NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE. 



Vol. XVII. MARCH, 1910. Ho. 1. 



CATALOGUE OF THE ARCTIANAE IN THE THING 

 MUSEUil, WITH NOTES AND DESCRIPTIONS OE NEW 

 SPECIES. 



By the HON. W. ROTHSCHILD, Ph.D. 



I HAVE arranged my Arcikinae according to the Catalogue of the Lepidoplera 

 Pkalacnae in the British Museum, vol. iii., this being tlie most recent work 

 on the fiimily as a whole. I have, however, included the three genera Goiiotrephcs, 

 A/tta.ria, and -Xeozatrephes, placed by Sir George Hampson among the Si/ntomiilae, 

 because I consider these genera, in spite of the absence of the costal vein of the 

 hindwing, more nearly allied to the Arctianae than to the Si/nlomidae. Considering 

 the great use and imiwrtance to lepidopterists of the British Museum Catalogue, 

 it is to be regretted that not sufficient distinction has been empiuisised between 

 Subspecies and Aberrations. In several instances Sir George Hampson has 

 cdrrectly separated the subspecies, but in by far the larger number of cases he has 

 united them indiscriminately under the term " aberration." It cannot be too often 

 reiterated that a Subspecies is a local race or geographical representative of a given 

 species, in which the variation from the " type " is more or less uniform and 

 constant : on the other hand, an Aberration is a sporadic or individual variation 

 occurring among the typical individuals, and in which, even if several specimens 

 occur, the variation from the type is rarely if ever uniform and not persistent. A 

 difference from the type, liowever small, if confined to one locality and to the bulk 

 of or the whole of the individuals from that locality, is sufficient to separate this 

 group of individnals as a subspecies ; but, be the difference ever so great, if it 

 is pnrely individual, not confined to any one locality, and occurs casually with the 

 typical form, it can (inly be considered an aberration, and, in my opinion, should 

 not be named. Subspecies, on the other hand, should be named trinomially, 

 thus : Arctia caja americana. 



I have, in the body of this catalogue, given the localities, in many cases, in 

 an abbreviated form, in order to save time and space. I here enumerate the 

 principal localities and dates, in full. They are arranged from north to south 

 eastwards, returning northwards and westwards. 



Gold Hill, Oregon, September 1900 (Biedermann). 



Duraugo, Colorado, VM)l (E. J. Oslar). 



Glenwood Springs, Colorado, .June 1901 (E. J. Oslar). 



Grand Junction, Colorado, July 19U1 (E. J. Oslar). 



Fort Garland, Colorado, 1901 (E. J. Oslar). 



Almosa, Colorado, 1901 (E. J. Oslar). 



Frescott, Arizona, July 1902 (E. J. Oslar). 



Nogales, Arizona, April — September 1903 (E. J. Oslar). 



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