The Brown Ctenucha 



Cteuucha briinnca Stretch 



E. O. EssiG 

 Univ-ersity of California, Berkeley, California. 



Order — Lepidoptera Family — Syntomidce 



The moths of the genus Ctenucha are exceedingly beautiful and 

 interesting, and inasmuch as little is known regarding the different 

 stages in the development of some of the species the writer has 

 taken this means of recording the main facts in the metamorphosis 

 of one of them. In California there are three common species all 

 very much alike in appearance and probably in habits. Through 

 the aid of my brother, S. H. Essig, I have been able to secure all 

 the stages from the egg to the adult of what T have been calling 

 the brown Ctenucha, C. hniuuea Stretch. The common name orig- 

 inated from the fact that the upper surfaces of the primary wings 

 of this species are decidedly light-brown in appearance, in contrast 

 to the very dark-brown or almost black wings of the other Cali- 

 fornia species as giv^en in the note below. ^ 



Description 



Eggs (Fig. 1). The eggs are round, somewhat flattened dor- 

 sally, pearly-white when first laid, but gradually becoming deep- 

 yellow just before hatching. They are very small, averaging about 

 1 mm. in diameter and are laid in short rows of from 2 to 7 or 

 more, either touching at the sides or about the diameter of an egg 

 apart. 



Larva (Fig. 2). The first hatched caterpillars are exceedingly 

 small but very active. They are light, transparently-yellow in color 



1. Key to the California species of Ctenuclia 



A. Area between and around eyes brown or black .....B 



Area between and around eyes red riibroscapus Menetries 



B. Front wings light brown hrunnra Stretch 



Front wings very daric brown multifaria Walker 



Ctenucha rubroscapus Menetries (Fig. 6). According to Stretch (Zygaenids and 

 Bombycidce of N. A., pp. 29-30, 1871-1873) this is a true mountain insect occurring in 

 the Sierras at an altitude of 4,500 ft., frequenting streams. It has been taken in the 

 region of Yosemite Vallev. Svn. — C. ochrnscapus Grote and Robinson; C. cor-vina 

 Boisduval; C. iL-alsinghaml Hy.Edw. Ctenucha multifaria Walker (Fig. 7) is abund- 

 ant in the lowlands of the San Francisco Bay region. 



