HYBRIDS OF CALLIMORPIIA STEECKER. 



275 



golden reflexion. Secondavies with obscurediscal dots, and marginal and sub- 

 marginal bands or lines. 



From Mr. G. H. French ; one example taken in Illinois ; exact locality 

 not stated. 



I know of no North American Noctuid that equals this in splendor. It 

 reminds one in a measure of Plusia lllustris, F., and Modesia, Iliib., in 

 the tints, and somewhat in general resemblance, but its metallic silvery 

 sheen far excels these or any other Plusia 1 have ever seen. It may, 

 according to American ideas, seem to deserve the distinction of being 

 placed in a separate genus, but I believe it is unnecessary to take it from 

 the group that contains Trifascia, Hub., Gracilenta, Hilb., Neclia, Morr. 

 etc., which, though it exceeds them all in size and beauty, are appar- 

 ently its nearest allies. 



On some Hybrids between Callimorplia Lecontei, Bdl.. and C. Inter- 

 riqjto-marginata, De Beauv., figured on Plate IV, figs. 5, 6, 7. 



BY HERMAN STRECKER. 



C(dlimorpha Interricpto-marginnta is, especially for an Arctian, a most 

 i^emarkably constant species, presenting scarcely any variation in differ- 

 ent examples, whilst to the contrary in C Lecontei, the number of varie- 

 ties and aberrancies that occur are almost without parallel, and have 

 resulted in the describing of what were supposed to be four distinct spe- 

 cies, three of which, however — Co)}finis, Wlk., Contigua, Wlk., Fulvicosta, 

 Clem.,* are only varities, though very marked ones, the last named one, 

 being entirely immaculate, devoid of all blackish marks whatever; but 

 besides these many more just as remarkable departures from the stem 

 form are found, and without exaggeration I may safely assert that in 

 my own collection are at least twenty well defined forms of this species 

 [Lecontei). Of Interrupto-marginata I have never seen a variety that 

 was of importance enough to deserve notice. Of the third North Amer- 

 ican species, C. Clymene, Esp., found in the Southern .States. I have an 

 immaculate form, all pale yellow, without any dark marks, thus resem- 

 bling the variety (of Lecontei) Fulvicosta, except that it is yellow, whilst 

 the latter is white. 



Last year I received from a friend in Southern Indiana a box full of 

 Lecontei in many varieties, as well as a number of LUen-upto-marginata, 

 the latter, as usual, quite constant. But among this lot were also a num- 

 ber of examples that at tirst fairly puzzled me. They were marked 

 exactly like some varieties of Lecontei, and one was immaculate like the 

 var. Fulvicosta of that species ; bui the ground color of these was a pale 

 buff, a little darker than in the primaries of hxterntpto-marginafa in- 

 stead of being white ; but independent of this uniform yellow color of 

 all wings and body, they were to all intents Lecontei. That they were not 

 a new species I felt certain, and of course the next thought that suggested 



*C. VestaUs Pack., and Tanada Conscita, Wlk., are synonyms of this form. 



