ii PROCEEDI]SrGS OF THE XATIONAL MUSEUM. vol. Gl. 



IBALIA MACUUPENNIS Haldeman. 



Plate 1. 



Ibalia miicuUpcnnis Haldeman, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Pbila., vol. 3, 1846, 



p. 127. 

 Ibalia fasciipenmH Kieffer, Bull. Soc. Hist. Nat. Metz, vol. 20, 190!), p. 57. 



Kieffer's fasciipennis was described from a single female from Wil- 

 merding, Pennsylvania, collected by C. F. Baker, and the type was 

 returned to Professor Baker, at Pomona College, where the writer 

 has studied it and comiDared it with macuUpennis and was not able to 

 find any character to separate them. There appears to be but the one 

 species in the deciduous forest area of the northeastern United States, 

 and the writer concludes that fascilpennis is a synonym of macuU- 

 pennis, which was also described from Pennsylvania. Haldeman's 

 type of nmculijyennis is preserved in the Geneva jSIuseum, and W, A. 

 Schulz published a redescription of the species in 1912.- 



The following notes record the writer's observations on this 

 species: Five miles west of Evanston, Illinois, near the north 

 branch of the Chicago River there stands on deep, rich, black loam 

 an area of heavy forest of basswood, soft maple, ash, and elm, with 

 considerable undergroAvth. In this area of a few acres there were 

 many standing dead hickoi^ trees killed by bark beetles previous 

 to 1913. On June 22, 1913, an insect was taken opivositing in one 

 of these dead trees and recognized as belonging to this species. 

 The next day a search was made for more and 25 were taken and 

 the next day 50 more and 6 males and three days later 23 females 

 and 2 males. On June 16, 1916, the trees were visited again and 

 10 females and 31 males taken; on July 4, 191T, 10 females and I 

 male, and six days later 13 females; on June 12, 1919, found 11 

 females and 1 male, three days later 20 females and 7 males, three 

 days later 2 females and 3 males, and on June 26, -1 females. A 

 total of 221 females and 16-1 males were taken from this single 

 locality during a period of seven years. These males and females 

 probably occur in equal numbers, but the males are harder to cap- 

 ture. They are seen sunning themselves on the trunks of the dead 

 trees, but are easily disturbed and fly to surrounding vegetation, 

 from which they soon return. The females when ovipositing can 

 all be picked off by hand at the first visit to the tree. Both are 

 usually found within easy reach from the ground, and the majority 

 of females oviposit within 2 feet of ground, where underbrush 

 shades the base of the tree and the process of decay has reached 

 a certain stage. As many as 23 have been taken on one tree at a 

 single visit. 



= Sodetas Entomologica, vol. 27, pp. 109-110. 



