44 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST 



A NEW SPECIES OF COPTODISCA. (LEPID.) 



BY WM. G. DiETZ. 

 Hazleton, Pa. 



Coptodisca kalmiella, n. sp. 



Size minute. Head, palpi and antennae silvery gray, the latter long. Fore- 

 wings golden-brown from the base to about the middle of their length, passing 

 gradually into golden yellow; a silvery, triangular band-like spot at about 

 two-thirds the wing length, on both the costal and posterior margins, the apices 

 of which nearly meet on the disk, and margined- proximally and distally with 

 black. Cilia nearly double the width of the wing, traversed by the bases of 

 the black-margined silvery spots, a black costal stria before the apex; a trape- 

 zoidal black spot in basal two-thirds of the cilia, at the apex, surmounted by a 

 black line extending to the edge of the cilia; basal two-thirds of dorsal cilia in 

 apical third with two broad, concentric lines separated by a pale line of the 

 ground colour; proximad to this is a brownish tuft, from base to free margin of 

 cilia; rest of cilia, a brownish gray. Hind wings very narrow; cilia about three 

 times their width. Legs and body, silvery gray. 



Habitat.— Browns Mills, N. J., mining leaves of Kalmia angtistijolia. 

 Collectors, H. B. Weiss and C. S. Beckwith, June 22 to June 30. Type and 

 paratypes in collection of H. B. Weiss. 



NOTES ON COPTODISCA KALMIELLA DIETZ, A LEAF MINER OF 



KALMIA ANGUSTI FOLIA. 



BY HARRY B. WEiSS AND CHARLES S. BECKWITH, 

 New Brunswick, N. J. 



This microlepidopteron first attracted our attention at Brown's Mills, N. J., 

 by its work on the leaves of sheep laurel {Kalmia angtistifolia L.) which were 

 observed to be full of small oval holes. Closer observation revealed mines 

 inhabited by lepidopterous larvae and upon rearing them, we secured a species 

 of Coptodisca which was kindly described by Dr. W. G. Dietz as kalmiella. 



The mines of this species are irregular and blotch-like, extending from the 

 midrib almost and sometimes entirely to the edge of the narrow leaf. They 

 are visible on both sides of a leaf, more so on the upper where they appear as 

 reddish brown, dry areas partly filled with excrement. The number of mines 

 in a leaf varied from one to twelve. Twenty-nine leaves were found to aver- 

 age five mines to a leaf. In some leaves many of the mines ran together 

 and took up most of the leaf surface. Leaves on all parts of the plants 

 were infested, especially terminal ones. 



During the last week of May many mines were found to contain full-grown 

 larvae, and many were empty. From this it appears as if the larvae 

 over-wintered in the mines and that our observations started just as the larvae 

 were leaving. When full grown the larva cuts an oval case (3 mm. long; L6 

 mm. wide) from a part of the mine which is free from excrement, this case con- 

 sisting of the semi-transparent upper and lower leaf surfaces which are fastened 

 together. This oval case is regular in outline with a clean cut edge. When the 

 oval is completely cut, the case containing the larva either drops to the ground 

 or the larva crawls to the tip oi a leaf pulling the case after it, and finally drops 



February. 1921 



