THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST 167 



NOTE ON THE GENERIC POSITION OF TWO CANADIAN 



ARCTIIDS WITH DESCRIPTION OF NEW 



SPECIES. (LEPID.) 



BY J. MCDUNNOUGH. PH.D., 

 Entomological 'Branch, Ottawa.* 

 In our latest lists following Dyar (1903. List N. Am. Lepid. 87), yarrozvi 

 Stretch has been placed in the genus A-coarctia N. & D. Hampson included it 

 in his genus Phragmatobia Steph. (1901, Cat. Lep. Phal. Brit. Mus. HI.. 242), 

 but the species was evidently unknown to him. An examination of specimens of 

 this rare species in the Canadian National Collection shows that it falls into 

 Hyphoraia Hbn. as defined by Hampson, the eyes being hairy and veins 7, 8, 9 

 and 10 stalked. 



The species alpina Ques., listed by Hampson as a synonym of Hyphoraia 

 lapponica Thun. {f estiva Bork.) has already been shown to be a distinct species 

 by Mr. Gibson (1920. Rep. Can. Arct. Exp. III., Pt. J, 31.). A further exam- 

 ination shows that it is not even associated generically with lapponica, the eyes 

 being non-hairy and there being a distinct areole present in the venation of 

 primaries with veins 7, 8 and 9 stalked from its apex. According to Hampson's 

 keys, alpina would fall into Arctia Schrank along with caia and z'illica; according 

 to maculation it has more similarity with Platyprcpia guttata Bdv. The genus 

 Platyprepia was separated l)y Dyar fpom Arctia (1897, Can. Ent., XXIX., 212) 

 on the strength of the areole being wanting; this is. however, scarcely correct, 

 for in a majority of specimens of guttata examined by me the areole was present 

 and the lack^of same is decidedly an aberrant character which cannot be used 

 for generic separation ; the smooth thoracic squammation is probably a better 

 means of separation of the two genera. More recently Dyar, in a criticism of 

 the Barnes & McDunnough "Check List" (Ins. Ins. Menst. v. 43), claims that 

 Platyprcpia should be transferred to the Hypsidae, an Indo-australian group 

 separable from the Arctiidac, according to Hampson (Cat. Lep. Phal. Brit. Mus., 

 I., 17). by the fact that vein 8 of the secondaries is not anastomosed with 7, 

 but connected by a cross-bar. The venation of guttata Bdv. does not bear out 

 this contention ; it is practically identical with that of caia L., vein 8 being fused 

 to 7 for almost half the length of the cell. The general type of male genitalia is 

 quite similar in the two species and the larvae also bear a great resemblance to 

 each other. Unless the conception of the family Hypsidae has been changed 

 since the publication of Hampson's work, I see no reason why Platyprcpia should 

 not be retained in its present position in the Arctiid?e and should strongly incline, 

 on account of the great similarity of genitalia, to place alpina Ques. along with 

 guttata Bdv. in this genus. 



In the Canadian National Collection is a single $ collected a number of 

 years ago at Banfif. which appears to represent a new species of Neoarctia, prob- 

 ably closest to ccri'iua Fall, from the Alps. The description is as follows : — 



>'^eoaretia sordida sp. nov. 



$. Palpi pale ochreous ; head and front with short black hair, mixed 



with pale ochreous ; legs ochreous ; tegulae ochreous with two distinct central 

 black spots ; thorax and patagia black, the latter faintly bordered with ochreous ; 



♦Contribution from Entomological Branch, Dept. of Agriculture, Ottawa. 



