320 



5. Platyptilia pica Walsingham. PI. XLI, fig. 12. 

 Amhlyttilus pica Walsingham, Pter. Cal. Ore. 21, pi. II, f. 1, 1880. 

 Platyptilia pica Fernald, Smith's List Lep. N. A. 87, 1891. 



Id., Pter. N. A. 24, 1898. 



Id., Bull. 52 U. S. N. M. 442, 1902. 



Anderson, Cat. B. C. Lep. SO, 1904. 



B. C. Ent. Soc. Check List 42, 1906. 



Meyrick, Gen. Ins. C, 11, 1910. 



Id., Wagner's Lep. Cat. pars 17, 13, 1913. 



Barnes & McDunnotigh, Check List 150, 1917. 

 Head and thorax clothed with white scales more or less heavily mixed 

 with tawny and brown. Thorax white behind, with two heavy black dashes. 

 Antennae whitish, black dotted above. Palpi concolorous, third joint exceeding 

 the short frontal tuft. All tibiae and tarsi black and white banded, the front 

 and middle tibiae with also a black stripe. 



Primaries white to well beyond base of cleft, followed by a black shade 

 which terminates at the usual transverse white lines on the two lobes. Costa 

 black with white spots, and with a heavy black triangle before cleft. Disk with 

 a black spot at one-fourth from base near inner margin, a few black dots near 

 middle of this margin, and a black spot at middle of cell. Terminal area brown- 

 ish with white scales which sometimes cover the darker color. Apex produced, 

 acute; fringes of outer margin grayish, their bases black and white checkered; 

 in cleft blackish, and along inner margin whitish with black tufts. Secondaries 

 gray-brown with concolorous fringes. Inner margin of third lobe with scat- 

 tered black scales before middle, a large triangular tooth beyond and a small 

 tuft at apex, the tooth preceded and followed by paler fringes. Expanse 

 17-24 mm. 



The abdomen offers the only constant distinguishing feature. Its upper 

 surface is marked with a large white triangle on each segment, apex forward, 

 and tlie last few segments are almost entirely white. Beneath it is broadly 

 white on its distal half. In some specimens which we refer here the upper 

 surface almost lacks white, but the under surface retains its white patch. 



The male genitalia are as in the preceding species (see pi. L, 

 fig. 13). 



This description is of typical pica. The species varies with a grad- 

 ual increase in the number of tawny and blackish scales in the white 

 areas, which may be so numerous as to give the insect the appearance 

 of piiiictidactyla. We are inclined to believe that the two are good 

 species, but our material is scanty (eleven specimens) and all from 

 one locality, so we recognize the possibility that pica may be merely a 

 form of punctidactyla. Meyrick says in a letter of July 17, 1920, that 

 "Scotch examples recently stated to be this are, I think, only vars. of 

 punctidactyla; the true pica seems to be a good species." 



