218 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



A FEW NOTES ON THE LEPIDOPTERA OF 1905. 



BY E. F. HEATH, CARTWRIGHT, MANITOBA. 



Tlie season was a very unsatisf.ictory one for Lepidoptera in my 

 neighbourhood, so far as quality was concerned, and yet several new 

 species turned up — new, that is to say, to this district — and there were 

 sundry other occurrences vvhicli I think may be worthy of record. 



Ail Rhopalocera were very scarce ; even the more common aJid 

 abundant species in general did not occur in the tenth part of their usual 

 numbers. I added, however, a species to my collection, Dedis portlandia, 

 Fabr., of which I took a couple, and saw one or two more. Of the other 

 genera— especially the "Blues" and "Hair Streaks" — very few were to be 

 seen. 



Hardly any of the spring species of Noctuids came to my sugared 

 trees, and except a few hibernated specimens, I got liiile or nothing, until 

 the black currants came into bloom. From them I netted a nice series of 

 "Sharks" of several species, but, strange to say, I did not get a single 

 Ciicidlia intermedia, Speyer, which used to be rather plentiful, to the 

 exclusion of the other species of the genus. Peridroma saiicia, Hbn,, 

 came out in great force later on, and in endless variety. It was accom- 

 panied by Dargida pj-ocinctus, G\\.., oi which. I took fifteen or sixteen 

 examples — five or six times as many as I have seen during all my previous 

 years of collecting. I think I recollect having seen it stated that when, 

 three or four years ago, the larv[\3 of saucia did so much damage in British 

 Columbia, the larvae oi procinctus were alsD found with them. 



Orthosia paleacea, Esp., as it has hitherto been called, or 0. discolor, 

 as I should prefer to call it, was fairly abundant, and I took a very nice 

 series showing considerable variation, and with them a few of O. 

 punctircfia, Smith. I have only recently become aware that this moth, 

 paleacea (or discolor) was supposed to be the equivalent, or identical with 

 the Eiiperia fulvago of the English lists. 1 had it in my English collec- 

 tion, and I have not seen here a single specimen identical in colour. 

 Besides, /z//z;rt^'-6' has the black spot in the reniform, whereas discolor is 

 without it. The specimen given in Dr. Holland's Moth Book must surely 

 have been of European origin, or, if not, our moth here in the Northwest 

 must be a different species to what occurs further south. I might here 

 suggest of what great assistance it would be if the American entomologists, 

 who are so busy altering generic names that have been in use for, in some 

 cases, a hundred (and even more) years, would kindly publish a list of 



July, 1906 



