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1957
The Lepidopterists' News
99
viduals, difficult. For example, the left clasper is very much aborted, and this condition is apparently counter-balanced by a lateral extension of the left side of the tegumen. This peculiar asymmetry is not present in Recurvaria nanella Hbn., the type species. Furthermore, the larva of nanella makes, at first, a digitate mine in the upper surfaces of leaves of apple and hawthorn in early autumn, hibernates during the winter, and bores into the buds in the early spring. The needle miners mine throughout the larval period, moving from one needle to another under the cover of a small silken tube. These differences strongly suggest that the needle miners are not congeneric with nanella.
Another species, R. alnifructella Bsk., feeds in the male catkins of alder, Alnus spp. The feeding of the larva, as the catkin develops, causes the catkin to bend rather sharply near the apex, or to curve gradually and assume a hooklike appearance. We are attempting to rear this species at the present time, and it is possible that the larvae leave the catkins in late fall and hibernate or pupate in the soil. If this is the case, they may require flooding or very wet soil in the spring, because, as a rule, the stream beds in low land where alder grows, are flooded for a considerable period each spring.
As previously mentioned, problems of this sort are common in many groups of leaf-mining Lepidoptera. It is probable that well over 25 per cent of the North American species remains to be discovered and described. This huge task will require many workers. Each of us can assist by rearing adults from mines that may be found in the garden, vacant lot, park, or woodland. It is advisable to make careful and complete records of the type of mine, food plant, and larval habits, because some part of the behavior is the most certain criterion for the recognition of any species.
T. N. Freeman,
Insect Systematics and Biological Control Unit, Entomology Division, Canada Department of Agriculture, Ottawa, Ont., CANADA
EARLY STAGES OF EUTACHYPTERA PSIDll (LASIOCAMPID^), A RARE MOTH FROM SOUTHERN ARIZONA
by John Adams Comstock
In midsummer of 1956 the Division of Entomology of the Los Angeles County Museum organized a field trip in which the writer was included. One of our objectives was to make collections of Lepidoptera and obtain life history material in high elevations of the Chiricahua Mountains of southern Arizona before the advent of the summer rains.
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COMSTOCK: Eutachyptera psidii Vol.11: nos.4-5
Our camp was established in Pinery Canyon, Cochise County, at an elevation of 7200 feet. The site proved unusually profitable. One of the many items obtained is herein recorded.
On the night of July 4 a gravid female of Eutachyptera psidii (Salle) came to light, and was placed in a rearing cage along with leaves and twigs.
On July 5 oviposition began in a somewhat unexpected manner. Each egg was laid at random and dropped to the floor of the cage without adhering to any contacted surface. There was apparently no adhesive substance on the surface of the eggs, and all rolled about loosely on the floor of the cage. A total of 13 eggs was deposited. All the eggs hatched on July 23.
The young larvae were offered Alligator-bark Juniper, Douglas Fir, Ponderosa Pine, Choke-cherry, Eriogonum sp., and four species of oak (Quer-cus arizonica, Q. gambeli, Q. reticulata and Q. hypoleucoides). They chose one of the live-oaks. Feeding occurred only at night. Throughout the day they remained quiescent in a compact group, under litter on the floor of the rearing cage. In this stage they resembled superficially the first instar larva of Gloveria arizonensis Packard, which we described and figured in 1930 (Bull. So. Calif. Acad. Sci. 29: 26-29, pl.10).
After the second instar there was great disparity in the rate of growth and schedule of ecdyses of the several individuals. The gregarious habit of gathering in a bunch during the day and the irritating properties of the short spiculiferous hairs did not conduce to handling, or careful head measurements. These spicules, measuring from 1 to 1.5 mm. are sharper than needles, and are capable of producing a severe dermatitis in susceptible persons. We therefore refrained from further disturbing of the larvae, except for feeding, until December 29, at which time a few examples had reached their last instar, and a description was prepared.
Most of the larvae had ceased feeding by January 2, 1957, and two had started to weave their loosely constructed cocoons, into which were incorporated dead leaves and ground debris. In nature the larvae may travel some distance before pupating, as does G. arizonensis, but in captivity there was no opportunity for dispersal. By January 28, 1957, all of the eight surviving larvae had pupated. Descriptions of early stages follow. Preserved mature larvae have been deposited in the collection at Yale University.
EGG: oval; length 2.3 mm.; width 1.8 mm. In appearance the egg resembles a miniature water-melon, as will be noted in figure A. The ground color is light olive, on which are superimposed numerous irregular longitudinal streaks of dark olive-green and greenish brown. These streaks are partly composed of fused blotches. They are widest and confluent at the micropylar end, and tend toward obsolescence at the base. The small round micropyle is dark, and a circlet of light olive surrounds it. The surface texture of the egg is finely granular.
LARVA: FIRST INSTAR: Length, 7 mm. Head—width approximately 1.3 mm.; velvety black; Antennae black with brown tips.
The first segment is of about the same width as the head, but appears larger owing to the presence of two large tubercles on each side (the lowermost extending forward from the second segment) and four smaller tubercles, placed dorsally. These tubercles bear many long mixed black and white hairs which arch forward and mask the face. The second and the fourth to ninth are of about equal width.
A very narrow middorsal longitudinal black stripe runs from the fourth segment to the cauda. Lateral to and paralleling this is a row of large black tubercles, each of
1957 The Lepidopterists' News 101
D C E
, ■,:;:';.;* ^':-- -\; ... " T'^f.....
Stages of Eutachyptera psidii
Fig. A. Egg, enlarged about X2. Fig. B. Front view of head of mature larva, also showing paired tubercles on first and second cervical segments, enlarged X3. Figs. C, D, E. Pupa, enlarged Xl.5, C ventral, D lateral, E dorsal (D and E are segmental maps). Reproduced from drawings by the author.
which bears a tuft of long mixed black and white hairs, ^he black being longest. Lateral and slightly caudal to each of these is a smaller orange tubercle bearing a few short hairs. Stigmatally there is another row of large black tubercles, each of which bears a tuft of downward-curving long white hairs. The abdominal surface is predominantly gray, with an indefinite darker spot in the center of each segment. The legs are dark gray, with brown terminal segments, and the four pair of prolegs and anal prolegs are translucent. The crochets are dark brown. The heavy vestiture of hairs obscures the spiracles.
SECOND INSTAR: Length 11 mm. Head—width 2 mm.; dark gray, with two vertical light gray bars, one on each side of the median suture, extending from the
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COMSTOCK: Eutachyptera psidii Vol.11: nos.4-5
crown to the edges of the adfrontal sutures; antennas with middle segment yellow and distal segment orange; clypeus light yellow; mandibles brownish black.
There is a raised collar on the first segment, topped by a transverse row of tubercles bearing long black and white hairs. The largest and longest of these tubercles is in line with the spiracles, and inclines anteriorly. A wide longitudinal black band runs middorsally. This is sprinkled sparingly with gray dots. It is broken at each segmental juncture by a transverse orange line. The wide band is bordered laterally by a white stripe which is discontinuous on the segmental lines, and more conspicuous from the fourth to sixth segments. The area below this is streaked with black and orange on the first to third segments, predominantly white on the fourth to sixth, and mottled gray from the seventh segment to the cauda. There are several longitudinal rows of black tubercles, each bearing a tuft of long hairs. The tubercles of the dorsal areas are predominantly topped with black hairs, whereas those of the lateral areas bear chiefly white hairs. The heavy hirsute covering of the larva makes it difficult to map and describe accurately the pattern and marking of the body surface. The legs and prolegs are yellow.
FINAL INSTAR: Length 78 mm.; greatest width 12 mm. Head—width 7 mm.; basically a light yellow-tan, thickly covered with raised dark brown dots, and much obscured by a dense covering of yellow-brown hairs; the brown dots tend to arrangement in longitudinal lines, giving a slightly striped and mottled appearance, particularly on the upper half of the face. The adfrontal sutures are conspicuously soiled yellow, as is also the medial suture. The front is mottled brown, and the rugose clypeus dull olive green. The mandibles are dull yellow-brown, edged with black. The ocelli are dark brown. The two long tubercles extending forward from the first and second cervical segments lie in such close proximity to the side of the head that, when viewed from the front, they appear to rise from the cheeks. They are topped by rosettes of long hairs which commingle with those of the face. We have included these in our illustration of the frontal aspect of the head, figure B. Other characteristic features of the head are shown in the cut.
The body is uniform in width from the first to ninth segments, thence narrowing slightly to the cauda. The ground color is mottled black except for narrow transverse areas bordering the sutures, and certain areas about the tubercles which are speckled gray with black dots arranged more or less in longitudinal lines. The black areas are probably due to concentration of the black dots.
The larva is thickly invested with short black spiculiferous hairs, most heavily concentrated in transverse bands and along the rows of tubercles. The most conspicuous of these rows of tubercles is subspiracular, one inferior to each spiracle. In addition to the short spiculiferous hairs there are numerous long black hairs. There is also a brushy patch of long yellowish hairs, placed middorsally between the second and third segments and a sprinkling of the same along the subspiracular margins. The abdominal surface is dull mottled brown. The spiracles are burnt orange, circled with black. Legs black. Prolegs mottled dark brown. Crochets black.
PUPA: S length 32 mm., greatest width 11 mm. 9 length 36 mm., greatest width 12.5 mm. The pupa is robust, with a rounded cephalic end and caudal extremity. It is widest through the anterior half, thence tapering gradually to the rounded cre-master. The color is brownish black over the thoracic portions and wings; chestnut on the dorso-abdominal segments, and shading to dark brown on the ventral surface.
The surface texture is finely granulate over the thorax and wings, and minutely punctate on the abdominal segments. The eyes are moderately prominent and slightly elevated. The short maxillae (5 mm. in length) are broad at the base and taper sharply to the tips. The antennae terminate 4 mm. short of the wing margins in the male pupa, those of the female being noticeably narrower and shorter. All of the abdominal segments are thinly covered with fine light brown hairs. These also extend over the cremaster. There are two thick tufts of longer hairs on the crown of the head. The pupa is illustrated in figures C, D, and E.
P.O. Box 158, Del Mar, Calif., U. S. A.