190 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST 



of the well-known Greek "gamma" form, but is sometimes formed 

 of two separate marks. The inner one is roughly V-shaped, with 

 the strokes out-curved. The outer mark is a lobe-shaped dot, which 

 joins or tends to join the V at its apex — that is, at the point nearest 

 the inner margin of the wing. In ou the inner mark is more U- 

 shaped, and the outer spot is approximate to, and sometimes joins,, 

 it at a point nearest the outer margin. There are other differences 

 in colour and maculation, but these are the most obvious. The 

 difference in the sign is well shown in Ottolengui's figures. As a 

 matter of fact, I find the signs in many Autographas much more 

 variable than I had been led to suppose from first perusals of Ot- 

 tolengui's paper. The most obvious structural differences be- 

 tween these two species is that on has hind tibia^ strongly spined,. 

 whilst calif ornica has not. 



Holland has his figures of the above three species badly mixed. 

 On plate XXVIII., fig. 25, as rogationis, represents ou, whilst fig. 

 33, called ou, is of pseudo gamma, and fig. 35, called pseudogamma- 

 is obviously californica. 



The question as to the true status of closely allied forms 

 separated by wide stretches of ocean will probably always give 

 rise to controversy. The best way of dealing with the matter is 

 probably to treat such forms as distinct, unless exactly similar 

 specimens can be found on both continents. I am not aware that 

 similar specimens have been found of our californica and European 

 gamma, and therefore prefer to treat them as distinct. One dif- 

 ference in pattern appears to be that the upper portion of the t.p. 

 line is more crenate in californica. All the maculation in our 

 species is more clearly written, and shows greater contrasts. Gam- 

 ma has the black streaks near the apex, but it is less developed 

 than in californica. The sign is about similar in the two, and both 

 have unarmed tibiae. But in general color of primaries gamma is 

 darker and more even, and much more like normally coloured ou. 



Grote in Can. Ent. XXXV., p. 238, Aug. 1903, states that ou 

 and fratella are distinct species, and that any confusion between 

 them arose from misidentification of ou. In his 1905 list he places 

 californica and russea as varieties of ou. The type of russea from 



