106 Psyche [October 



Agriculture. I believe this to be the same as Woods' sixth species 

 and Lugger's grape vine species. As for Bruner's Nebraska species 

 and Gillette's Colorado species nothing definite can be said; Chit- 

 tenden's brief references give no clue and probably the original 

 articles would be insufficient for identification even if they were 

 accessible to nie. 



The species occurring on laurel, the kahnicp of Melsheimer, I 

 believe as did Horn, notwithstanding the mysterious "plica sub- 

 marginali," to be the typical ignita of Illiger. It is highly improb- 

 able that a distinct species of Haltica with a normal submarginal 

 elytral plica, but otherwise agreeing with our laurel species, can 

 exist in the Atlantic region and no specimens of it have turned up in 

 the more than one hundred years since Illiger published his descrip- 

 tion. In a recent conversation with Mr. Schwarz, he expressed the 

 opinion that this elytral fold was apt to appear fortuitously in any 

 species of Haltica, more especially in the females. Apropos of this 

 observation, there are now before me three examples of a small 

 Haltica (2cf 's 1 9 ) recently sent me by Chittenden, in the female 

 of which there is a tolerably well defined lateral elytral plica, while 

 the males show slight traces of it. These specimens were collected 

 at West Springfield, N. H., on Lombardy plum. They resemble 

 greatly and probably are the H. roscp of Woods; however, they 

 diverge slightly from my typical examples of roscp, and in the direc- 

 tion of ignita {kalmice Melsh). What I take to be typical ex- 

 amples of the latter differ from typical rosce in their more brilliant 

 color, slightly larger size, more coarsely punctate elytra, and in 

 having the hind margin of the thorax slightly sinuate each side of 

 the middle so as to present a small median lobe. In my typical 

 rosop there is no trace of such a lobe, but this character is probably 

 not entirely constant, nor are either of the others very dependable. 

 In addition to typical rosop, corni and idmi, I received from Mr. 

 Woods specimens of another form, of which he wrote as follows: 

 "I have taken another member of the ignita group on laurel and 

 am sending specimens under separate cover. I am calling it 

 kalmice MS. This runs close to rosop in every character, as far as 

 eggs, larvae and pupae are concerned." From the above it must be 

 obvious that rosoe and ignita {kalniiw Melsh = kahnics Woods MS.) 

 are exceedingly close if actually distinct, and that the Lombardy 

 plum female with the submarginal plica might serve very well for 



