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54

Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society

your material are assured. Beware of institutions where "perpetual care" is uncertain.

There are certainly other helpful ideas to aid you in evaluating and utilizing your collection for more than the mere pleasure it gives you in making it. With foresight, careful planning, and proper care you can be assured that your collection will be studied and enjoyed long into the future, and that you have made a real contribution to our growing knowledge of Lepidoptera.

THE IMMATURE STAGES OF SCOPULA ANCELLATA (HULST)

(GEOMETRIDAE)

W. C. McGuffin

Forestry Branch, Canada Department of Fisheries and Forestry, Ottawa, Ontario

While working in the Hedley, British Columbia, area in 1967 I collected several adults of Scopula ancellata (Hulst) between July 4 and 12. One of these moths laid 112 eggs. As in other species of Scopula (McGuffin 1967) the eggs were laid loosely on the floor of the cage or on pieces of dead grass scattered over the floor of the cage. After eight to 10 days the eggs hatched. The first-instar larvae accepted the foliage of white sweet clover, Melilotus alba Desr., Chinese elm, Ulmus pumila L., and mountain alder, Alnus tenuifolia Nutt. Some of the larvae completed development and pupated in about 40 days. From these pupae, six males and two females emerged September 4 to 17, 1967. The great majority of the larvae however, ceased feeding towards the end of the summer. They were buried in glass containers in the soil on September 30, 1967, and dug up on May 12, 1968. Most of the larvae were dead when examined but a few survived. From these a male and a female emerged June 27, 1968.

Descriptions of Immature Stages

Egg: Longer than wide, with longitudinal ridges and cross striae. Whitish to light brown when first laid, later with red spots. Length, 0.75-0.80 mm; width, 0.34-0.50 mm.

Larva: First instar. Length, 3-4 mm; width, 0.2-0.4 mm. Head: Width, 0.28-0.34 mm; brown. At higher magnification (100x) herring-bone pattern evident on parietal lobes. Body light brown, with dark-brown dorsum and venter (Fig. 1). Second instar. Length, 5-8 mm; width, 0.4-0.5 mm. Head: Width, 0.36-0.40 mm; light brown, with fine brown markings in herring-bone pattern on lobes. Body light brown, with dark brown dorsum and venter; small brown patch on A1-A5, inclusive, between setae L2 and SV2. Third instar. Length 9-10 mm; width, 0.5 mm. Head: Width, 0.48-0.50 mm. Colour pattern of head and body as in second

Volume 24, Number 1

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1                                        2

Figs. 1 and 2. Scopula ancellata (Hulst), setal and colour patterns on second abdominal segment of larva. 1, First instar; 2, mature larva.

instar. Fourth instar. Length, 12-18 mm; width, 0.7-1.0 mm. Head: Width, 0.65-0.67 mm. Light grey with brown markings in herring-bone pattern on lobes. Body light grey, with wide dark-grey middorsal stripe and narrow addorsal line on thorax and posterior abdominal segments; these two lines almost fused on anterior abdominal segments to form a solid stripe. Midventral line light grey; sub-ventral region grey. A small brown spot, anterior to seta L3 and between setae L2 and SV2, on each anterior abdominal segment. Thoracic legs light grey; prolegs grey, with a light-grey line along each. Plates concolorous. Fifth instar. Length, 18-22 mm; width, 0.8-1.0 mm. Head: Width, 0.84 mm. Colour pattern of head and body much as in fourth instar. Sixth instar. Length, 19-25 mm; width, about 1.0-1.5 mm. Head: Width, 1.34-1.50 mm. Light brown with brown herring-bone pattern on lobes. Antennae light brown. Body light brown with brown middorsal )ine. Brown spot between setae L2 and SV2 on A1-A5, inclusive. Venter brown, with light brown midventral line (Fig. 2). Legs, prolegs, and plates concolorous. Pupa: Brown, fusiform, much as in Scopula inductata (Guenee) (McGuffin 1967, Fig. 84e, f).

Remarks

The mature larva of S. ancellata can be separated from the larvae of other species of Scopula on the basis of the brown spot on the anterior abdominal segments between setae L2 and SV2. Apparently no other species of Scopula has this spot.

Literature Cited

McGuffin, W. C. 1967. Guide to the Geometridae of Canada (Lepidoptera). Part 1. Subfamily Sterrhinae. Mem. Ent. Soc. Can. No. 50.