1887.J PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 331) 



Harris, in 1835, in bis catalogue of the insects of ^Massachusetts, 

 named the first variety or species after Boisduval's original description 

 of Iccontei, calling it miUtaris. 



Doubleday, in a letter to Harris* (May, 1839), says: 



" Of the Arctia Lccontei of Boisd. (Gueriu Icon. It. A.), I have all 

 manner of varieties ; your miUtaris is a'^.otber one. The white spots 

 becoming couHueut in a different manner will account for all these vari- 

 ations." In June, 1839, he writes: "As to CalUmorpha Lecontci, and 

 miUtaris, I can only say that at Trenton I took a series of them running 

 one into the other so that one conld not draw the line to divide them. 

 Variable insects do not vary in some localities." In September, 1840, 

 he returns to the same subject, and says : t " The larva of your viiUtaris, 

 or any allied species, is not in Abbott's drawing. Stephens thinks it a 

 true Hypercompa. * * * Stephens says your miUtaris is quite dis- 

 tinct from Lccontei, and points out a small white spot near the outer 

 margin as not being" present in Lecontei. I must acknowledge that I 

 begin to waver in my opinion. He thinks the spots cannot coalesce so 

 as to give the markings of miUtaris.'''' 



In Flint's Edition of Harris' Injurious Insects, page 344, figure 1G5 

 represents CaUimorplia miUtaris, and Harris says of the genus CalU- 

 morpha: ^' Some of the slender-budied Arctians with bristle-formed 

 antennaj which are not distinctl.y feathered in either sex, and having 

 the feelers slender and the tongue longer than the others, come so near 

 to the Lithosians that naturalists arrange them sometimes among- the 

 latter and sometimes among the Arctians. They belong to Latreille's 

 genus CalUmorpha (meaning beautiful form), one species of whicn in- 

 habits Massachusetts, and is called CalUmorpha miUtaris CFig-. 105), the 

 soldier moth in ra^' catalogue. Its fore wings expand about 2 inches, 

 are white, almost entirely bordered with brown, with an oblique band 

 of the same color from the inner margin to the tip, and the brown bor- 

 der on the front margin generally has two short angular projections 

 extending backwards on the surface of the wing. The hind wings are 

 white and without spots. The body is white ; the head, collar, and 

 thighs buff-yellow ; and a longitudinal brown stripe runs along the top 

 of the back from the collar to the tail. This is a very variable moth;^ 

 the brown markings on the fore wings being sometimes very much re- 

 duced in extent, and sometimes, on the contrary, they run together so 

 much that the wings appear to be brown, with five large white spots. 

 This latter variety is named CalUmorpha, Lecontei by Dr. Boisduval." 



This is the first expression by Harris of the variability of the moth. 

 Harris considered the darkest, most spotted form lecontei, while the 

 pale form with the oblique baud from the inner margin to the tip is his" 

 miUtaris. Harris says, in a general way, of the larvjie of CalUmorpha, 

 that they are more sparingly clothed with hair than the other Arctians, 

 are generally dark colored, with longitudinal stripes, feed on various 



* Ent. correspondence, r2"2. t L. c, 149. | The italics are mine. 



