Blackmore, E. H.

English

Journal of the Entomological Society of British Columbia

" . PROCE8DlNGS. 10]8 19 No. of Specim en s 1. U ni form dark choco late brown , markings indi stin ct .... 18 2. Very da rk , w ith th e ba nd on ou ter margin a nd the renifo rm and o r bicular spo t s show ing di stin ct but dark 9 3. Dark , with th e sam e markings li g hter and m ore con-tra st ing ....... ... ............. ... .. .... ... .............. ....... .... ....... ..... ... ... .... . 13 'r ota l. .......... ....... ... ...... ..................... 40 The fema le parent of th e brood belonged to g roup No . 2. It I S curi ous th at th ere should be fewe r of th is type tha n the o thers. A REVISION OF THE BRITISH COLUMBIA SPECIES OF THE GEOMETRID GENUS HYDRIOMENA HUB. By £ . H . B lackm ore, V icto ri a, B.C. Durin g t he pa st four yea rs I have end eavoured t o try and st ra ig hten out thi s m os t diffi cult and perpl exing g roup, as far a s it concern ed our B riti sh Columbia species. I have g iven pap er s on th is genu s a t som e of ou r p rev ious m ee tings, b rin g ing the chan ges up to da te as ou r kn ow l-edge becam e m ore extended. In co n sequ ence o f fur t her add iti ona l resea rch, ot her changes have bee n m ad e w hi ch brin gs thi s particular genu s pretty near perfection. What has made thi s genu s so perp lex ing in th e pa st is th e fact th at m a ny speci es w hi ch could no t be ·conveni ently p laced in a ny oth er genera, were a ll dump ed in here, w it h th e result t hat th ere was a hete rogenou s m ass of species w hi ch bo re no appa rent relat ion ship t o each oth er; eith er in macul a ti on o r generi c structure. In 1892, M r. Meyri ck, o f London, E ng land, pub li shed a "Cla ss ifica-t ion of Geom etrin a of the E uropean Fauna" (Tran s. E nto . Socy. L ondon 1892, Part 1, pp . 53-140), in w hich he end eavoured to arra nge th e fam ily on th e bas is o f in va ri ab le stru ct ure. Th is class ificati on wa s not entirely adopted, as h e had not t aken into accou nt t he known exist ence of inter-mediate fo r m s in na ture . The stri ct est a pplicati on of hi s fundam enta l rules of class ification , made som e of hi s gen era, especia ll y th e one we have under con sideration , cover a lmo st su b-family di ffere nces . Th e R ev. Geo . H ul st , so me fou r yea r s la t er , publi shed a "Class ifica-ti on of the Geom etrin a of North Am er ica" (Tra n s. A m. E nt. Socy., Vol. XXII!. , pages 245-386), and w hile fo ll ow ing Meyrick 's cla ss ifi ca tion in th e main , he m ade severa l cha nges, notab ly in thi s ge nu s Hydriomena, separating f rom it five oth er genera w hi ch M ey rick had placed w ith it, viz.: Meso1euea, Ce:enocalpe, Triphosa, Euchoria a nd Gypsochroa. Even th en, Hulst admitted th at he had drawn a n artifi cia l lin e in thi s genu s, a s he says: 20 B. C. ENTO~[oLOG IC,\ 1, SOC IETY " I hay c in a sort o f " 'ay made Hydriomena th e refu ge of species \\ ' h os~ males I have not seen, and who se cxact refe rence cannot th ere-fo re bc gi ven. The species under it a re yet, in respect to palpi , anten nae, a nd th ora cic tufting-s, ve ry va riable, but I hes itate t o make a ny furt her di y ision s, a s the bulk of the species li e mid way bet\\'een the extremes." Thi s is how the positi on stood unti l q uite recentl y . alth ough it has been fe lt by \\·o rker,.; in thi s g roup fo r a long tim e pa st that s0 1l1 ething \I"(' l!ld ha\' c t o be done to further limi t thi s unwield:-' and cumberso me gc nu s. The tru e Hydriomenas \I'ere eas il y separable, and fell into a natural group. but what to do \yith th e oth ers ,,'as th e g rea t troubl e. Out of 28 species li st ed by Dr. D yar (U.S .N .M . B ull. 52, 1902) in 1902, only 8 we re tru e Hydriomenas. Iloweve r. in that m onum ental work, "Se itz ::\ rac ro- Lepidoptera o f the v\'or ld." parts of wh ich we re fi r st publ ished in 1913. and \yhi ch o wing to t he war. has neve r been completed, and perhaps neve r ,,·i ll be . Louis B. Prout. of th e Br iti sh l\ [u seulll , the g rea te st geo lll e tridi st " 'e ha\'e today, and in "'hose cha ri!:e the g eo metrid part ,,'as plac ed, ha s comp let ely revi sed t he wh ole of the family , with th e rcsult that a ll those fugiti\' e spec ie .. w hi ch had fo und a res tin g-place in thi s ge nu s. ,,'e re rem o\'e c1 to other ge ne ra o r else had ncw genera erec ted fo r th em . -In the 1906 Check Li st o f B.C. L ep idoptera. 13 species were li st ed und er th e gen us Hydriomena, of w hi ch onl y seve n we re tru e species of thi s gen us-the other s ix spec ies have s in ce been p laced in four o th er diff erent gene ra. I-laying' Sho\Y 11 you the d ifficu lti es we have had to contend w it h in thi s g roup, a nd brought yo u down to th e point w h ere the tru e Hydrio-menas have been at la st p laced by th em selves, I w ill now go on to g ive a bri ef r esu me of t hese tru e speci es . Pre"ious to 1911. "ery little was kn ow n about t he form s descri bed by th e ol der a uth ors. seve ra l o f th em hav ing been desc ri bed from females onl y . In th a t yea r M r. L . W. Swett, o f Boston, Mass., publi shed an arti cle in th e Can. Ent ., Vo l. 43, p. 73 ct seq. , in w hi ch he separated them into three main group s acco rding to th e leng th of the palpi-short, moderate and long. Thi s was a di stin ct advance on a nything attempted before, and rcdu ced th c l11 frOI11 a n un vv ieldy m ass into som ething like approaching o rd er . In thc ncw Check L ist th ey are p laced practically as Swett worked th em out , but si nce th en Mess rs. Barnes and McD unnough have pub-li shed a rev is ion of thi s g roup (Cont. N.H. L ept. No. A m er. , Vol. IV., No. 1, May, 19 17) . Th is revision is ba sed on th e stru cture of th e male genita lia, with specia l refe rence t o the shape of th e un cus, and has ce rta inly led t o a number of radica l cha nges. The a:'lthors have ret ained Swett 's pa lpa l subdi vision s, so that with taking these t wo principal char-PROC1~E])J~C:S . Hl lS 21 acte r s in conjunct ion \\·ith each oth er. it w ill be eaSler to separate our Briti sh Co lt11llh ia spec ies t ha n ha s h itherto hee n the ca sco M ess r s. Ihrn es and l\I c ])u nnoug'h a re ce rta in ly to be cO l:g ratu lated on th eir \\·o rk. whi ch . as fa r as our p resent knowl edge goes . is pretty n ear ly p erfec t. I may state here that it is no t necessary t o break off th e boch' o f a che ri shed spec i1ll en t o exa1llin e th e geni ta li a . a s by si1ll p ly remov in g a few hairs \\· ith a f111e h ru sh fr01ll th e a na l segment. th e t;n cu s is exposed t o \"i e\\" and can be read il y exam in ed 'und er a st rong len s o r 10w-po\Ve r mlcro scope. There a re three di stin ct t y pes of un cu s in thi s group- trun cate, co nical and hifu rcate- each of which ha s it s o\\" n m od ification s nnd varintio n s. I wi ll not tnk e up your t im e in g'o ing ove r th e \\'hole list o f Briti sh Co lumbia spec ies sepn ra te ly . but wi ll g i\'e you a fe \\" remark s on th e n('\\' fo rm s. with th eir di stin g ui shin g cha racteri sti cs. a nc! a lso on th ose \\"h ich may be difficu lt t o det ermi ne . contenting ll1 yse lf \\·ith g iyin g you a li st of tho se specie s that a re \\'ell kn o\\"n a nd of which th e na m es ha\'e not been changed. In th eir proper sequ ence, the latte r co n sist s of furcata periclata S\\"ett ; nubilofasciata cupidata Swett ( l\h. Day, of Dunca n . has tal.;:en th e only speci m en in B ri t ish Co lum b ia, th 2. t I have an y reco rd of); manzanita Tay lor; irata Swett ; californiata Pack; and speciosata Pack, 'with it s fo r111 s taylori Swe tt, a nd ameliata Swett. The latte r of w hi ch onl y two specim en s have been taken, both of w hi ch were collec t ed by myse lf. T here has been con siderab le dou bt in t he past about th e two species furcata Thun ., a nd quinquefasciata Pack. A n examinat ion of th e g enitalia of th e t\\·o fo rm s shows quite a diffe rence, and th ey are easi ly separable by thi s character a lone. The shape of th e un cu s in furcata (page 25, F ig. 1), is iden tica l w ith th e figure g iven in P ierce's "Genita lia of the B riti sh Geom etrid ae ." The colour of the pr im a ri es of t hi s spec ies is eith er m oky o r else dec ided ly reddi sh. There is a lso a E uropean form th at occurs w ith it, fuscoun-data Don. , w h ich is ve ry strong ly marked, and hav ing a g reeni sh tinge w ith the m edian space ruddy. It is practicall y id enti c".! in maculation with the next specie quinquefasciata Pack. , a nd can only be sepa rated by the shape of th e uncus (page 25, Fig. 3) be ing convex in st ead of concave, having th e base broader and the la t era l ap ical points 111u ch redu ced. \ iV ith this species goes th e fo rm viridata Pack. , which is g reen er, has n o ruddy shades, and is m ore indi stinct in its m a rkings. I have sp ecim en s of th ese forms , a ll taken in V ictoria. Weare all pretty w ell acquainted w ith the species hitherto kn own as reflata Crt . Thi s 'na m e h as now' been relegat ed in a va rietal sen se 22 B. C. ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY to a fo rm whi ch occurs in Arizona, and w hich is li st ed as a race of albifasciata P ack ., the latter , al thoug h only an abe r rant form , hav ing priori ty over reflata. T hi s left ou r Vancouve r I sland fo rm w ithout a name. as a lthoug h it is identical in m aculation w ith t he A ri zona fo rm , it di ffers in colour, the latt er being a da rk g rey fe rm , w hile ours is a dull g reen w ith sli g ht rosy sp rinklings a long the ve ins . Mess r s. Barnes a nd McD unnoug h have n am ed it victoria, the types being three m a les and t wo fe m a les from thi s locality . A new species is described fro m Ketchikan, A laska, under the na m e of exculpata B . & McD ., and a g rey fo rm of thi s species occurs w ith it , call ed tribulata B. & McD . Thi s latter fo rm a lso occurs a t Kas lo amongst oth er p laces, and therefo re m ust be included in our B.C. Li st. 'l' he for m of niveifasciata Swett, desc ri bed as a variet y of californiata an d of w hi ch I have t he a llot ype, is now placed as a fo rm of irata on account of the shape of th e uncu s, w hich , as w ill be seen by t he figures on page 25, is m uch closer t o the ty pe of irata tha n it is t o that of california tao T hi s concludes the new fo rm s in th e sho rt pa l p i group. In the next g roup, those w ith m oderat e p alp i, there have been more changes than in a ny of the others. T he n ame of autumnalis St ro m. , w hich is a E uropean species, and w hich was applied to a species occurring in th e Atlantic St a t es, has been di scarded, a s th e genita lia of our North Am eri can species do not co incide w ith it ; a lso severa l fo rm s w hich were a ssocia t ed w ith it in a variet a l sen se have been ra ised t o specific rank, notab ly perfracta Swett, w hich i!'i a ve ry ra re insect , of \vhich onl y three spec imen s a re k nown , t wo from Calgary an d one from th e Cat skill M t s. T here is a race of thi s species from Vancouver Islan d, w hi ch ha s just been descri bed by Barnes and McDunnoug h under the na m e of exasperata from t wo specim en s in t he Tay lo r co!1 ec tion , t aken at Departure Bay and W elling ton, respec tive ly. I had the good fortune to t ake a sing le male in May, 1914. T his had stood in m y collec tion as a n undescribed fo rm of autumnalis. I t is evidently as ra re a s the t yp ical species , as the three m entioned are the only ones known ; so fa r no fe male specimen s have been taken . We now com e to the race na m ed columbiata by the la t e R ev. T aylo r. It has been removed from its p reviou s assoc iation, and is now con sidered a race of renunciata Walk. , on account of the shape of the uncu s, w h ich is deeply bifurcat ed , leaving practica!1y no n eck . T h ere is a m elanic for m of t hi s race, which has been na m ed pernigra by Barnes and M cD un-noug h . T hi s is of sp ecial interest to u s, a s a lthoug h the t ypes a re from Monta na, the three p a ra ty pes are from Briti sh Columbia-a m ale and fem a le from Skagit Bas in and a m a le from Stickeen Rive r. It is m ore tha n probable that the latter was taken by Theodore B ryant w hen in that di stri ct many years ago w ith a survey pa rty. PROCEEDINGS, 1!l18 23 Crokeri Swett has been rai sed to specific rank . The only locality thi s species ha s been recorded from is Victoria, wi th the exception of a solitary mal e from Salem, O re. In th e long palpi g roup, the only change affecting our B riti sh Col-um bia species is in edenata Swett . Thi s speciq was described from E den Va lley, Monterey Co., Calif., and a lthoug h our Vancouver Is land form is identical in maculation , it is very much' la rger , measuring 38 mm . 111 both sexes. O n account of thi s la rge size , Barnes and McD unnoug h propose th e rac ial nam e of grandis for our Vancouver Island form . It also di ffe rs sli g htly in co louring , as our local form 'possesses a greenish ting'e, which is lacking in the typ ical species . In thi s long palpi g roup speciosata Pack., and its vari etie s, occur, and it is interesting to note th e tota lly diffe re~ t shape of the uncu s from those we have been discussing. There a re slight but di stinct differences in the uncus of speciosata, and its two forms , taylori and ame1iata, especially in the basal portion of the neck. I have a long series of each of the two former, and the differences appear t o be con stant. In conclusion, it may be of intere st to mention that out of a grand total of 68 de scribed forms in Boreal America (that is, North of M exico to the Arctic Circle), twenty or nearly one-third occur in Briti sh Col-umbia. Of these 20 forms, no less than 18 occur on Vancouver Island, thi s I sland thus containing more species than any other locality in North A merica. Thi s is qu ite an advance on the 1906 B.C. Check List, which contains seven species, and one of these-ruberata-was listed in error. Furthermore, out of the 18 forms occurring on Vancouver I sland, it is g ratifying to note that eleven of them were described from here, the t ypes being from Victoria (5), Welling ton (2), Departure Bay (2), Gold-stream (1), and D uncan (1) . . Author's Note (September, 1919). Since the above a rticle was written, another new species of thi s genu s has been described by L. W. Swett under the name of Hydriomena macdonnoughi, vide Can. E nt., Vol. 50, p. 296, Sept. 1918. It was t aken at A tlin in June, 1914. and apparently belongs to th e rube rata group. It is nam ed after Dr. J . McD unnough in recognition of hi s splendid work on thi s genus. In the same article Mr. Swett verifi es th e conclusion that I had arrived at in my article in the Proc. B .C. Ent. Socy ., No. 10, March, 1917 (Author's Note, page 20), that peric1ata is a form of quinquefasciata Pack. rather than of furcata Thun. Upon the recent receipt of t wo males 24 B. C. ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY from th e nim otypical locali ty, he was enab led to see th at th is form had th e same type of uncus that is a ssociated w ith quinquefasciata. Recently, in working over m y m aterial in thi s genu s, I have found a ma le spec imen w hich un doub tedly belongs to speciosata form ameliata Swett. It wa s taken at Garden City (th e t ype locality), a su burb of Victoria , on June 26th, 1? 14, and is th e first male recorded, th e t ype and pa rat y pe both being fema les (Can. E nt. , Vol. 47, p . 64, Fe·b. , 1915). A figure of th e uncus "I\T ill be found on page 25. E. n. B. EXPLANATION OF FIGURES ON PAGE 25 F ig. 1. H. furcata Thun. F ig. 9. H . renunciata 2. H. furcata race columbiata Taylor. form fuscoundata Don . 10. H. crokeri Swett. 3. H . quinquefasciata Pack. 11. H. californiata Pack. 4. H . quinquefasciata 12. H. macdunnoughi Swett. form viridata Pack. 13. H. edenata r H. albifasciata race grandis B. & McD. J. race victoria B-. & McD. 14. H. speciosata Pack. " 6. H. manzanita Tay lor. 15. H. specio~ata 7. H. irata Swett. form taylori Swe tt . " 8. H. irata 16. H. speciosata form niveifascia Swett. form ameliata Swett. T hese fi g ures were a ll drawn wi th the ai d of a low-power binocular from specimens in m y own collection . Pl{OCEED[~GS, Hl ) R I b 1/ 13 16 TYPES OF UNCUS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA SPECIES OF THE GENUS HYDRIOMENA H UB . 25 26 B. C. E NTOjIOLOGICAL SOCIETY COMPLETE LIST OF SPECIES OF HYDRIOMENA OCCURRING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA As it lTl ay be som e tim e befo re he n ew Check Li st o f Brit ish Col-um bia L ep idoptera is p uh li shed, I ha ve t houg ht it best t o append a li st o f ou r species in thi s gen us, w ith t he ir loca li t ies, in so fa r as t hey a re known to m e. H Y DRIOMENA H U B. S H O RT P ALP I GR OUP : furcata T h un . -form fuscoundata D on. quinquefasciata Pack. -for m viridata P ack . -fo rm periclata Swett albifasciata Pack. race victoria B . & r,[ c J). -nubilofasciata Pack. fo rlll cupida t a ( ?) Swett -m anzanit a Tay lor -exculpata B . & M cD . fo r111 tribulat a B. & Mcl). irat a Sw ett fo rm niveifascia Swett MO DERAT E P A LPI GR O UP: perfracta Swett Vanc n . I sla nd, Princeton, L illooet . Chi1coti n, Q uesnel, R oss la nd , A t lin. V icto ria. \ ' icto ri a, Du nca n . \" ictu ri a . \i cto ria. \ ' icto r ia. Du ncan. Du nca n. Gold st rea m , D l1 nca n, W ell ing ton. T(aslo. \ 'a ncouve r I slan d, V a ncou ve r . V icto ria, Go ld strea m , Dun can . race exasperata B. & McD . - V icto ri a, D eparture Bay,vVe llin g ton . renunciata Walk. race columbiata T ay lor - Vancou ve r I sland, Ag ass iz, H ope . form pernigrata B. & McD . - Skagit R ive r, Sti ckee n R iver. crokeri Swett - V icto ri a. californiata Pack. - Vancouver I sland . L ON G P ALPI GR OUP: macdunnoughi Swett -edenata Swett race grandis B. & McD. -speciosata P ack . form taylori Swett -fo rm ameliata Swett -Atlin . V ictori a , Duncan . Vancou ver I sla nd. Vancouve r I sland . V icto ri a. 

A revision of the British Columbia species of the Geometrid genus Hydriomena Hub.

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A revision of the British Columbia species of the Geometrid genus Hydriomena Hub.

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Journal of the Entomological Society of British Columbia