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.
224
Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society
Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 32(3), 1978, 224
A NEW WEEDY HOST FOR THE BUCKEYE, PRECIS COENIA (NYMPHALIDAE)
The Buckeye, Precis coenia Hbn., is an opportunistic, oligophagous species hitherto recorded from several genera of the plant families Verbenaceae, Plantaginaceae, and Scrophulariaceae in North America. In the Sacramento Valley of lowland central California it feeds on two species of Lippia (Verbenaceae) and one of Plantago (Plantaginaceae) (Shapiro 1974, J. Res. Lepid. 13: 120) while in the nearby Vaca Hills it occurs on Diplacus (Scrophulariaceae) and at mid-elevations on the Sierran west slope on Penstemon azureus Benth. (Scrophulariaceae). In the San Francisco Bay area it has been found on garden snapdragons (Antirrhinum), an introduced scroph. On 17 September 1977 an infestation of fifth-instar larvae, probably from a single colonization event, was found on large mats of fluellin, Kickxia spuria (L.) Dumort, growing in cracks in an abandoned roadway at Davis, Yolo Co., California. This Mediterranean scroph is closely related to toadflax (Linaria) and to snapdragon and occurs sporadically in lowland California as a pavement and roadside weed. In captivity the larvae ate leaves, buds, flowers and fruit freely. No recorded hosts of any plant family could be found within 30 m of the infested plants. Adult P. coenia were present.
Fluellin is a prostrate perennial plant with cordate, dull green, pubescent leaves less than 1 cm long. The flowers, which are open mostly in the morning, are snapdragonlike, with a long spur; they are purple and bright yellow and about 1 cm long. The stems, which may be 50 cm long, form tangled mats up to a meter across.
Arthur M. Shapiro, Department of Zoology, University of California, Davis, California 95616.
Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 32(3), 1978, 224
A SECOND LOCALITY FOR EULYTHIS MELLINATA (GEOMETRIDAE) IN NORTH AMERICA
While identifying some Nova Scotian moths for James Edsall of Halifax, a specimen of Eulythis was examined which resembled no species known to occur in the province. A check on the identity of the specimen at the Nova Scotia Museum showed it represents a Palearctic species, Eulythis mellinate F. (South, 1972, The Moths of the British Isles, Warne, London, 379 p.), a new provincial record and the second locality in North America where this moth has been collected. Sheppard (1975, Ann. Entomol. Soc. Quebec 20: 7) recorded this species from Laval, Quebec, under the name associata Borkh.
Eulythis mellinata is a widespread Palearctic species. In Europe and Britain the larvae feed on red and black currant (Ribes rubrum L. & R. nigrum L.). Mr. Sheppard informs me that this species has probably become established on Mountain (Alpine) currant (Ribes alpinum L.) hedges in the vicinity of his home at Laval, Quebec.
The Nova Scotian specimen is a fresh female and was collected on 31 July 1972 at light in Armdale, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Other captures have been recorded in North
Volume 32, Number 3
225
Fig. 1. Eulythis mellinata F. Female from Armdale, Halifax, Nova Scotia. 31 July 1972. J. Edsall. 3.5X.
America at Laval (Isle Jesus), Quebec on 10 July 1967 (1 male), 24 June 1973 (1 female), 1 July 1973 (1 male) (Sheppard 1975, Ann. Entomol. Soc. Quebec 20: 7), 28 June 1974 (1 male), 7 July 1974 (1 female), 29 June 1975 (1 female), 18 June 1976 (1 male) and 24 June 1976 (1 male) (Sheppard, 1977, pers. comm.).
The introduction of Eulythis mellinata in Nova Scotia was almost certainly recent as the specimen was collected in an area which has been intensively collected for the last 30 years, yet this is the only specimen which has been taken to date. The occurrence of the moth in two widely separated localities in eastern Canada indicates well-established populations, and its occurrence in other eastern North American localities should therefore be expected. A photograph of the adult has been included to aid in identification.
Kenneth Neil, Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 32(3), 1978, 225-226
OCCURRENCE OF THYMELICUS LINEOLA (HESPERIIDAE) IN NEWFOUNDLAND
The recent rapid spread of the European Skipper, Thymelicus lineola (Ochsen-heimer) in North America, particularly in the northeastern part of the continent, evi-