THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 245 



LEDRA PERDITA vs. CENTRUCHUS LIEBECKII. 



BY F. W. CODING, M. D., PH. D, , RUTLAND, TLI,. 



In the February Canadian Entomologist, page 38, Prof. C. F. 

 Baker contributes an article on Ledra perdita, A. and S., in which he 

 attempts to identify the insect described by Amyot and Serville under 

 that name with my Centrtichus Liebeckii. Those authors describe their 

 species from an admittedly inaccurate figure, the original type having 

 been destroyed. They state that their species is from Northern America. 

 [See note.] Van Duzee states (fide Baker) that perdita is from Penn- 

 sylvania, on what authority I do not know, and Prof. Baker decides that 

 because Van Duzee gives that State as the habitat of the insect, and my 

 species having been described from the same commonwealth, they must 

 be identical. As there is no proof beyond the dictum of Van Duzee that 

 Ledra perdita is from Pennsylvania that point may be dropped until we 

 hear further from him. He is too careful a student of our Homoptera to 

 be guilty of confusing a Membracid with a Ledra. The facts regarding 

 Fitch's identification are these : While in Washington a few years ago, 

 and working over the Fitch material, I found an example of Liebeckii 

 labeled in Fitch's handwriting, " Ledra perdita, A. and S.," and " capra, 

 Mels.," both names being on the label, which I recorded in the Cana- 

 dian Entomologist, Vol. XXV., p. 172. Fitch never published his 

 opinion regarding this species. Prof Baker (1. c.) says: "So peculiar 

 in form is it that there is not a possibility of confusing it with anything 

 else in oui fauna." Since that was written he has come into possession 

 of a copy of Fowler's great work on the Membracidas of Mexico and 

 Central America, and I do not doubt that since he has examined 

 Fowler's figure of Centruchoides laticoriiis his opinion has undergone a 

 change, for the figure of perdita certainly resembles that figure as closely 

 as it would a figure of Liebeckii. The same is true with several others of 

 the Centrotinse, viz., callicentrus, etc., etc., from " Northern America." 



Note. — I do not know where Mr. Van Duzee publishes my reference to this 

 species beyond a note in his catalogue of the Jassidae, wherein he says: "One 

 American species of Ledra has been described, but I have not yel seen an example," 

 Doubtless he here refers to Amyol and Serville's species. 



