June, 1902.] Kearfott : On North American Choreutes. Ill 



Var. virginiella Clem. 



1864. Brenthia virginiella CLEMENS, Proc. Ent. Soc. Phil., Vol. Ill, p. 505. 

 1872. Brenthia virginiella Stainton, Tineina No. Am., p. 257. 

 1900. Choreutis vi7-giniella Dyar, Can. Ent., Vol. XXXII, 85. 

 1900. CJtoreutis virginiella Fernald, Can. Ent., XXXII, 243. 



Original description : 



"Fore wings dark brown, tinged with ochreous between the markings towards 

 the tip, with an oblique, somewhat violet-hued silvery line, from the costa at the 

 apical third, directed towards the anal angle ; a line of the same hue from the tip of 

 the wing, parallel to the hinder margin, and a white costal streak equidistant from 

 the two silvery lines. On the inner margin, a little interior to the anal angle, is a 

 silvery, somewhat violet hued spot. Cilia whitish beneath the tip of the wing, with 

 a dark intercilial line. Hind wings dark brownish, with a silvery spot near the hinder 

 margin above the anal angle. A single specimen. Virginia. Coll. Ent. Soc. Phila." 



It is unfortunate that Dr. Clemens could not have reversed the 

 order of publication of the above descriptions, so that the form with 

 lilaceous scales only {virginiella) could be the species, and that with 

 a few scattered greenish metallic scales {i/iflatella) the variety, as 

 the former is the most common form. I have before me seven speci- 

 mens o{ virginiella, five taken in the vicinity of Montclair, N. J., and 

 two from collection of Dr. Dietz, labelled Toronto, Can., and have 

 examined at the National Museum one specimen from Boston, Mass. 

 (coll. Beutenmiiller). There is also in the National Museum one 

 i\)e.c\vaenoi inflate I la (locality unknown). 



The only difference that I can discover and in fact the only differ- 

 ence in Dr. Clemens' descriptions, although they are differently 

 worded, of virginiella and inflatella is that the latter has a {^.w greenish 

 metallic scales on the inner and costal half of fore wings, while on vir- 

 giniella all the scales are lilaceous. The outer marginal band of metallic 

 scales on inflatella as well as other scales on outer half of fore wing are 

 of this same color. So the only difference is that while in virginiella 

 all the metallic scales are lilaceous, in inflatella some are lilaceous and 

 some have a greenish reflection. I do not consider this a specific dif- 

 ference, but it may be known by its varietal name at least until the 

 life history is known. It is probably the most distinct and least 

 variable of any of the species of this genus, its nearest prototypes being 

 C. myllerana F. of Europe and the larger Pacific Coast form dyarella. 



The chief distinguishing characters are : 



I. Shape of primaries unlike any Choreutis, excf^t dyarella ; apex 

 terminates in a sharp point and outer margin nearly straight ; in these 



