206 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [May, '07 



Our species of Plagodis Hiibn. 



By RICHARD F. PEARSALL, Brooklyn, N. Y. 



The species which fall under this genus are rather well de- 

 fined, and it would seem quite unnecessary to revise them. A 

 curious mingling of two species under one name has occurred, 

 however, in the case of keutzingi Grote. As Dr. Packard was 

 about to publish his monograph in 1876, Professor Grote sent 

 him a specimen, with description, he says, and name, keutzingi 

 for publication (Can. Ent., VIII, p. 112). Doctor Packard 

 mingled with it specimens from various places, which he de- 

 scribed under the name of keiitsingaria Pack., and figured them 

 (Mono, plate XI, fig. 44), referring to the Grote specimen, 

 in a few descriptive lines as a darker form. This drew a 

 vigorous protest from Grote (Can. Ent., VIII, p. 154), who 

 insisted that his name, keutzingi, should hold. Whether as the 

 result of this or not, I do not know, but a figure of the Grote 

 specimen appears (Mono, plate XIII, fig. 51), and in listing 

 them (Dyar) kciitsingaria Pack, is made a synonym of keutz- 

 ingi Grote. Here the error occurs. I have taken both in the 

 Catskill Mountains, the latter rarely, and they are about as 

 distinct, one from the other, as could well be. Both names 

 cannot have a place on our list as separate species, and as that 

 of Professor Grote is recognized as entitled to priority, I 

 propose for the other species the name altruaria with keutsin- 

 garia Pack, as its synonym. On the occasion of a recent visit 

 to Reading, I saw in the collection of the late Doctor 

 Strecker a $ and 2 of a species, a single $ of which, taken 

 at Scranton, Pa., came to me some two months ago, through 

 the kindness of Mr. M. Rothke, of that city. They were labeled 

 Plagodis purpuraria Pack. Doctor Packard may have given 

 this name to Doctor Strecker, but he never published any 

 description of it. The species must be quite rare, for I have 

 never seen it in any other collection. Those in the Strecker 

 collection were also taken in Pennsylvania. How markedly 

 different from our other species it is, the following description, 

 under the name selected by Doctor Packard, will show : 



