Maevia vittata. 627 



82 were females and 74 males. Of tlie iimles. 40 weie i.f tlie f,nay 

 variety and 34 were tiifted. Two veiT dark, so called, "Inteniiediate 

 males" were obtained. The nuiles were studied while alive and 

 after preservation. 



In tlie tbllowino- study, it seenis desirable to give a general 

 description, witli drawings, of a typical tiitted male and a typical 

 gray male, and tlien to point out the variations found in the two 

 types. P'or minute characteristics of the species, etc., the reader 

 is referred to the Peckhams's "Revision of tlie Attidae of North 

 America". 



Tufted Male. 



The typical tufted male (Fig. AI), has a budy whicli is an 

 intense black in color. Tiie legs are a light transparent yellow and 

 they do not sliow any dark pigmentation, except just a trifle on the 

 ventral surface of the coxa and at the tip end. The palps, seen 

 from the front, are pitch-black, but on the inner surface, the 

 pigmentation is less intense and we may even lind yellow hairs 

 next to the mandibles. This lighter color never, or very rarely, 

 shows from the front with the appendages in their normal position. 

 The most striking characteristic of the tufted male, however. is the 

 presence of three tufts of hairs, which sit on the cephalothorax, 

 just on a line with the anterior edge of the posterior eyes (Fig. AI). 

 It shüuld be pointed out here, that normally, these tuft soft hairs do 

 not show from above because of the intense black of the anterior 

 part of the cephalothorax. In the drawings, I have not put in the 

 pigment of this region, in order that the character of the tufts 

 might be more easily seen. In Fig. A 1, the position of the tufts 

 may be clearly made out; they project from the body at an 

 angle of, perhaps, 45". 



To the casual observer, the tufted males are quite black, but 

 if one is examined under a strong light, a definite pattern will be 

 made out both on the cephalothorax and on the abdomen. This 

 pattern becomes more apparent in alcoholic specimens (Fig. A 1). 



Gray Male. 



The gray males (Fig. A5) are similar to the tufted males in 

 size and shape. They are, as the name iniplies, of a general gray 

 color, with a fairly definite pattern on the cephalothorax and 

 abdomen, made up of spots which vary from a dark red to a deep 



