Vol. xxiii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS 3 



to the oaks the grasshoppers when pressed for food will eat 

 other plants, and we observed where several had devoured 

 parts of the leaves of a sumach, Rhus capallina. They did 

 not seem to like wild cherry, Primus scrotina. 



It is evident that if the seasons continue favorable, this grass- 

 hopper may become a serious pest in New Jersey, as it has 

 been in Missouri and Texas, according to the writings of Dr. 

 Riley and Prof. Bruner. 



Thecla dumetorum and T. affinis; a Study (Lepid.). 



By J. R. HASKIN, Los Angeles, Cal., and F. GRINNELL, JR., 



Pasadena, Cal. 



Although Thecla dumetorum was described in 1852 and 

 affinis in 1862, very little has been written about them. Appar- 

 ently no effort has been made to check the descriptions in spite 

 of the fact that Western collectors have long felt that they did 

 not correctly describe the common green Thecla of the Western 

 States. 



It seems to have become generally understood that dume- 

 torum should have a row of white spots across both wings, on 

 under side, while affinis should be spotless. When, therefore, 

 it is found that the majority of specimens follow neither of 

 these extremes, but have a number of spots on secondaries 

 only, their proper classification gives rise to the question, just 

 what did Boisduval and Edwards have in mind when they 

 wrote their descriptions. 



T. DUMETORUM. 



Boisduval was the first to describe our green Thecla from 

 material collected by Lorquin in the early fifties. In his Lepi- 

 dopteres de la Californie, 1852, p. 19, he wrote : 



"22 Thecla Dumetorum." 



"Ce Thecla ressemble tout a fait a notre Rubi, et pourrait bien etre 

 une simple variete locale de cette espece. 



"II lui ressemble en clessus, sauf que les ailes inferieures sont moins 

 denticulies, et que la palette anale est a pen pres nulle ; en dessous, la 

 ligne de points blancs est plus marquee, et le disque des ailes super- 



