REVISION MALACOSOMA HUBNER IN NORTH AMERICA 7 



the described species were only varieties of calif ornicum. For example, 

 in 1 890 he commented : 



The caterpillar of a species of Clisiocampa, which I have now little 

 doubt is tliat of C. californica, which I have bred from eggs received 

 from Miss Emily L. Morton, to whom they were sent from Colorado 

 by Mr. Nash, was abundant at Virginia City and Helena, Mont., on 

 the leaves of the wild rose so common near those towns ... a blown 

 specimen received from Prof. J. J. Rivers 'from the mountains of 

 Nevada that may hcfragilis', is unquestionably a very distinctly marked 

 larva of C. californica ... In fact, this caterpillar is exposed to much 

 variation, and it would be easy to make several species out of this 

 widely diffused one, which in Colorado feeds on the aspen . . . 



Grote (1895) made similar comments concerning the status of 

 M. ambisimilis, M. californica, and M. pluvialis. He said, "In all these 

 cases the nam^es can only be applied v.'ith certainty to the larvae and 

 bred moths. To consider them distinct species, as species are now 

 understood, is clearly an impossibility . . ." It is difficult to know 

 exactly what Grote understood a species to be, but his opinions on the 

 status of these three "species" agree with the classification presented 

 here. Unfortunately, the views of Dyar and others predominated, 

 since Packard's and Grote's suggestions received no further attention. 



The distribution maps for each species and subspecies in the following 

 list should also be examined at this time (figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4). Other 

 names used in the past are listed in the appropriate synonymy. 



Malacosoma disstria Hiibner — status unchanged 



Malacosotna constrictutn constrictum (Henry Edwards) — status un- 

 changed 

 Malacosoma constrictum austrinum. Stehr — new subspecies 

 Malacosoma tigris (Dyar) — status unchanged 

 Malacosom.a arnericanum (Fabricius) — status unchanged 

 Malacosoma californicum (Packard) — calif ornicum has priority over 

 all other names that have been applied to this species through- 

 out \vestem North America 

 Malacosoma californicum californicum (Packard) — nominate sub- 

 species 

 Alalacosoma californicwn ambisijnile (Dyar) — reduced to subspecies 

 Malacosoma californicum recenseo Dyar — status unchanged. 

 Malacosoma californicum pluviale (Dyar) — reduced to subspecies 

 Malacosoma californicum lutescens (Neumoegen and Dyar) — reduced 



to subspecies 

 Malacosoma californicum fragile (Stretch) — reduced to subspecies 



