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1962
Journal of the Lepidopterists* Society
61
LARVAL NOTES ON CHLOSYNE LACINIA AND C. CALIFORNICA
On 3 Sept. 1961 a few larvae of Chlosyne lacinia Geyer were found among a larval colony of Chlosyne californica Wright, apparently at home in this communal association. The few orange caterpillars of lacinia were conspicuous among the dark californica larvae.
At the time, colonies of C. californica in various instars were plentiful on Desert Sunflower, Viguiera deltoidea var. parishii in Sentenac Canyon on Highway 78, ten miles northeast of Julian, San Diego County, California. However, these few lacinia caterpillars were found only in one gregarious assemblage of perhaps a hundred fourth instar californica larvae. The butterflies were reared out by William Hedges; hence identification is confirmed.
Chlosyne lacinia is not common in San Diego County although conditions appear quite favorable for it in Borrego Valley. Normally the caterpillars prefer Helianthus annuus, and can be found in large quantities in the fall in Imperial Valley on roadside patches of sunflowers. This record on Viguiera deltoidea probably represents a new host plant record.
Chlosyne californica on the other hand is one of the dominant species of the desert canyons of this area whenever rainfall is favorable, and the butterflies appear in large numbers at times. The caterpillars accommodate readily to Helianthus annuus in captivity but I have never observed them on anything but Desert Sunflower in nature.
Fred Thorne, 1360 Merritt Dr., El Cajon, Calif., U. S. A.
TWO NEW FOODPLANTS OF SOUTHWESTERN SATURNIID^
The hosts of Agapema galhina anona Ottol. and atheroma splendens Druce were discovered September 1 and 2, 1961, in Brown's Canyon of the Baboquivari Mountains of Pima Co., Arizona. While making a detailed search for Rothschildia jorulla cinctus Tepper, I quite accidentally came upon a cluster of cocoons of A. galhina anona. The host is a species of Lycium, which is a very thorny, sparsely-leaved shrub. Previously 1 had spent considerable time trying to locate the moth in its known areas of occurence in the Santa Rita and Santa Catalina mountains without success. Once the precise foodplant was determined I was able to find the cocoons in considerable numbers.
62
FIELD NOTES
Vol.16: no.l
The cocoons are spun in a cluster towards the center of the shrub, being completely surrounded by dense thorns. This affords excellent protection from birds and rodents. The clusters frequently contain more than a dozen cocoons. The gregarious larvae must sometimes completely defoliate the host. I collected cocoons along the canyon's slopes, which are hotter and drier than the canyon's floor, where the cocoons can also be found. The adults fly in November and early December and are usually taken at "black light". Lycium, where found, is common, but it does not seem to be as widespread as are other common plants of the area. Lycium grows in association with various cacti, agave, acacia, mesquite and ocotillo, but it is frequently missing from habitats containing these plants.
A mature larva of atheroma splendens was taken on wild cotton, Gossypium thurberi. This plant grows along canyon streams and in other moist situations. This striking larva had evidently completed its full growth on the plant. It pupated in mid-September. C. splendens is also reported to feed on walnut trees which grow throughout the mountain ranges. The species flies in July.
Robert D. Weast, 4818 Seneca St., Des Moines 10, Iowa, U. S. A.
ADOPCEA LINEOLA (HESPERIIDAE) NOW ALSO IN NORTHERN ONTARIO
On July 9, 1960, the author observed on a roadside near Sudbury, Ont. (Richard Lake), a skipper which looked to him like Adopcea lineola. It was, however, then not possible to secure the specimen. On July 16, 1961, the first specimen of Adopcea lineola was quite accidentally caught about 300 yards away from the spot of the 1960 occurrence by John Denchuck, a Sudbury High School student interested in Lepidoptera and accompanying the author on a field trip. This brought the indisputable proof that this little skipper is extending its range now into northern Ontario. On July 17, 1961, the author took a second specimen and this at the spot where the species was observed a year ago. It certainly will be interesting to see at which rate Adopcea lineola, which is now still quite rare, will increase in coming years.
The specimens are in the collection of the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
J. C. E. Riotte, 278 Bathurst St., Toronto 2-B, Ont., CANADA