76 PROCEEDINGS ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. No specimens, however, have 

 been received from the intermediate points, so it is not known 

 whether the habitats are actually contiguous. 



Megalopyge briseis, new species. 



Ocher yellow, overspread with brown, the brown shade reaching the 

 margins of the wings, a dark-brown shade from base to end of the cell 

 over basal two-thirds of fore wing, intensified on costa, end of cell and 

 submedianly in the male, less so in the female and replaced by an ocher- 

 yellow patch on the inner margin; tips of the woolly hairs marked with 

 white, forming illy defined median marking and in base of cell. 



Expanse, male 37 mm., female 50 mm. 



Ten males, three females, Merida, Venezuela (S. E. Bricefio, 

 P. Dognin, O. Staudinger). 



Type: No. 13004, U. S. National Museum. 



The species is very close to ornata Druce, but is larger, 

 generally darker-shaded, with less yellow on the outer mar- 

 gin, the wings more drawn out, with a longer, straighter outer 

 margin, while the whitish markings of the wings are reduced 

 and do not form spots. 



Intermediate between the two forms are certain males from 

 Costa Rica which I refer to ornata. However, their wings 

 are distinctly more produced than the true Mexican ornata, 

 though less so than in the Venezuelan briseis, while the white 

 spottings are distinct. A single male from French Guiana 

 agrees entirely with these, but I refrain from drawing positive 

 conclusions about the geographic distribution without longer 

 series of specimens. The characters of these closely allied 

 forms do not appear well except in series. 



Two of the specimens were identified as agesisirata Druce 

 by Mr. Dognin, but I think the basal dark shadings are too 

 extensive for that species. The identification as ornata by 

 Mr. Schaus is referred to above, while another labeled chry- 

 socoma Herrich-Schaeffer by Dr. Staudinger is referred to 

 below. 



Megalopyge megalopygae Schaus. 



Edebessa megalopygfE Schaus, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus.. xxix, 336, 

 190-5. 



This species is as dark as trujillo, but retains a yellow shade 

 along the margins of the wings and on the thorax. It is 

 allied to briseis and is an intensification of that type. The 

 very long, narrow wings induced its original reference to 

 bessa, but it has not otherwise the structure of that genus. 



