124 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 244 



or hyaline bar, the drawing definitely represented a true Oiketicus 

 as presently understood. There exists in the British Museum a 

 tattered specimen from St. Lucia that, approximating Guilding's 

 figures and description, possesses extremely dark wings in which 

 the discal spots (now largely obliterated) perhaps were not as con- 

 trasted as in most 0. kirhyi. In addition, two specimens from 

 Jamaica, although resembhng 0. abbotii in wing outhne, are remark- 

 ably unicolorous, the cell being only slightly darker than the rest 

 of the fore wing. 



A total of only 14 males of the genus Oiketicus were available for 

 examination from the West Indies. This small series reflected con- 

 siderable variation that seemed to be identical with, or most similar 

 to, 0. kirbyi. For this reason I have not extended 0. abbotii's range 

 into the West Indies, but further collecting and study may do this. 

 Since some hybridization may have occurred in the past between 

 0. kirbyi and 0. abbotii in this general area, a clear separation of these 

 two insects may have been further obscured. 



Four specimens from Cuba were studied. Three of these, like 

 some of the Jamaica specimens, were similar in size to 0. abbotii but 

 possessed deeply excavated hindwings as in 0. kirbyi. A fourth, 

 very dark specimen (Paris Museum) with a wing expanse of 46 mm. 

 is identical with "typical" 0. kirbyi from South America, and thus, 

 it definitely establishes the presence of this species in Cuba. The 

 type of 0. poeyi, recorded from Cuba, is presumably lost, but from its 

 original description and from existing specimens, its status as a 

 synonym of 0. kirbyi seems almost certain. 



The nomenclature of Oiketicus kirbyi has been complicated further 

 in Mexico by the assignment of names to several variants that also 

 can be observed within a large series of specimens from South America: 

 0. orizavae, 0. fasciculatus, 0. ochoterenai, and 0. sinaloanus, all of 

 which are synonymized. 



Oiketicus orizavae, originally described from one specimen, appears 

 to be nothing more than a rubbed and slightly stunted variant of 

 0. kirbyi. Specimens showing intermediate conditions are from 

 Misantla and Jacala, Mexico. 



Oiketicus fasciculatus was described from a single, somewhat torn 

 specimen and represents the darker and more common variety of 

 0. kirbyi. The associated case of 0. fasciculatus, like that of Guild- 

 ing's species, characteristically is covered with an external sheath 

 of sUk. 



Oiketicus ochoterenai and 0. sinaloanus are very similar. Although 

 no keys for separation or specific diagnostic characters originally 

 were provided by Vazquez (1942), apparently the relative sinuation 

 of the secondaries and the maculation of the larva (especially the head) 



