THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST, 101 



NOTE OX PLATAEA CALIFORNIARIA, HERR.-3CH., AND 



ITS ALLIES. 



BY GEO. AV. TAYLOR, WELLINGTON, B. C. 



Two species appear to be confused in our recent lists under the 

 name P. Californiaria. The one species is properly entitled to the name, 

 the other is the Gorytodes iincanaria of Guenee. 



Packard in one of his early papers ^ describes utuaiiaria from 

 Californian specimens, but amongst them he had evidently a specimen of 

 Californiaria, iox that is the insect he figures in the photographic plate- 

 accompanying the article. 



In the course of his description, too, he makes occasional reference 

 to differences shown by certain specimens, which are just the differences 

 that are seen in comparing the two forms. 



In the monograph ^ the same confusion exists. The description 

 is mainly uncaiiaria, while the figure is Californiaria. 



In this work Californiaria is placed a^ a synomyn of uncaiiaria, 

 although it is really the prior name. 



Henry Edwards ^ was the first to point out the fact that we have 

 two species here, but he, taking it for granted, I suppose, that nncajiaria 

 properly included Californiaria, Herr.-Sch., renamed the latter form 

 perso?iaria. He points out the differences very clearly, and they can be 

 readily seen if the two species are placed side by side. 



In Californiaria ( —personaria) the intra-discal line runs from the 

 costa to the base of vein 2 before turning towards the inner margin. In 

 uncanaria it runs in a straight line to the base of vein 3. In the first 

 named the discal spot on the fore wing is black, in imcanaria it is black 

 pupilled with a lighter shade ; and in the third place in Californiaria the 

 median band is much narrower on the costa and much more deeply 

 toothed on its outer edge than the corresponding band in uncanaria. 



A third species belonging to the same group in the genus is P. diva, 

 Hulst. This agrees in wing shape with micanaria, but is very different 

 in colour, being (if I have rightly identified my specimen from Hulst's 

 description) a very dark gray, with a much more regularly scalloped extra- 

 discal line than has u?icanaria, and with the dark submarginal shade on 



(i) Proc. Bost., Soc. .\'at. Hist., XVI, 221. 



(2) Plate I, fig. 24. 



(3) Pa.sre 201, pi. IX, fig-. 1,2. 

 {4) Papilio, voL i, p. 120. 



March, 1907. 



