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1956
The Lepidopterists' Neivs
45
VARIATION IN THE POLYPHEMUS MOTH (SATURNIID^E)
One female Anthercea {—Telea) polyphemus (Hiibner), which emerged from a cocoon on 5 May 1954, showed interesting deviations from the normal markings and coloration of the underside of its wings. The underside of this moth is shown in the accompanying figure, to the left (A); a normal specimen appears alongside it to the right
(B).
Fore Wing: The most striking difference in A is the appearance of a white box surrounding the eye-spot on each of the fore wings. This box is bounded on two sides by the veins Mi and M3; the other two sides are tangent to the eye-spot itself. The box is perfectly symmetrical on both wings. The color of the box is a whitish brown with a dark brown outline which separates it from the rest of the wing. The brown diagonal band, that runs from the point where udc intersects Sc to the point where Ma and Cui intersect Cu2, is black on specimen A. This band on A is bounded on the postbasal side by a rich reddish brown band, and on the other side by a large area of the same brown which extends from the main band to the box around the eye-spot. This appears in A as a darker area between the diagonal band and the box that surrounds the eye-spot. In the apical area of the wing of the normal moth B there are two black spots between Ra and R4. These spots are arranged one below the other separated by R3 with the upper spot lying between veins R2 and R3 and the lower spot being just below R3. In the aberrant female the only spot that appears is the upper one between veins R2 and Ra. The lower spot is so much reduced as to be negligible. In the submarginal area of B there is a gray band that runs from R4 through Mi, M2, and terminates at M3. In the aberrant moth this band starts at Mi and terminates at M:«. The general allover coloring of A is darker and richer than B or any normal moth with which it was compared.
Hind Wing: In moth B there is a bridge which starts on the vein M,, just tangent to the eye-spot and continues along udc until it reaches the point where udc meets Rr,. Here it blends into the light area that extends from the base of the wing reaching from Sc to 3dA. Along the bottom of the eye-spot there is a second but almost invisible bridge from M3. This bridge continues as a faint line that bypasses Cut and Cu;: and then blends into the light area. These two bridges as described above are of the normal moth. After a comparison of A to B it was found that in A the upper bridge was extremely wide and has an offshoot which continues along Rr,. This is entirely absent in B. In moth B this bridge is no more than a faint line about one thirty-second of an inch in width; in A it is one-eighth of an inch. As mentioned above, the lower bridge in B is almost non-existant while in A it is clearly visible (see the figure). The overall coloring of moth B is a light brownish white with a deep brown between the two bridges, the deep brown extending from the upper bridge to the vein 2dA. In moth A these colors are darker and the dark brown is replaced by a reddish brown. In moth A there is a purple band running through 2dA to Sc which skirts the margin of the hind wing. Although there is a similar band in moth B, it is not purple but gray and therefore shows up in the photographs lighter than that of moth A.
46
FIELD NOTES
Vol.10: nos.1-2
One difference was noticed in the antennae. In moth A they are blond; in B they are brown, as in ail other moths in my collection.
Moth A was checked with all specimens in the collection of The American Museum of Natural History. We found after careful comparison that there were no specimens with similar variations in the markings and coloration of the wings.
MELVIN GOLIGER, 369 Alabama Ave., Brooklyn 7, N. Y., U. S. A.
HEMILEUCA MAI A IN OHIO IN 1955 (SATURNIID^E)
A heavy flight of Buck Moths, Hemileuca maia Dru., took place in Ohio in 1955. On October 23, at Fort Hill State Memorial, Highland County, my brother, JOHN S. TllOMAS, and I noticed exceptional numbers of the moths. My niece and nephews, Virginia, John N. and David Thomas, captured 15 specimens in about 30 minutes' time. All were in fresh condition. Incidentally, agile young people are much more effective in capturing these swift-flying insects than middle-aged naturalists!
On the same day, Mr. Conrad Roth, Portsmouth, reported that Shawnee State Forest in Scioto County was "full of them" and that many seemed to be just emerging. He sent two specimens to the Museum, both teneral.
Mr. ARTHUR R. Harper, of Columbus, tells me that he saw "hundreds" of Buck Moths in Adams County at Blue Creek and at Lynx, over a period extending from some time prior to October 15 until November 11. Prof. J. N. Knull, curator of insect collections, Ohio State University, observed many individuals in southern Hocking County on October 20.
In my experience, Buck Moths have been found flying on sunny days, mostly during the middle hours of the day. Mr. ROTH, however, states that on November 10, a dark, cloudy day, he found them "flying every where" early in the morning and on November 13 he saw "a good many" flying after sunset. The temperatures on November 10 were below normal, but November 13 was an exceptionally warm day: at Columbus the thermometer attained a maximum of 74 degrees Fahrenheit, equalling the all-time record for so late in the season.
Edward S. Thomas, Curator of Natural History, Ohio State Museum,
Columbus, Ohio, U. S. A.
EUPHYDRAS PHAETON IN SOUTHERN INDIANA
A number of larva:-' of the Baltimore (Tut?-' ydryas phaeton Drury) were found May 8, 1955, crawling on the ground and on small maples along a hillside in Brown County State Park, Indiana. On May 14, further search turned up more larvae, some of which were apparently feeding on already badly chewed plants of Chelone glabra. The characteristic webs made by the caterpillars were also noted. The larvae readily ate Chelone when presented to them in captivity, and some had pupated by May 19. BLATCHLEY (17th Ann. Kept. Indiana Dept. Geol. and Nat. Res., 1892) records phaeton as uncommon in Decatur, Vanderburgh, Vigo, and Monroe counties, and it probably occurs in local colonies throughout Indiana.
A dry, west-facing hillside seems far from the bog or marshy meadow habitat usually ascribed to this species. The humidity on the slope is doubtless influenced by an adjacent artificial lake, but the presence of the preferred foodplant is probably more important than the physical conditions. A study of the reported foodplants from the viewpoint of their biochemical affinities would be interesting.
FRANK N. YOUNG, Dept. of Zoology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind., U. S. A.