CLEAR-WING MOTHS OF FAMILY AEGERIIDAE 95 



with pictipes, is a distinct species, it is of interest to note that pictipes, 

 Hke exitiosa, exhibits the same tendency toward a gradual broadening of 

 the wing margins in specimens from the northeast to the south and from 

 the south to the west. 



SYNANTHEDON CASTANEAE (Busck) 



Plate 23, Figures 140, 141 



Sesia castaneae Busck, Proc. Ent. Soc. Washington, vol. 15, p. 102, 1913. 

 Synanthedon castaneae McDunnough, Check list of the Lepidoptera of Canada 

 and the United States of America, pt. 2, No. 8722, 1939. 



Mode. — Antennae long, black, scarcely dilated toward tips, pectinations 

 fine, curved inward, shorter near the tips. Labial palpi beneath yellow 

 or whitish yellow ; above black, sparsely sprinkled with yellow scales ; 

 apical half of third joint all black. Face bluish black, broadly white 

 before the eyes. Head black, sparsely mixed with yellow scales at base. 

 General body color black. Thorax bluish or coppery black, with two 

 narrow, yellow, lateral stripes above and two broader, yellow marks on 

 the underside, before the wing base. Wings hyaline; veins and costa 

 scaled with bluish black, as are also the very narrow transverse mark 

 and the other margins on the forewings ; underside of wings yellower 

 on veins, costa, and margins ; fringes purplish or rusty black. Abdomen 

 black, with blue or coppery reflections and with segments 2, 3, and 4 very 

 narrowly banded with pale yellow above ; the band on segment 4 con- 

 tinuing onto the venter where it becomes broader (cabinet specimens 

 quickly become greasy ; only thoroughly cleaned individuals reveal the 

 exact body markings) ; anal tuft wedge-shaped, with the inner side 

 of the claspers dark ochreous. Legs blue or coppery black; tibia with 

 only one whitish band or tuft at the posterior spurs, an imporiant char- 

 acter for separating castaneae from pictipes, which has two pale yellow 

 bands, one each at the anterior and posterior spurs. 



Female. — Very similar to the male. Average size larger. Antennae 

 simple. Transverse mark and outer wing margins slightly broader. The 

 banding on abdominal segments as in the male, but more pronounced ; 

 tuft straight, narrow. 



Expanse: Male 17 to 20 mm., female 22 to 28 mm. 



Distribution. — In general following the distribution of the American 

 chestnut, Castanea dentata, from Maine to Ontario and southward to 

 the Mississippi. 



Type. — In the United States National Museum. 



Remarks. — This species was confused with pictipes until recognized by 

 Busck as distinct and described as castaneae in 1913. Superficially the 

 two species may be easily confused, but closer study reveals differences 

 calling for specific separation. In pictipes the collar is yellow and the 

 tibia is tufted with yellow at both the anterior and posterior spurs, whereas 



