10 



PSYCHE. 



[January 1S91. 



NOTES ON THREE SPECIES OF HYLOTOMA. 



BY JOHN GEORGE JACK, JAMAICA PLAIN. 



Among the papers of the late Benj. 

 D. Walsh, published in the Transactions 

 of the Saint Louis Academy of Science, 

 (7 May 1873, v. 3, pp. 67-6S) is a des- 

 cription of the male and female of 

 Hylotoma dulciaria Say. His des- 

 cription of the male appears to differ so 

 much from some specimens which have 

 come under my notice that I venture to 

 give a note of the insect as it appears to 

 me. 



After describing the female, Walsh 

 gives the following description of the 

 male : — 



"(J differs from $ only as follows: — 1. 

 The antennae are g as long as the body, 

 the usual hairs on the last joint nearly as 

 long as wide. 2. The tegulae and the entire 

 thorax above and below, except the cenchri 

 which are whitish and the basal plates which 

 are luteo-rufous, are blue black. 3. The 

 abdomen is immaculate. 4. The wings are 

 several shades paler, but there is an obvious 

 darker cloud extending from the base of the 

 stigma to the usual dark dot in the disk of 

 the 2d submarginal, which cloud exists in 

 j [$] also, but is not noticed from the rest 

 of the wing being equally clouded. Length 

 $ .27 inch. Front wing $ .27 inch." 



Mr. Walsh's description was from a 

 single specimen and it differs so much, 

 by its black thorax and '"immaculate" 

 abdomen (the thorax and abdomen of 

 the female being of a shining yellowish- 

 red color) , from the specimens taken 



by me that it seems hardly possible 

 that it can belong to this species. 



H. dulciaria Say, is a synonym of 

 H. pectoralis Leach, in Cresson's last 

 revision of the hymenoptera, and upon 

 the male I offer the following note. 



Hylotoma pectoralis Leach (=H. dulcia- 

 ria Say). — Male. Head shining black, 

 antennae black and longer than those of 

 female; ciliae beneath appearing either 

 black or rusty colored. Thorax yellowish 

 red above and around the collar; shining 

 blue black beneath and with a yellowish 

 red spot below the fore wings, on the pectus 

 or breast on each side. Legs blue black, 

 the anterior pair having the tarsi, tibiae and 

 the extreme tips of the femora of a light 

 reddish color. Abdomen shining bright 

 blue black. Wings light smoky brown on 

 inner and clear on outer or apical portion. 

 An irregular smoky brown blotch extends 

 from the basal end of the stigma to the 

 third submarginal cell in the centre of 

 which is a minute dot. Expanse of wings 

 15 mm. Length of body 7 to 8 mm. 



Out of four specimens examined, two have 

 four submarginal (or cubital) cells in the an- 

 terior wings, corresponding to the characters 

 of the genus. The other two specimens have 

 only three submarginal cells, the second sub- 

 marginal nervure being absent. Described 

 from four specimens bred with a larger num- 

 ber of females in July, 1SS9, from larvae 

 found in the previous summer feeding on the 

 foliage of Betula alba in the Arnold Arbore- 

 tum at Jamaica Plain, Mass. 



The following observations have 

 been made of the larvae of two species 

 of Hylotoma. 



