1974] 
Cooper — Boreus 
1 1 1 
and for but four species are the mosses known upon which the larvae 
feed. I shall bring these records together and discuss them at another 
time. Suffice it to say that more than forty species of moss are in- 
volved, and that these are distributed among 9 orders, 19 families, 
and 28 genera. The families of mosses for which a. member (or mem- 
bers) is known to support the life history of a species of Boreus are 
Dicranaceae, Bryaceae, Mniaceae, Thuidaceae, and Polytrichaceae. 
Records which follow for B. notoperates now add two additional 
families: Grimmiaceae and Orthotrichaceae. The generic and specific 
names are those recognized by Crum, Steere and Anderson (1973). 
B. notoperates uses as food and habitat for its larval stages: Grim- 
mia apocarpa Hedw., G. montana B.S.G., Rkacomitrium sudeticum 
(Funck.) B.S.G., and Orthotrichum rupestre Schleich. ex Schwaeger. 
Each is widely distributed, being found in Europe, Asia, and North 
America. Adults have been collected on all of the above, as well as 
on the following: Grimmia laevigata (Brid.) Brid.; Tortula prin- 
ceps De Not. and T. ruralis (Hedw.) Gaertner (Pottiaceae) ; 
Homalothecium aeneum (Mitt.) Lawt., IT. nevadense (Lesq.) Ren. 
& Card., II. pinnatifidum (Sull. et Lesq.) Lawt., and Camptothe- 
cium amesiae Ren. & Card, (all Thuidaceae). The identifications of 
all of these mosses have been made by Professor Lewis E. Anderson 
of the Department of Botany, Duke University, Durham, N.C., and 
voucher specimens have been retained in the herbarium at Duke 
University. 
Adult B. notoperates will browse in the laboratory on all of the 
mosses listed above. But of the mosses upon which only adults have 
been collected, only Grimmia laevigata and the two species of Tortula 
are widely distributed (Eur., Asia, N. A.), and by the nature of 
their rhizoids and sods are likely candidates as larval habitats and 
food. The sods of the mosses in which larval and pupal B. notoper- 
ates have been found are compact, but surprisingly thin, falling 
within the range from 5— 10 mm when dry, and from nearly 6-12 
mm when thoroughly damp. The Thuidaceae, on the other hand, are 
all endemic species. Because their clumps are coarse, open, and gen- 
erally without a suitably fine rhizoid mat and sod, they are probably 
not used as larval habitat and food mosses. 
It is of particular interest that the mosses which serve as larval 
food for B. notoperates are very widespread; also that B. notoper- 
ates is not limited to a single species or genus of moss but in fact 
utilizes members of two families representing different orders (Grim- 
miales and Isobryales). Whatever limits the geographic distribution 
