The text below is grayed out because it is not intended to be read. It is a necessarily imperfect OCR of the original and is only used by a search engine.
82
Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society
leaves), S. liparops strigosum (somewhat worn) and Harkenclerms titus Fabricius (fresh) (the latter two on Butterfly Weed), a single female of S. acadica Edwards (on milkweed), along with Chlosyne nycteis (fresh), Polites peckius Kirby and Pompeius nerna (both fresh), Lethe portlandia (fresh) and Thorybes pylades (very worn).
These several records of Ontario permit some generalizations on habitat and flight period that may be of help to others in searching for it. Proximity to a forest, preferably low and rather open, of hard pine (Pinus virginiana is probably the species most often involved) and oak (Quercus ilicifolia presumably one of them) is a common factor for most of the records. So, too, is a nearby open meadow, or other suitable open area, where Dogbane grows. Dogbane seems to be by far the most favored food flower, although single captures in Green Ridge and in Pennsylvania indicate that other flowers may occasionally be visited. Dr. C. F. dos Passos informs me that Dogbane is the favored food flower of Ontario in New Jersey, and Professor Ernest M. Shull makes the same observation for northern Indiana.
In view of the condition of the specimens and their dates of capture I would estimate that normally the flight period of Ontario in the Virginia-Pennsylvania region begins on the 10th to 15th of June (possibly a little earlier) and lasts no more than about 20 days, an exceptionally short flight period for a butterfly. The 15th-20th of June seems to be about the optimum time for seeking it in reasonable numbers and in good condition. It appears just about when Hesperia sassacus is ending its flight, perhaps about 10 days after Thorybes pylades has begun to fly, and just before the appearance of Speyeria eybele, Satyrium falacer, S. liparops and Lethe portlandia.
E. Ontario is always uncommon, and usually rare. Perched on Dogbane flowers it is usually not reliably distinguishable from falacer or liparops which occur with it. In the Green Ridge area I searched approximately 15 moderate to large-sized stands of Dogbane and found Ontario in only three. In its daily behavior it may resemble falacer in making use of the forest for roosting at night, and perhaps for mating, but feeding much of the day at flowers usually in nearby fields or other open areas.
The records discussed above may be summarized as follows:
Virginia: Alleghany Co.: 4 mi E of Clifton Forge, on Va. 42 about J/2 mi N of jet. with US 60; 14.vi.1968, 3^29 (H. Clench).
Maryland: Allegany Co.: Green Ridge State Forest, 6 mi E of Flintstone, 20.vi. 1970 (H. Clench): (a) "Boy Scout Meadow" on Fifteen-Mile Creek Rd. about 1.5 mi N of US 40, 1 $ 19; (b) Sugar Bottom Road, ca. 1 mi S of US 40, 1 9 ; (c) White Sulphur Community Pond, ca. 2 mi S of US 40, 19-
Pennsylvania: Allegheny Co.: Murdocksville, ca. 3 mi WNW of Clinton, about at common point of Allegheny, Beaver and Washington Cos., 28.vi. 1970, 1$ (John Bauer).
Harry K. Clench, Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, Penna.
SHAPIRO COLLECTION AT CORNELL
The Arthur M. Shapiro collection of about 13,000 mounted and determined Rhopalocera has been placed in the Department of Entomology and Limnology at Cornell University. It includes 9436 specimens (108 species) from upstate New York and Pennsylvania, of which highlights include long series of all the northeastern Lethe (including the newly recognized species, L. appalachia), Limenitis arthemis/ astyanax intergrades, representatives of the newly discovered Lycaeides melissa sam-uelis population from western New York, the unique McLean Bog, N. Y. population of
Volume 25, Number 1
83
Poanes massasoit, and such little-known skippers as Euphyes dion and himacula, Poanes viator, and Hesperia leonardus and metea. Shorter series of special interest are Coenonympha tullia heinemani, a unique eastern Adirondack Cercyonis, Erora laeta, Incisalia spp., and Colias interior from Pennsylvania and Tug Hill, N. Y. Singletons include a hybrid of Limenitis arthemis and archippus and a gynandromorph of Pieris rapae, both taken wild in Tompkins Co., N. Y.
The British series includes 1393 specimens (24 species), of which 558 are of the very strange Pieris napi-group taxon from northern Scotland (about 20 localities). There are far-northern Scottish Lycaena phlaeas, Polyommatus icarus, and Coenonympha pamphilus, and a bred gynandromorph of English P. napi. Thymelicus lineola is represented by examples from both countries, including 116 documenting the spread of this introduced species through central New York since 1968.
Among 1026 butterflies in miscellaneous series are over 200 of a Colias philodice-eurytheme hybrid swarm in southeastern Arizona, various mutants of the eastern Colias, and a series of Lycaenopsis pseudargiolus from the New lersey pine barrens including extreme lucia. Finally, there are 1111 bred Pieridae illustrating genetic and environmental experiments on color and pattern regulation.
L. L. Pechuman, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.
SPECIMENS DAMAGED BY CARPENTER ANTS
Even the unseasoned collector is aware of the necessity for protecting specimens in storage or cabinet with paradichlorobenzene or naphthalene, to guard against dermestid infestation. In any closed container, these substances repel all injurious pests. When used in a drying cabinet, specimens on setting boards can also be protected.
When setting boards are not enclosed, however, specimens may be subject to one uncommon pest, the Carpenter Ant, Camponotus pennsylvaniens. On one occasion I found my boards swarming with workers of pennsylvanicus, and the abdomens of several specimens had been eaten. The setting board grooves were stained yellow beneath the specimens with what may have been a formic acid solution, secreted by the ants to soften the abdomen tissues while feeding.
Since dermestid damage is a slow process, there is little danger of destruction during the relatively short time specimens are on the setting boards. Damage from C. pennsylvanicus, however, can occur in only minutes. To prevent its recurrence, I treated the edges of all setting boards with a commercial insecticide having strong residual properties. No further ant damage has been noted since this precaution was taken.
J. B. Wood, 140 Pines Drive, Henderson, Kentucky.
IRWIN COLLECTION TO ILLINOIS NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY
The writer of this note has donated the bulk of his collection to the Illinois Natural History Survey, Urbana, Illinois. It consists of approximately 3,800 pinned specimens of mostly North American butterflies, with emphasis on the Illinois fauna. A number of species contained in the collection were not previously represented in