THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Ill 



be but a variety of extrematis ; and Cryptus Stivthii, Pack., (Proc. Bost. Soc. 

 2^at. Hist., IX, pp. 345-6) infest the form that has been described as Samia 

 Columbia. 



As the r^ of extrematis has not yet been described, and as upon comparing numerous specimens, 

 in conjunction witli Mr. Cresson, it appears that his ^ extrematis is really (^ nuncius. Say, I shall 

 append Mr. Cresson's original description of the $ , with a lew amplifications, and then describe the ^ 

 by comparison. It is proper to add that Say's description oi nuncius is so incomplete that the ^ is 

 not clearly made out, and from ought there is in the text he may have described from a single $ spec- 

 imen; and the (j'^^'ofthe two species could only be separated by breeding, and by comparison of 

 numerous specimens. 



Cryptus EXTREMATIS, Cress., ¥~" l^li^'k, shining, somewhat robust; head short and broad; 

 antennas as long as the body, slender, black, the 7th to l'2th [more often 11th] joints white [or dirty 

 yellow] , the 3rd and 4th joints long, the 3rd rather the longest, 5th a little shorter than the 4th, and the 

 6th about half as long as the 3rd. [Palpi black or only white at joints] . Thorax finely punctured, 

 the dorsal lines rather deep; scutellum subconvex, polished; metathorax finely scabrous, opaque, its 

 base smoother and shining, -the elevated lines tolerably well deflued, forming a large more or less dis- 

 tinct,' subrhomboidal central area, lateral tubercles not well defined. Wings faintly tinged with fus- 

 cous; nervures and stigma blackish, pale at base; .areolet large, subquadrate. Legs pale rufous, [the 

 front coxre black] the posterior femora and tib;e at tips, and the base and apex of their tarsi blackish 

 [bas.al joint always black], rest of their tarsi white. Abdomen rather stout, sub-ovate, polished, 

 rnfous or yellowish-rufous; basal segment strongly arcuated, broad at tip; the 4th and following 

 joints black, the 6th or 7th [mostly 7th] or both, more or less white above; ovipositor about as long 

 as the body [abdomen] , rufous , valves Ijlack . Length 4— .^)i lines ; expanse of wings 6— 9>^ lines . ' ' 



^5^— Difl'ers from $ by his more slender abdomen, by his front coxas being rnfous sometimes 

 tinged, especially above, with black; his posterior cox» black or blackish, especially above; his 

 four anterior trochanters paler; his palpi white, the terminal joint a little dusky; his antenna; with 

 the two basal joints black, the rest brown on the upper surface interrupted by a paler yellowish line 

 from joints 9—15 or 10, uniformly pale testaceous on the lower surface; the basal abdominal joint ru- 

 fous, more or less tinged Avith black; the apex of abdomen, or from .ith to last joint, entirely black 

 with no white spot. 



I have bred 7 (5's, 29 Js all from one cocoon of Ceooy^n, and have r.'ceived 10 Js, -2 ^^s, also bred 

 from the cocoon of that species, fromMr. Otto Lugger now of St. Louis. Other specimens bred from 

 Cecropia are in the collection of the Entomological Society at Philadelphia and they all agree closely. 

 C. extrematis J may be distinguished from nwwcms $ by the palpi being always mostly black, by 

 the posterior tarsi being always broadly black both at base and apex, by the greater length of the ab- 

 domen and especially by the greater length of the ovipositor which is as long as the abdomen, or nearly 

 so. Extrematis (^ diflers from rmncius ^ by the four anterior coxie being rufous, the front ones in- 

 clining to black, by the basal abdominal joint being rufous, by the apex of abdomen being black 

 with no white spot, and by the posterior tarsi being broadly black at base and apex. 



C. nuncius, § may be distinguished from ei-icewahs $ by the palpi being more or less white, by the 

 posterior tarsi being generally entirely whitish, except terminal joint; by the broader and shorter ab- 

 domen, and more especially by the ovipositor being much shorter, never exceeding one-half the length 

 of abdomen. Nuncius ^ is distinguished from extrematis ^ by the four anterior coxa; being white, the 

 posterior tarsi generally entirely whitish except terminal joint, by tlie basal ."bdominal joiut being 

 generally black, and by having generally— not always— a white spot on joints 6 or 7, or both. 



I have bred 6 $s from the cocoon of Promethea, and Mr. Cresson has examineil numerous spec- 

 imens of both sexes likewise bred from Prometheai and they all agree, though tiie species is more 

 inclined to vary than extrematis, and especially in the size and conspicuousness of the white apical 

 spot. Were it not that Say's nuncius was also bred from the same species 1 should feel inclined to be- 

 lieve it distinct from the species here characterized as such; but rather than describe a new species I 

 prefer to believe that Say inadvertently overlooked the white ajjical spot on abdomen of § or that it 

 may have been more or less obsolete; and that he either had no (j", or overlooked sexual diflerences. 



If authors were more careful in describing species, and especially if they would tell us how many 

 specimens they describe from, these difliculties in separating them would rarely arise. 



The only other species, which 1 know of, at all likely to be confounded with extrematis, is one 

 subsequently described as Cryptus samiw by Dr. Packard (Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. .Hist. Vol. IX p. 345; 

 1865.; and bred from Sa7nia Columbia, Smith, in whose cocoon it forms a collection of its own 

 cocoons just as ea'<rcmrt<w does in those of the genuine Cecropia. Indeed if we substitute the Avords 

 "trochanters" for "coxa;" and "coxiB" for "trochanters," in Dr. Packard's description, it agrees 

 in every minute particular with extrematis, except in lacking the apical white spot in the § . From 

 the similarity of habit, and from the exact similitude in every other respect, I strongly suspect, 

 therefore, that Dr. Packard has inadvertently misapplied the terms "coxie" and "trochanters;" 

 that the white apical spot, which is variable in size, may sometimes become as obsolete in the J »* '" 

 the i^, and that samia should at the most be considered a variety of extrematis. 



