February 1892.] 



psyche. 



221 



about twice as long as second, moderately 

 wide, rounded at apex ; arista blackish, thick- 

 ened on basal fourth, plumose on basal half, 

 3-jointed, second joint short; proboscis not 

 so long as height of head, fleshy, dark brown 

 or blackish, with well developed labella; 

 palpi nearly black, moderately long, stout at 

 tip, clothed with a few small bristles long- 

 est on the underside; occiput cinereous, 

 clothed with black hairs and fringed with 

 black bristles. Thorax cinereous, with three 

 well defined black vittae reaching scutellum, 

 and with moderately strong macrochaetae ; 

 scutellum cinereous, with an apical decus- 

 sate pair of macrochaetae overreaching base 

 of third abdominal segment, a shorter lateral 

 pair, and a weak sub-discal pair. Abdomen 

 black, more or less heavily shaded with sil- 

 very or cinereous, in some places with a 

 golden shade, first segment not shortened; 

 first segment without macrochaetae, second 

 segment with a lateral one; third segment 

 with a median marginal pair and a lateral 

 pair, anal segment with a marginal row of 

 six or eight macrochaetae ; anus slightly 

 rufous. Legs blackish, femora more or less 

 cinereous especially front ones; tibiae more 

 or less spiny, especially middle pair; claws 

 and pulvilli short. Wings longer than ab- 

 domen, grayish hyaline, with very small 

 costal spine, first vein spined half its length, 

 second spined to small cross-vein ; apical cell 

 opening before tip of wing, fourth vein bent 

 at right angle, with wrinkle at bend, apical 

 cross-vein bowed in ; hind cross-vein oblique, 

 nearer to bend of fourth vein ; tegulae nearly 

 white, halteres blackish. 



Length of body 5 mm ; of wing 4 mm. 



Described from one specimen. Ohio. 

 Sept. 



Edwards's N. A. Butterflies. 



We seem among old friends in the twelfth 

 part of Edwards's Butterflies of North Ameri- 

 ica, which appeared early in January ; for the 

 early stages figured are of species, Papilio 



zolicaon and Cktonobas ukleri, very similar 

 to those whose histories have been before il- 

 lustrated, while the additional figures of but- 

 terflies are of other forms of the same genera, 

 P. americus and C. variuia. In both the 

 species of which the life-history is told, there 

 are interesting features. In P. zolicaon the 

 spring butterflies are found to be from win- 

 tering chrysalids of all three of the broods of 

 the previous season; it would be instruc- 

 tive to learn in what proportions the first 

 and second broods are represented, and 

 whether any of the chrysalids of the first 

 brood disclose their inmates at the season of 

 the third. In C. tikleri breeding and field 

 observations together show the species to be 

 in part double, in part single brooded, and 

 the exact statistics given are very valuable, 

 since the behavior of the species of this 

 genus is very irregular and incongruous, and 

 every new fact helps toward a solution of 

 difficulties elsewhere. It is needless but 

 pleasant to add that the same abundance, 

 one might almost say luxury, of illustration 

 is employed as heretofore, and it is of mar- 

 vellous delicacy and truthfulness. 



Mr. Edwards would render his plates sim- 

 pler if instead of employing the letters of the 

 alphabet for the different illustrations of the 

 early stages, without uniformity, he would 

 always use some specific and invariable des- 

 ignation, as I, II, or P, / 2 , for the different 

 larval stages. Any one can tell at a glance 

 an egg from a caterpillar or a chrysalis, but 

 when the earlier larval stages are magnified, 

 it requires much comparison of letters with 

 legend to ascertain which stage of the cater- 

 pillar is presented in particular cases; 

 whereas if figures (1,2, etc.) either by them- 

 selves or in connection with the letter / were 

 used, no such reference would be needed, 

 and comparisons could be more readily 

 made. It would also be simpler if in his 

 text he would employ the terms "1st stage," 

 "2d stage," etc., or some equivalent term in- 

 stead of "young larva," "after 1st moult,' 

 etc., neither of which is really definite 



