1920] Fall— On Certain Species of Halt tea, Old and New . 105 



Dr. Chittenden himself, show conclusively the species which may 

 properly be called the "'ignita of Chittenden," that is to say, the 

 species whose life history he portrays is the H. litigata described 

 some ten years ago by the writer, from Florida specimens. In the 

 material from the Department Collections, sent me for examination 

 by Dr. Chittenden, there are many of this species which so far as 

 known to me ranges from the District of Columbia and Ohio to 

 Florida and Texas, and is evidently common or even abundant in 

 this region, and though partial to strawberry, the beetles at least 

 are inclined to be quite polyphagous, especially when swarming. 

 The pin labels on specimens sent by Chittenden indicate the occur- 

 rence of the species on rose at Biloxi, Miss.; on CEnothera hiennis, 

 "reared from egg indoors," Biloxi, Miss.; on crepe myrtle at Nor- 

 folk, Va., and Melbourne, Fla.; on strawberry at Orlando, Fla., 

 Bellemont and Paget, Bermuda, and Tickfaw, La.; on turnip, Bee 

 County, Tex.; on lettuce and on Gaura sinuata at Brownsville, 

 Tex.; on Fuchsia at Washington, D. C. There is no mention 

 whatever of larvae in the departmental notes relative to the above, 

 except in the case of Gaura sinuata at Brownsville, where on March 

 5, 1909, were found "larvae eating leaves" and eggs also collected. 

 Gaura is nearly related botanically to CEnothera, and both are 

 undoubtedly natural food plants of this insect. 



Referring now to the biologic records, pages 74-76 of Bulletin 

 23, we may say with considerable certainty that in all mentioned 

 cases of injury to strawberries in Florida, North Carolina, Mary- 

 land and Indiana, and to Fuchsia at St. Louis, Mo., the culprit was 

 H. litigata. The species reported as feeding on grape at Tempe, 

 Ariz. (Insect Life, Vol. I, p. 220) is without much doubt the H. 

 torquata. This, under the name carinata, is also reported by 

 Coquillet as feeding on grape at Los Angeles, Calif., and one of his 

 specimens is now before me. The Minnesota "lesser grape vine 

 flea-beetle" of Lugger is in all probability the "sixth" Maine 

 species referred to by Woods, pages 150-151, and found by him on 

 two occasions on woodbine. To this species Woods gave a manu- 

 script name and sent me specimens suggesting that I describe it. 

 On a recent visit to the National Museum at Washington, Mr. 

 Schwarz showed me a long series of a new Haltica of which the life 

 history had been worked out and a description written and already 

 submitted for publication by Mr. Iseley of the Department of 



