BARNES ANI> McDUNNOUGH: CATOCALA ^ 



This section contains all the walnut-feeders, the Myrica-feeders, and a single, rather aberrant, Gleditschia-i 'eeder. 

 Our further grouping is based on a study of the egg, the larva, and the male genitalia, which apparently present very 

 excellent and constant classificatory features. As, unfortunately, the early stages of several species are entirely unknown 

 and those of others quite incompletely so, our system must be considered as more or less tentative and will, doubtless, be 

 considerably modified when the early stages have been adequately studied. Our studies, however, have convinced us 

 that a separation on the color of the secondaries alone is entirely faulty — one based on the larval food-plants, even, would 

 be considerably more accurate — and that the black-winged forms are of comparatively recent origin and have developed 

 from various orange and yellow forms by a spreading of the black areas until all traces of color on the upper side of the 

 secondaries have been eliminated. 



Group I 



Egg rather more than hemispherical, ribbed. Larva without lateral filaments, but with a slight dorsal transverse 

 wart on the fifth abdominal segment.' Male claspers strongly asymmetrical, the left clasper and the left harpe being quite 

 abnormal in shape and differing markedly from those of any other member of the section. 



This group contains but a single species, the Gleditschia-i 'eeder, innubens Guenee. 



Catocala innubens Guenee 



Plate VII, figs. 9-11; PI. X, fig. 35 (larval head); PL XI, fig. 10 (larva); PI. XVIII, figs. 1 and 2 (claspers). 



Catocala innubens Guenee, 1852, Hist. Nat. Ins. Sp. Gen., VII, p. 98. French, 1888, Can. Ent., XX, p. 170 (larva). Barnes and 



McDtjnnough, 1918, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., XXXVIII, p. 147. 

 Catocala scintillans Grote and Robinson, 1866, Proc. Ent. Soc. Phil., VI, p. 28, PI. in, fig. 6. 

 Catocala innubens var. flavidalis Grote, 1874, Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc, V, p. 95. 

 Catocala innubens var. hinda French, 1881, Papilio, I, p. 111. 



This species is too well known to need further comment on our part. The form described as hinda by French is merely 

 the normal female, as figured on plate VII, figure 10, and the name should be dropped. Scintillans Grote and Robinson 

 (figure 11) is a well-marked form which is quite worthy of a name. Flavidalis Grote is presumably a rare color-sport with 

 yellow instead of orange secondaries; it is a mere aberration of which we have never seen specimens. Beutenmiiller 

 (1903, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., XIX, p. 508) states, on the authority of Mr. Chas. Dury, that it is artificially pro- 

 duced by heat. 



The species occurs throughout practically the entire eastern half of the United States and is very common in the 

 Mississippi and Ohio valleys ; northward, it extends into Ontario and Wisconsin but we have no records of its occurrence 

 in the Canadian Northwest. 



Group II 



Egg hemispherical, ribbed. Larva smooth, without either dorsal warts or lateral filaments. Male claspers strongly 

 asymmetrical. 



The single species, piatrix Grote, has generally been associated with neogama and subnata, but it differs so markedly 

 in egg, larva, and genitalia from other members of the section that we have no alternative to placing it in a group by itself. 

 The non-specialized egg and larva would point to a rather primitive form. 



Catocala piatrix Grote 



Plate VI, figs. 2 and 3; PI. X, fig. 27 (larval head); PL XI, fig. 6; PI. XIII, fig. 5 (larva); PI. XV, fig. 8 

 (larval head); PL XVIII, figs. 3 and 4 (claspers); PL XXI, figs. 23-25 (tibiae). 



Catocala piatrix Grote, 1864, Proc. Ent. Soc. Phil., Ill, pp. 88 and 532, PL in, fig. 3. Betjtenmuller, 1902, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. 



Hist., XVI, p. 389, PL lii, fig. 13 (larva). Barnes and McDtjnnough, 1918, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., XXXVIII, p. 148. 

 Catocala dionyza Hy. Edwards, 1885, Papilio, IV, Jan., p. 124. 



This species is subject to very little variation in the imago; the females are somewhat more contrastingly marked 



