New Distribution Records of the Tiger-Moth Genus \u3ci\u3ePhragmatobia\u3c/i\u3e in North America (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae: Arctiinae)

New distribution records for all three Nearctic species of Phragmatobia include state records (the first records for the states indicated) of P lineata (Maryland, Wisconsin); P fuliginosa rubricosa (Ohio, South Dakota), and P assimilans (Idaho, Montana, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin), all representing southern range extensions at those longitudes except for the Wisconsin records of P lineata, which are northern range extensions. Chelone glabra (Scrophulariaceae) is reported as a larval hostplant of P lineata, and descriptive notes on the larva of this species are included. Midwinter activity of a larva crawling on snow is reported for P fuliginosa rubricosa. The rare original description of Phragmatobia dallii Packard, 1870, is reproduced

The Distribution of Three Broadly Sympatric Species of \u3ci\u3eSymmerista\u3c/i\u3e Moths (Lepidoptera: Notodontidae) in the Great Lakes and Midwest Regions of the United States.

All three superficially inseparable species of Symmerista known to occur in eastern North America are sympatric in, and reach their western limit of distribution in, the southern Great Lakes and Midwest Regions of the United States. In this region two of the species also reach their southern limit of distribution (S. canicosta reaches its southwestern limit in North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Kentucky, and North Carolina; S. leucitys reaches its southwestern limit in North Dakota, Missouri and Kentucky). The third species (S. albifrons) reaches its northwestern limit in Michigan and Wisconsin. All three species are here documented from well beyond their previously reported ranges, and distribution maps are provided for them. Diagnostic male abdominal structures are figured. Larvae of Symmerista are frequently reported as defoliators of oak (Quercus), maple (Acer), and other hardwoods

Geron Calvus (Diptera: Bombyliidae), a Parasite of Solenobia Walshella (Lepidoptera: Psychidae) in Michigan

Excerpt: Very little is known of the biology of bee-flies in the genus Geron; the few available records show that the larvae are parasitic on Lepidoptera larvae. Mik (1896) noted that Geron gibbosus Meigen had been reared from larvae of the pyralid Nephopteryx sublineatella Strg. and the psychid Fumaria crassiorella (Bruand) in Europe, while Maxwell-Lefroy and Howlett (1909) recorded the tortricid Laspeyresia jaculutrix Meyrick as a host of Geron argentifrons Bru. in India. The present paper appears to be the first report on the biology of any North American Geron

Insects. Ross E. Hutchins. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice- Hall, Inc., 1966. xii, 324 pp. $6.95.

Excerpt: Contemporary entomological writing usually falls into one of two categories: general picture-books designed. for youngsters, and learned monographs and specialized publications that are generally unavailable and incomprehensible to the layman. Insects fills this gap, and interprets modern findings for the advanced amateur, the adult lay public, and even offers insights into aspects of entomology that a professional entomologist, devoted as he is to a specialized field, will find to be new and interesting

Melanderia. Vol. I. 1969. R.D. Akre, Editor; C.A. Johansen, Associate Editor. Irregualr publication of the Washington State Entomological Society, Department of Entomology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99163, 35 pp. Free to members of WSES and major institutions.

Excerpt: The dolichopodid fly Melanderia mandibulata Aldrich was named in honor of its discoverer, A.L. Melander, who was prominent in Northwestern entomology during the first quarter of this century. In its name, this new journal also honors the memory of Dr. Melander

Wild Flowers of the United States: Volume 1, The North-Eastern States (in two parts). Harold William Rickett. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1966. x, 559 pp. $39.50.

Excerpt: Many entomologists are faced with the problem of identifying a plant that an insect has been gathering nectar from, feeding on, or pollinating. Unless he is armed with a working knowledge of botany, and can handle the cumbersome keys in our modern floras, h e must resort to a specialist or a picture book

New Records of Acrolophidae (Lepidoptera) from Kentucky

Excerpt: A recent collection of Kentucky moths submitted for identification contained 28 specimens of Acrolophs, or burrowing webworms. Rudolph A. Scheibner collected the moths in 1966 in Lexington, Fayette Co., and Paintsville, Johnson Co., Kentucky. The specimens are deposited in the insect collections of the University of Kentucky and Michigan State University. The five females in the series, all from Lexington (three collected on 19 June and two collected on 5 July), were not identified. The 23 males, identified according to Hasbrouck (1964), represent four species. Only one of them, A. popeanellus, has previously been recorded from Kentucky

Moths and How to Rear Them. Paul Villiard. New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1969. xiv, 242 pp. $10.00.

Excerpt: W.J.B. Crotch\u27s A Silkmoth Rearer\u27s Handbook (1956) and Wild Silk Moths of the United States by Michael Collins and Robert Weast (1961) have been standard rearers\u27 manuals for some time, but both are limited to one group of large moths, and there has been a decided need for a low-priced guide covering rearing procedures for a much wider range of Lepidoptera. For a number of reasons, Villiard\u27s book falls short of this goal

The Genus Phragmatobia in North America, with the Description of a New Species (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae)

Excerpt: This paper, based on the examination of 1,879 specimens, serves to resolve the taxonomic problems involving the three North American species of Phragmatobia. The genus Phragmatobia, the ruby tiger moths, has had a checkered history since it was described by Stephens in 1829 (type, by monotypy, Noctua j\u27uliginosa Linnaeus, 1758). Although many species have been described in or transferred to this genus, in both the Old and New Worlds, most of them have been removed to other genera. By 1902 Dyar recognized only two North American species, a status since then unchanged (McDunnough, 1938; Forbes, 1960). Despite the recent stability of the names, there has been much confusion as to which names to apply to particular specimens. This problem is resolved below, with the description of a third North American species, long confused with the two named species

A Melanic Pieris Rapae from Michigan (Lepidoptera: Pierdae)

The Arthur J. Yates collection of Michigan Lepidoptera, recently donated to Michigan State University (see Fischer, 1967), contained a striking melanic male cabbage butterfly [Pieris rapae (Linnaeus)] (Figs. 1, 2) now incorporated into the MSU series. Yates collected the specimen on 29 May 1934 in Roseville, Macomb County, near the western shore of Lake St. Clair in southeastern Michigan. An examination of the androconia and genitalia, using the characters described by Chang (1963), assured proper identification of the specimen. Although we have found no record of a similar rapae taken in North America, there are some named European forms of various species of Pieris that resemble our specimen