2 BULLETIX 1076, U. S. DEPAETMEXT OF AGRICULTURE. 



of the writers' observations and jDreviouslj' published data are in- 

 cluded herein. The morphology and diagnostic characters of this 

 and the other species mentioned, which have already been admirably 

 worked out by Heinrich {16) and also by Flint and Malloch {17) 

 and Mosher {13, 15), are largely omitted from this discussion. 



SYSTEMATIC HISTORY. 



Pyrausta penitalis was first described by Grote {1} under the 

 generic name Botis from material taken on Neluiiibo lutea at Law- 

 rence, Kans. In 1890 it was redescribed by Smith (-5) as Botis ne- 

 Inmbialis from "Egyptian" (more properly "Indian") lotus, 

 xV. nucifera, at Bordentown, X. J. Thinking that he was dealing 

 with this species, Coquillett {2) published some notes on a form 

 which has since been shown {12, 14) to be distinct, probably P. fu- 

 tilalis. Eiley and Howard (4, p. 3Jf9 , Townsend (-5, p. ^67), Coquil- 

 lett (7, pj). 16, 17, 19, 27), and Viereck {11, p. Ji.53) record parasites 

 which will be more fully noted later. Hart (6", p. 180), gives some 

 scattered biological information and descriptions of the various 

 stages as observed on A^. lutea along the Illinois River. Coquillett 

 (7) first used the name in its present form, and Dyar {9, p. 391) lists 

 the species as occurring in the south Atlantic States, with B. nelum- 

 hialis Smith as a synonym. Chittenden {12) summarized all the 

 facts available up to the time of his paper and from them formu- 

 lated a tentative life cycle which, because of the fact that he was con- 

 sidering two species, one of them at the time undescribed, will have 

 to be considerably modified. Welch (i^) bas made the latest con- 

 tribution to our knowledge of the species, and his observations, 

 made at Sandusky Bay, Lake Erie, although good, are incom- 

 plete as to life history, because they covered only a small part of the 

 growing season. His conclusions, however, come nearer the facts 

 than any hitherto published. 



STUDIES AT KNOXVILLE, TENN. 



FIELD COLLECTIONS. 



The authors' work on the species dates from July 19, 1919. when, 

 after considerable search, a plantation of the yellow lotus or water 

 chinquapin {NeJuml)o lutea) (PI. I) was located at Kimberlin 

 Height's, about 15 miles from our laboratory at Knoxville, Tenn. This 

 plantation consisted of a dense border of the plants surrounding a mud- 

 bottomed pond of about 3 acres on the campus of a small denomina- 

 tional school. It was said that the plants had started several j^ears 

 . before from seeds thrown into the pond by one of the students. As 

 nearly as the authors have been able to ascertain, this is now the only 

 occurrence of the plant in eastern Tennessee, although it is known 



