— 152 — 



There were brilliant electric lights at Pensacola, brightly burning 

 lamps at Suwanee, and we watched them persistently, but nothing — 

 or almost nothing — ever came. No day-flying moths, CieometricKx, 

 deltoids, or microlepidoptera were seen. Even Litosea lom'a/cscctn 

 which takes the place there of our Drasteria erechtea and is 

 generally abundant, starting up in the grass or brush, flying and 

 lighting every instant, was almost unknown this season. I have 

 no theory of my own to account for this state of things. But I 

 give you one advanced by Dossy, the colored boy who sometimes 

 acted as my charioteer. "Seems like them can'le-flies all gwine 

 off this year to World's Fa"r." 



A STRANGE FORM OF CATOCALA. 



Bv George A. Ehrman, Pittsburg, Pa. 

 Catocala denussa sp. nov. 



Male. — .\nteiin;X' light brown ; palpi black ; frontal space, (bet\Veen the eyes) 

 dark brown ; thorax brown and finely scattered with ashen grey hairs, tegula edgeJ 

 with a light fawn color ; abdomen light fawn and darker toward the tip. Upper 

 surface of primaries: ground color brownish grey ahnost black with a silky caste. 

 Similar to that in C. antiuyitipha Hiib., the limbal area or space is void of having 

 any transverse wavy lines ; the reniform spot is very minute almost wanting, and 

 the subrenifoim spot is similar to that in C. antinyiupha, in the middle area tliere 

 are also no wavy lines ; basal line light grey almost white ; basal space also has na 

 markings, the transverse anterior and posterior lines are very faint. Upper suiface 

 of secondaries : similar to those of C. Jiabilis Grt., but the orange colored band o^ 

 the inner space witler, hence making the median black band much narrower and 

 more angulated. 



Under surface : the same as in Catoco/a /la/nlis, e.xcept that tlie outer margin 

 of the primaries has not that light shading, but is of a pure blackish brown ; the 

 orange bands are paler and broader both on the primaries and secondaries thaa 

 they are in C. /ial>ilis, but otherwise the same. 



Habitat : — '^ in my collection, Allegheny County, Penn. 



This is a strange form of Catocala, and seems more interesting 

 than strange, by having the resemblance of two old and well known 

 species ; it is of the size of C. kahilis but the characteristics of the 

 upper surface of the anterior wings are allied to Catocala antinyni- 

 pha. At first sight it looks considerable like C. iiiiilicrcii/a Gn. but 

 is entirely distinct and has no relations with that species whatever,, 

 I hesitated at flrst to describe Catocala denussa as a species, and 

 thought it but an extreme form of C. liabilis, as variation has ntv 

 limit in the genus Catocala, but when studying them side by side^ 

 I cannot be convinced otherwise, than that it is a good and 

 reliable species. 



