University of Michigan 



15. Hetaerina titia Drury. 



Guatemala, Gualan (i, 9). Los Amates (9, 10), Morales, Puerto 

 Barrios (10), Santo Tomas (9, 10, 13)- 



In the ]Motagua Valley this species occurs from sea level 

 at Puerto Barrios to Gualan, where it meets americana, which 

 descends no farther down the valley. It was well established 

 at Gualan, at Los Amates 84 per cent of all the Hetaerinas 

 taken were this species, and at Puerto Barrios over 97 per 

 cent were this species. If I have been correct in regarding 

 tricolor as a synonym of titia, this species, when its occurrence 

 at sea level in Guatemala is taken into account, has a surpris- 

 ingly wide distribution to the north, where it reaches Illinois, 

 Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania in the United States. Occurring 

 at sea level in Guatemala, one might expect an extensive range 

 south of Guatemala, but the species occurs no farther south 

 than Nicaragua, but little farther than americana. In view 

 of the great similarity in the geographical distribution of the 

 two species {americana and titia), their habitat distribution 

 in the Motagua Valley is difficult to understand. And in Indi- 

 ana I am at as great a loss to explain their abundance on 

 some streams and their absence from others. 



The amount of variation in the wing coloring of males 

 from the same locality is surprising. The lightest colored 

 male in the present material is from Gualan, and is interme- 

 diate between figures i and 2, plate 3, B. C. A. But from 

 the same locality there is a teneral male with all four wings 

 brown, and therefore darker than the extreme case figured 

 by Calvert (figure 15, loc. cit.). I cannot tell certainly from 

 the present material, but it is probable that wings of teneral 

 males are sufifused with brown over a larger area than is occu- 

 pied ])y the darker brown or black of their maturity. 



