

monograph,

givingpracticable sypnotic^{tables to} spe cies to supplement Dr. Hulst's generic ones; determinative tables forTortricidse, both _generic

and

_specific. Dr. Fernald ought ^notto delay the preparation ofsuch abadly neededpaper^; continued descriptions of

new

_species of Tineids to

make

the extent ofour fauna

known

to us.

We _hope

^to see these subjects

soon taken _up. ,

At

the conclusion thesociety offered Dr.

Dyar

^{a vote ofthanks}

for hisaddress.

The

address

was

discussed

by

^Messrs.

Schwarz,

Banks, ^Gill

and

Marlatt.

Mr. Banks

then presented the following paper^:

NOTES ON BRACHYNEMURI OF THE

^B.

FEROX GROUP.

(PLATE

III.)

By NATHAN BANKS.

In

examining some

recent additions to

my

^{collection of}

Myr-

meleonidae, ^I

was

struck

more

_forcibly thanever before with the constancy ^{in size} and shape ^{of the}

male

appendages. Various species are

now known

to

me

fromaconsiderable

number

oflocali ties, yet there ^is no distinct variation in the general appearance of these appendages. Therefore it seems that they are ofcon siderableimportanceⁱⁿthe separation ofspecies. In the

B.

_ferox

group

^{I have}

had

variousspecimensthat differed

from

the

known

forms very slightly in colorational points but prominently ^{in the} appendages^{; thereforeI} believe these formsare distinct species.

174 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY

;

Two

are

from

the United _States,a third is

from

_BajaCalifornia,

and was

formerly considered ^JB. peregrinus, but^is very ^distinct from that species.

The

_following table willseparate these ^allied forms:

1. Superior appendages very long and ^slender,more than one-half the

length of ^lastabdominal segment ²

Superior appendages

much

shorter, scarcely^as long ^{orshorter than}

one-half thelastabdominal segment 4

2. Superiorappendages ^as long ^{as last} abdominal segment,yellowish, apicalabdominal segments withoutpalemarks B. carrizonus.

Superiorappendages^shorterthan thesegment,^{oftenblackish} 3 3. Superiorappendagesplainly shorter than ^lastabdominal segment; api

calabdominal segments without pale marks B. assimilis.

Superiorappendagesnearly^aslong^assegment,^black,abdomen_spotted

with _palethroughout ^B.dtsstmtlis.

4. Cubitus_heavilymarkedwith black;pronotalstripesconnectedⁱⁿfront;

femorablackabove; _superiorappendages^black B._ferox.

Cubitusnot heavilymarked with black; thoracicstripesnotconnected

in front; smaller_{species 5}

5. Femorathickly dottedwith black; superiorappendages blackish; ver

texnotwith four dots B. texanus.

Femora_whollypale; superiorappendagesyellowish^; vertexwith four

black dots B.4-punctatns.

Brachynemurus

^assimilis, n. sp.

Faceyellow,^a transverse black spot from _eyeto eye, including bases of antennae, andlimited above by ^acurvedblack band, the lower margin pointed ⁱⁿthe middle;^vertex pale,with abrownband, interrupted ⁱⁿ the middle andnotreaching^theeyes. Prothorax yellowish, with four black stripes at subequal distances apartand allreaching^anterior margin, ^the pair each side sometimes connected in front; lower margin with ^black stripe. Palpi tipped with black; antennae brown,_{quite long.} Rest of thoraxlineateand maculatewith_black,two _stripeson meso- andmetascu- tellum. Legs pale,moreorlessheavily spotted withblack, the_tipsof the tibiaeand tarsiblack.

Abdomen

pale at base, lineate with _black, beyond middle black. Wings hyaline, venation interrupted black and _white;

pterostigma pale, with a basal brown spot; the cubitus _quite heavily markedwith brown (but not so

much

as in B._ferox}.

The

abdomen of themale is very long, longer than ^{in allied} species, the superior appen dages very longandslender, about as long ^{as in} B. carrizonus, but the lastabdominal segment^is very

much

_longerthanthe appendages.

Length rj

1

,57

mm.

; 9^> 34

mm.

Four

specimens from

Tehama,

California,

August

(Morse),

and

from Oregon. Closely^{allied to}

B.

carrizonus, but ^differs

by

the greater length of the

male abdomen,

^{and also}

by

^theshape of the inter-antennal

mark, which

^{is not} plainly transversely divided above_antennae,

and

^is _pointed

on

the

median

line below.

Brachynemurus carrizonus Hagen.

All

my

specimens(15) havethe

appendages

^as

Hagen

^describes them, about ^as long ^{asthe last}

abdominal

_segment.

The

inter- antennal

mark

is transversely dividedabovethe antenna?,

and

the lower

margin

^{is not} pointed

on median

line.

Brachynemurus

^ferox

^Walker.

JB'.

peregrinus Hagen.

I have

compared

the descriptions of

Walker and Hagen

^with specimens

from

California, Oregon,

Washington, Nevada, and

Arizona,

and

think there cannot be the _slightest doubtof the

synonymy.

Brachynemurus

dissimilis, ^n. sp.

Facepale yellow,^atransverse black spotfrom_eyetoeyeextendingmore belowantennal basesthanin B. assimilisorB. carrizoriia;, abovecutoff by^a paleband from thecurved blackbandon frontmargin^{of vertex; lat}

ter with adotand lineeachside; palpi tipped with black; antennae long, brown; prothorax^{with fourblack}stripesand sidemarginsblack,notcon nected in front; restofthorax markedwith black, two _stripeson meso- and metascutellum. Legs pale, lightly dottedwith black, and the tibise

and tarsiblack-tipped; legs moreslender than inalliedforms.

Abdomen

pale at base, lineate with black, beyond middle ^black,butwitha distinct yellowspot on _posterior margin ^ofeach segment on each ^{side in} both sexes. Wings marked^{asinalliedforms, thecubital}marksnot very heavy.

Abdomen

_{long and} slender, the last segment, however, ^notas long^{as in} B._asstmtlts, the superiorappendages long and slender, black,and curved towardeach other, plainly^alittle shorter than lastabdominal segment.

Length, r^,39

mm.

; 9^>25

mm.

Habitat,

San

_Jose del

Cabo,

_Baja California. This is the species ^{that I} had _previously considered

B. _peregrimis

in

my

paper

on

the Neuroptera^ofBaja California.

Brachynemurus texanus,

^n. sp.

Face _yellowish, a transverse inter-antennal mark, concave on lower margin, separatedby^ayellow band from ^theblack bandon frontmargin of vertex; the ^latterwitha triangularmarkeach side; palpitipped with black; antennae palebrown. Prothoraxwith four black lines, somewhat brokenin male;^restofthoraxmaculate withbrown, twostripeson meso- and metascutellum; legs heavily dotted withblack,^tibiae andtarsi tipped withsame. Wings marked^asin allied species.

Abdomen

_pale at base, lineatewithblack, blackbeyond middle, but with pale spots on _{the pos-}

176 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY

teriormargin ^ofsomeof thesegments. Lastabdominal segment^ofmale quite long; the superiorappendages short, divaricate,black, not half the length of thesegment.

Length,^, 33

mm.

; 9^, 25

mm.

One

_pair

from

Laredo, Texas,

August (McClendon).

Brachynemurus 4-punctatus

^Currie.

This _species is very ^{constant in} markings, ^as

Mr.

Currie has already noted^; however, ^I think ^it is closely allied ^to the other species

by

the structure

and

_{general plan} ofmarkings.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE

III.

1.

Brachynemurus

assimilis, inter-antennal

mark _and

_superior

appendage

^{of male.}

2.

Brachynemurus

carrizonus, inter-antennal

mark

and su perior

appendage

^ofmale.

3.

Brachynemurus

dissimilis, inter-antennal

mark and

su perior

appendage

^ofmale.

4.

Brachynemurus

ferox, pronotal

marks

and _superior ap

pendage

^{of male.}

5.

Brachynemurus

^{texan?ts, pronotal marks.}

6.

Brachynemurus

^texanus, superior

appendage

^"ofmale.

7.

Brachynemurus

4-punctatus, superior

appendage

^ofmale.

The

_paper

was

discussed _briefly

by Mr.

Currie.

He men

tioned the fact that

many

species

which

differ widely ^{in other} respects oftenhave very similar anal

appendages

and,vice versa, there are

some

_species

which

resemble each other very closely except ^asregards the appendages.

He

said that, according ^to his

own

observations, there ^is considerable individual _variation, in

some

_species,bothinthe length

and

_shapeof the inter-antennal marking.

Mr. Banks

_replied that,

though

^{there is}

some

varia tion in length, he has found the shape fairly constant in the species he has studied.

The

_paper

was

further discussed

by

Messrs.

Schwarz and

Gill.

FEBRUARY

_{19, 1903.}

The

175th regular meeting

was

held at the residence of

Mr.

John

^{D. Patten, 2212}

R

^street

N.W.

^In the absence of the

OF WASHINGTON,

PLATE

III.