29 



PHYSALIS VISCOvSA A FOOD PLANT FOR GELE- 

 CHIA XIGRIMACULELLA Chambers. 



BY W. B. HALL, WAKEMAN, O. 



In August 1898 a berry of Ph3'salis viscosa was found 

 wrinkled and yielded readily to the touch, nothing but the 

 shell and a few seeds within remaining. The seeds were 

 held together in a bunch by a silky mass, in the center of 

 which I found the deserted chrysalis of a tinead moth. On 

 further investigation many berries in the same condition 

 were found. Owing to the lateness of the season, I almost 

 de.spaired of finding a moth ; but fortunately found 8 chry- 

 salides which were carefully transferred to a breeding cage 

 when, in a day or two appeared one quite perfect moth; and 

 two others in poor condition. 



During the season of 1S94 a few notes have been added 

 to its life histor}'. I bred 40 or oO specimens and submitted 

 some of these to L. O. Howard of the Department at Wash- 

 ington for identification. He informed me that it was an 

 unnamed Gelechia, specimens of which were in the National 

 Museum. He referred the specimens to Dr. Riley who gave 

 his opinion that it was Gelechl\ nigrimaculella Cham. 

 I sent additional specimens to Dr. Riley who replied as fol- 

 lows: "The poor little fellow has had a variety of names, 

 and I cannot just now tell which has precedence, though it 

 will be safe to adopt the one I gave in my last letter, G. 

 nigrimaculilla Cham. I am convinced on comparision with 

 specimens that this is synonymous with G. quercifoliclclla 

 Cham., which in my ' List of the Tineina of Boreal America' 

 has for synon^nns G. bicustomaculella Cham. : and G. gibho- 

 sella Stn. It is quite likely that G. maculoniarginella Cham, 

 may turn out to be the same thing. It is prett\' widely dis- 

 tributed, as I have specimens from New York, Mi.s.souri, 

 Wisconsin and Los Angeles, Cal. It has been reared only, 

 so far as I know, from a leaf folding larva on the Laurel Oak. 

 The larva pupates in a slight cocoon between the leaves, or 

 in a folded leaf, and the moths have usually appeared in the 



