14 PSYCHE [February 



NOTES ON NEW ENGLAND BOMBYLIIDAE, WITH A DESCRIPTION 

 OF A NEW SPECIES OF ANTHRAX. 



BY CHARLES W. JOHNSON, BOSTON, MASS. 



Anthrax shaavh n. sp. 



(^ ? . Face and front black, with blackish pile and tomentum, that on the 

 face showing in certain lights a whitish reflection, occiput black, with a silvery white 

 tomentum; antennae black. Thorax and abdomen black, front and sides of the 

 thorax, margins of the scutellum, and sides of the abdomen to the base of the third 

 segment, bordered with dark orange red pile; dorsum of the thorax and disc of the 

 scutellum with black tomentum showing a Avhitish reflection. Abdomen with two 

 broad bands of yellowish white tomentum, the one on the second segment occupying 

 the basal half, vrhile that on the fourth covers the entire segment the last segment is 

 also covered with yellov^-ish tomentum margined with black, a few scattered yellow- 

 ish scales sometimes present on sixth segment. Legs black, wings hyaline, the costal 

 cells and base, including the alulet dark brown. Length 6 mm. 



Five specimens of this interesting little species vrere collected by Mr. S. Albert 

 Shaw, among the sandhills at Hampton Beach, N. H., August 27, 1906. Types 

 in the New England collection of the Boston Society of Natural History. Paratypes 

 in Mr. Shaw's and the author's collection. Through the kindness of INIr. A. H. 

 Kirkland, I have also seen a specimen from Westport, Mass., Sept., 1907. 



The species resembles some of the smaller examples of A. laferali-i Say, but can 

 be readily separated, by the dark tomentum of the face, the dark orange- red (not 

 yellow) pile and dark costal cells. 



Anthrax lateralis Say. 



This variable and widely distributed species has in the Eastern United States 

 two well marked variations Avhich cause considerable confusion when lumped Nvith 

 the typical form. In order to eliminate this confusion provisionally I will briefly 

 define the two forms. The one more commonly observed has the tomentum on the 

 frouf black, on the face it is grayish, but in certain lights blackish; anterior margin 

 of the thorax, pleurae and sides of the first two segments of the abdomen, ivith yellow 

 pile; entire dorsum of the thorax, the middle of the first and second segments and 

 all the other segments of the abdomen with black tomentum and pile. In some 

 specimens there is a faint band of yellow tomentum at the base of the fourth seg- 

 ment and more or less prominent tufts of silvery tomentum on the terminal segment. 



