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6, 29 III 87, 2 6, 14 IV 87. The latter locality is dry grassland with some junipers on steep rocky slopes. The dry streambed probably carries water for short periods following rainfall.
Tulare Co.: Canyon 1.6 km N of Lamont Peak S of Chimney Peak Road, 3 6, 10 IV 85 (K. Davenport). Canyon N of Sherman Pass Road 5.6 km E of Kern Canyon Road, 5 6, 2 IV 87 (Davenport); 1 6, 5 IV 87 (R. Meyer); 2 6, 1 2, 14 IV 87 (Davenport & K. Richers). Kern River Canyon 1 km N of Roads End at dam, in side canyon E of road, 4 6, 1 9, 2 IV 87 (Davenport); 1 6, 1 2, 5 IV 87 (Meyer); 2 6, 14 IV 87 (Davenport & Richers), 8 6, 1 2, 9 III 88 (Davenport).
The Tulare Co. colonies are in rocky canyons of limestone or granitic composition with small streams between 3000 and 5000 ft (914-1524 m) elev., in chaparral and foothill woodland.
The host plant of P. sonorensis in the southern Sierra Nevada (including Laura Peak in the Piute subrange) is likely Dudleya calcicola Bartel & Shevock (Crassulaceae), which occurs locally "on pre-Cretaceous limestones within chaparral or pinyon-juniper woodland at 850-1700 m" (Bartel, J. A. & J. R. Shevock 1983, Madrono, 30:210-216), and is limited in distribution to Kern, Tulare, and extreme SW Inyo counties (J. A. Bartel pers. comm.). Adults are closely associated with calcicola (no other Dudleya spp. present) at the new localities. All known hosts are in the genus Dudleya (Shields, O. 1973, Bull. Allyn Mus. 15:9-11). Collections and identifications of Dudleya at the new localities were made by J. F. Emmel, J. A. Bartel, and J. R. Shevock. No larvae were collected or reared, and oviposition was not observed. The discovery of Philotes sonorensis on Laura Peak was made using herbarium records of Dudleya calcicola provided by Emmel.
Eight voucher specimens of Philotes sonorensis representing each of the four new Sierran localities have been deposited in the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California. Remaining specimens are in private collections.
I thank J. A. Bartel, J. W. Brown, J. F. Emmel, R. Meyer, K. Richers, J. R. Shevock, O. Shields, and W. D. Patterson for records and assistance.
Kenneth E. Davenport, 6601 Eucalyptus Dr. #325, Bakersfield, California 93306.
Received for publication 22 June 1987; accepted 16 May 1988.
Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 42(4), 1988, 292-294
A MELANIC MALE OF ANTHERAEA POLYPHEMUS POLYPHEMUS (SATURNIIDAE)
Additional key words: Canada, New Brunswick, light trap.
W. B. Preston and W. B. McKillop (1979, J. Lepid. Soc. 33:147-148) summarized the known information about melanic Antheraea polyphemus polyphemus (Cramer), and published the first illustration of a melanic specimen. Our specimen appears to be the fourth ever collected.
On the night of 30 June-1 July 1986, we collected a melanic male of A. p. polyphemus on a white sheet illuminated by a 250-W M-V bulb, at the edge of a sphagnum bog in the Acadia Forest Experiment Station, 20 km E of Fredericton, New Brunswick. Dorsally, this male (Fig. 2) differs from typical A. p. polyphemus (Fig. 1) by having a dark chocolate ground color. Prothorax and costal edge of upper forewings are black so that the apical and subapical forewing spots are not discernible as distinct spots. However, the grayish lilac dash from the subapical spot toward the forewing apex is still present. In typical specimens, prothorax and costal edge are whitish gray. The blackish component of the submarginal band on fore- and hindwings is exaggerated, obliterating the pinkish shading beyond it on the hindwings but leaving it just discernible on the lower half of the forewings.
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Figs. 1-4. Males of Antheraea polyphemus polyphemus (Cramer) from New Brunswick. 1, Typical dorsum. 2, Melanic dorsum. 3, Typical venter. 4, Melanic venter.
The discal spots on both fore- and hindwings are typical, with the transparent center surrounded by an ocher-yellow ring, edged outwardly with a black ring. The whitish-blue semicircle that outwardly edges the black ring on the proximal side is still discernible on the f orewing and very extensive on the hindwing. The black component of the hindwing submarginal band is conspicuously recurved along the outer margin of the wing. The outer margin of both wings beyond the submarginal band is of the usual bright ocherous tawny brown, giving the specimen a distinctive bicolored appearance.
On the underside, the wings are uniformly dark chocolate (Fig. 4), and the markings
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contrast less than those of a typical specimen (Fig. 3). Costal regions of both fore- and hindwings are dark, as is the basal area of both wings. The specimen is in the senior author's private collection.
Anthony W. Thomas, Canadian Forestry Service-Maritimes, P.O. Box 4000, Fredericton, New Brunswick E3B 5P7, Canada, and Wayne L. Fairchild, Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick E3B 6E1, Canada.
Received for publication 7 December 1987; accepted 21 June 1988.