124 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [April, 



A COMPARISON OF THE NORTH AMERICAN SPECIES OF 

 ARACHNIS, WITH DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES. 



By Dr. RoDRiGUES Ottolengui. 



(See Plate IV.) 



In Entomological News, vol. iv, p. 140, is a description of 

 a new Arachnis by Messrs. Neumoegen and Dyar. At this place 

 it is called a new variety of Arachnis pi da, and the name citra 

 is given. In " The Revision of the Bombyces" citra is called a 

 lacal race of picta. 



From material before me I believe that I can establish the fact 

 that citra is not^a variety of the Californian picta,. but is much 

 more closely allied to another species, which I have decided to 

 call Arachnis maia. 



In this connection I may make a statement of some interest. 

 I believe that citra is a distinct species, as is also maia, its nearest 

 ally. Nevertheless I have specimens of picta, reared from a 

 single brood of larv£E, among which is one in which the creamy 

 ground color gives place to jellow, and this difference in Cjolor is- 

 one of the prime distinctions between citra and maia, so that it 

 may be proven by future discoveries that one of these forms is 

 either a variety or a local race of the other. With this possi- 

 bility in mind I may quote from the original description of citra 

 the following paragraph: " Mr. Bruce, who caught these charm- 

 ing insects and who suggested the varietal name, writes as fo.- 

 lows: 'This form {citra) is found nearly on the western border 

 of Colorado, at low elevation (6000 feet), and is very constant in 

 color. I have them even a little pinker, and not quite so yellow. 

 The ordinary form is not found at that place at all, yet is common 

 120 miles east of there, and I have reared a good many fron> 

 females taken in Arkansas Valley, all being the ordinary form. 

 It {citra) is so local and constant in color it is surely worthy of a 

 name.' " 



By " ordinary form" in the above paragraph Mr. Bruce meant 

 picta, but it happens that the tru^ picta does not occur in Colo- 

 rado at all, and what he mistook for picta is what I am about to 

 describe as maia. 



Should it be learned hereafter that citra and maia are but va- 

 rieties, one of the other, I understand that, according to the rules, 

 the spac.fic name would ordinarily be citra, and the varietal name 



