PSYCHE 



VOL. XVIII. OCTOBER, 1911. No. 



ON CERTAIN OLENE SPECIES. 



By William Barnes, M.D., and J. McDunnough, Ph.D., 

 Decatur, Illinois. 



A very interesting article on our present knowledge of the genus 

 Olene has recently appeared from Doctor Dyar's pen in the Pro- 

 ceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington (Vol. XIII, 

 p. 16, 1911.) This spring we have received several larvae belong- 

 ing to three different species from Southern Pines, North Caro- 

 lina, and offer the following observations in the hope that they 

 may perhaps serve somewhat to clear away a little of the existing 

 doubt regarding the identity of several of the older species. 



O. achatina A. & S. 



We received two larvae which agree fairly closely with Abbott's 

 figure. The two anterior and two posterior lateral hair-pencils 

 combined with the lack of the dorsal hair-pencil from the tuft on 

 abdominal segment VIII, are distinguishing features. Unfor- 

 tunately both larvae were parasitized so the imago was not reared; 

 the larvae were oak feeders. We append a fuller description for 

 the sake of future reference. 



Larva. Head blackish; body black, marbled strongly with white with two ante- 

 rior and two posterior long black hair-pencils and very thick dark tufts on abdomi- 

 nal segments I-IV and VIII, intermingled laterally with plumed white hairs; of 

 these tufts the one on segment IV is the smallest and contains the most white hairs. 

 Tubercles dark, smaller than in allied species; dorsal tubercles with black bristles 

 and numerous plumed white hairs; tubercle III with several bristles, one central 

 black plume and numerous white ones; lateral tubercles with spreading white 

 plumes and several central blackish ones. Abdominal segments VI and VII with 

 conical, whitish, eversible, dorsal glands; legs and prolegs flesh color; spiracles 

 creamy with black rim. Length full grown about 40 mm. 



O. leucophaea A. & S. 



Abbott's figure of the larvae of this species is rather inaccurate. 

 As Doctor Dyar has pointed out the figure shows a double dorsal 



