296 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST 



FURTHER NOTES ON ALBERTA LEPIDOPTERA. 



BY F. H. WOLLEY DOD, MiDXAFORE, ALTA. 

 (Cotuiiuiod from paje 241.) 

 423. S. alhabasca Ncum. — Tl.c cnly locality gi\cn f(;r il-.is 

 species in Smith's Catalogue is "British Columbia," presumably 

 on the strength of the description, v.'hich I have not seen; But I 

 ha\c seen the t\'pe, a n^ale, in ll.c Ncumrrgen collection, and it 

 is labelled " BelK' Ri\er," which is in Southern Alberta, and no 

 i;ortion of it in B.C. I ha\e seen tl.e species fairly swarming 

 aroimd C.leicl.cn, and on the Blackfcct Indian Reserve near there. 

 It is almost or quite exclusiveh^ a c'a\- flier, and revels in hot sun- 

 shine, usually accompanied, in far fewer nu.mbers, by Melidiptera 

 septentrionalis and Mclaporphyria oregonica. The Laggan specimens 

 I referred to as having orange secondaries are petricola Walker, 

 described from Rocky Mountain specimens taken by Lord Der- 

 by's collectors. A prairie and a mountain series of these respec- 

 tively might easily give every impression of two species, especially 

 if th.e series were short ones. Mountain specimens are usually a 

 tritie more robust and larger, have yellowish or orange secondaries 

 and ochreous tinted primaries, the depth of this tint varying as 

 the depth of color of the secondaries. In size, my prairie speci- 

 mens vary from about 28 to 31 mm., smaller specimens being un- 

 common. Mountain specimens seen to average scarcely more 

 than 1 mm. larger, but my largest spe;imen, a handsome female 

 from Field, B.C., expands very nearly 35 mm. My darkest and 

 most richly coloured example is from Windermere, also in B.C. 

 But an orange-tinted form is rare on the prairie, and a form with 

 creamy white ground is ecjually rare in the mountains. Each of 

 these grades through to the predominating form in 

 their respecti\'e districts, and th.e extremes in each over- 

 lap those in the other. I regret to say that my entire series of 

 these at present consists only of twenty-five specimens, but I have 

 examined a good many more, both dried and in nature, and after 

 years of deliberation ha\e come to the conclusion that the balance 

 of evidence is stnMigly in favor of there being only one species". 



