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FIELD NOTES
Vol.11: nos.1-3
MEETING ADELPHA ERE DOW II (NYMPH ALID^E) IN OREGON
One of the symptoms of the collector's "disease", at least as regards entomologists, is to poke one's nose into odd corners of the world where one has hitherto not scrambled. Sometimes the enthusiast is searching for some specific insect, but just as often the underlying motive is not as direct, but mainly an indefinable or "come what may" urge. One of these "let's just see" jaunts on July 23, 1956, took us up into the Applegate Valley along the north slope of the Siskiyou Range, in Josephine County, Oregon. Primarily on the lookout for Speyeria, at a spot where O'Brien Creek junctions with the Applegate, at about 3000 feet elevation, we ran into a colony of Adelpha bredoivii californica Butler. I was sure I recognized the insect, but finding it up here, I had to haul out my "Holland" and "Comstock" to verify my hunch.
Our initial meeting with californica was in the afternoon, where we found them basking in the sunlight. Off hand, I do not recollect a single specimen taken on any flower, their main occupation being sipping moisture from the moist spots next to the stream. My wife and I returned to the same location the next morniing; it seems we had to wait into the latter part of the forenoon, probably until the sun again warmed the area. During the two days we captured 60 specimens, most of them in fine condition That we were not dealing with a transitory group is perhaps shown by the fact that one specimen seen the first day, with a big corner of a fore wing missing, was there again on the second day. Over two-thirds of our catch were males. Although we saw one or two "going shopping" along the roadside within a very short distance of the stream site, the "nest" was concentrated in an area no larger than a city block, if that large.
When I returned home, I found no reference to californica having been taken in Oregon, and my specimens appeared a shade smaller and darker than my limited series from California. I was aware that this can be a normal clinal trend, however. I contacted Dr. J. A. Comstock and Lloyd M. Martin about my catch. Martin pointed out that the slightly darker shade might well be due to comparing fresh specimens with others taken some time ago. He mentioned having records that Jean Gunder had taken a series in Oregon years back, and that Kenneth Fender had been reported as having run into a series in the same state.
A. californica being a rather attractive insect, and our finding it where we had hardly expected to encounter it, has made our O'Brien Creek visit just one more of the many pleasant recollections in the life of a couple of "bug hunters."
Arthur II. Moeck, 301 East Armour Ave., Milwaukee 7, Wise, U. S. A.
THE SPECIES OF ETHMIA (ETHMIID/F) KNOWN FROM WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA
The recent capture of three specimens of a species of Ethmia has prompted an examination of the few Pennsylvania specimens of this genus in the Carnegie Museum collection. Since the results of this search include the rectification of an old misdetermination as well as two new records for the state, it was thought worthwhile to publish them.
1. Ethmia macelhosiella Busck. Not previously known from the state. A single specimen is in the museum collection, ex coll. Engel, from Finleyville, Washington County, dated "Oct. 15-21." It agrees very well with the illustrations of Barnes & Busck (Contr. Nat. Hist. hep. N. Amer. 4: 252, pi. 27, figs. 1, 2; 1920).
2. Ethmia longimaculella Cham. There are two specimens in the collection, both from Pittsburgh, dated 25.iii.1911 and 20.vi.1908 (I am inclined to doubt the March date). Both of these are ex coll. Engel and bear the misdetermination uzelleriella" (see Engel, Ann. Carnegie Mus. 5: 127; 1908). They compare very well with the figure
1957
The Lepidopterists' News
45
given by Barnes & Busck (op. cit., fig. 11) of longimaculella, as well as with other specimens in the collection, from Quebec (Montreal).
3. Ethmia zelleriella Cham. On 26. iv. 1957 I took three specimens of this species, 3 miles west of Brownsville, Fayette County. They agree closely with the figure of Barnes & Busck (op. cit., fig. 14) and constitute the first valid record of the species for the state. All three were taken on the trunks of fairly large trees (1 foot in diameter and over) in a very open, sunny, grass-carpeted woods, well pastured; all were taken in the early afternoon. The three taken were about the only ones seen, so the species was apparently not very common. According to Forbes' key (Lepidoptera of New York, part 1: 245 ; 1923) the abdomen of this species should be grey. This seems to be an error, for all three of the present specimens have the abdomen orange with a middorsal central fuscous patch. I am grateful to Dr. J. F. Gates Clarke, of the United States National Museum, for confirming the presence of this trait in the series of zelleriella in that institution (personal communication). Dr. Clarke adds further lhat the National Museum series of the species is from the following states: Illinois, Texas, Wisconsin, Maryland, District of Columbia, and Quebec.
Harry K. Clench, Section of Insects and Spiders, Carnegie Museum,
Pittsburgh 13, Penna., U. S. A.
AN EXPOSITION OF "THE BUTTERFLIES OF ALL THE WORLD" IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA
From 14 November 1955 to 16 January 1956 an exposition of "The Butterflies of All the World" was held in the National Museum in Prague, Czechoslovakia.
More than 800 visitors attended the opening events on 11 November. The majority of these are organized in the "Ceskoslovenska spolecnost entomoligicka" (Czechoslovak Entomological Society). The invitation speech was made by Dr. F. Prantl and Prof. Dr. J. Obenberger. The meeting was saluted also by Prof. G. Ja Bej-Bienko from the Academy of Sciences of UdSSR in Leningrad. The commentaries to the exhibited material were given by Dr. J. Maran and the author.
The exposition was open on the whole of 54 days and shown to 42,288 visitors. This number is a document of the great interest in entomology in Czechoslovakia. During these days a number of foreign visitors were welcomed. The exposition was favored also by the visit of the wife of the U.S. ambassador to Czechoslovakia.
The public became acquainted with the importance of the study of Lepidoptera, with the possibilities of silk-worm breeding in Central Europe, etc. The geographical distribution of some harmful species was shown on maps. The modern Czechoslovak and foreign lepidopterological literature was exposed with the showings of the studies of the members of the Entomological Department of the National Museum in Prague, published in the last 10 years.
In the exposition were demonstrated some thousands of Lepidoptera with special regard to interesting forms, such as geographical, seasonal, and individual variability. All zoogeographical regions were represented by many species. Methods of collecting, preparation, and conservation of butterflies wer also demonstrated.
The exposition was enriched with the original colored pictures by the famous Czech artists Max Svabinsky and L. Ehrlich.
At the present time the collection of Lepidoptera in the National Museum in Prague contains more than one million specimens and is the greatest collection of these insects in Czechoslovakia.
Josef Moucha, Entomological Department of the National Museum, Praha, CZECHOSLOVAKIA