Cockle, J. W.

English

Journal of the Entomological Society of British Columbia

53 RC, E:\TO ,\l OLOGlC,~L SOC IETY. gO'Il1eu .'"eI IO' II' antI i;; [onllll at a lOll' aitittllle h;lI"ill~ ;1 ;;outIH'ru ex.posure 0'11 tLte banks o f l\:aslo Creel;. The,l' ("oll,;.;regate ill Iltilli(Jn~ , and \l"h ell at: t he h ei ght of t lleir l'lIlprgenC"e cO' mpletely CO\"l'r ~el"(~ral sq uare yarll s of SnOIY, turning it to a golden patch, They ex.i st 0111,1' a fell' clays, alltl, Illllike t hei r bl acl, or other s, di e ill t h e ri\"111 ets or " ' fl t!' r running ofl' tIl(' nl ell-ec1 snOl\", IT 0 I\" allel ,,'hell they ol'peel i s Ill1knO\l"n, alld ho\\" tbe,l' conlT h 'e to r each t he Sllrfflce of the S110 \l" f r om a lleptb of 2 or lIlor e feet i ~ 01],.;0 l\Tnpped ill III.'"sten ' , I 11a I'e beell nll ahlc to de\"i~e au~' snggef; l-i on of the Iyb.'";; a11(l \l"hprel'ores of I-lleir prr~pn ce, J haye in lilY co ll ect i oll ~pecil1l ens of fO llr speci es of 1- l1i~ gt'll ns, the ,!:!:O'hl ell one O' lll~' being lIf1mell, a hlack ~pecies fOll nd on lIlell i n;:: ~n OIl', a ~l1In ller black spec ies \I' hi cll hreed in h otberl s, a \I'l1 i tt' ~Jl(>c i es fOll11rl uIHlpr 01 rI ()\I"l'r-pot in tile house, ):one of t hese a r c yet identi fied, lYe next ("O llIe to a largpr ill ~ed o f the gellns 7'o (/uJ"II, 'rl1e~c llHl~' Ill' al so col lect:ell 011 t he Iyin t!' r ~no lY S \l"hell the telllpera t ure is uefl r freczin;:r, 'rhe,l- :ur! I'N,I' acth 'e, all(l Iyhell (listurhe(l ~p rill ,;'; a lI'ar ~I'I'er:l1 incbes a ll<l wriggle tllelllsel yes into 0111,1' crl'l':\ ,,;;I';:: ill t he SII O\l' , Till',\' <I r c f1hout O,O~, IlInl. i n l cngth all d L1nrk grt'~' to bla ck in col our, But po,silil,I' th e 1Il05t intel'Ps( in ,!:!: fi lld of a "lIO\\, coll ect- ing trip are the snow-fl eas j'roper of. th e fau.lil,v Bm'cug, The.\' ma~' be seen 011 freshl y fall en suo\\', n suall y sill g ly, [1 11(1 r e,'enl ble Illinul-e ;:rra,shopper>:, The~' are pl'esllmerl 1-0 ,ba r e the chn ra et~ ri st i cs of the o rder to I\'hich t h e~' l lel on ,!:!: find to he cal'llil'O l'OllS ill their haLits, 'rhe late Dr, ,lflllles Fl etcher sU,!:!:ges ted that the,)' proliflbl,l' f ell on tbe genus AJll/OI'//l'o an(1 j'Or/III'O, lmt of t hi s lI'e 11a \'e 110 l' \'i(lell('e, Theil' l eapill;:r-po\l'ers are gr eill', and T h fl\'e often ohsel'\'ell on e jump (i inches, Theil' Il s11al IlIo(l e of 10col1loi" ioll, II o \\'C \'('1', i s b~' II': I ll;i ng, Th e l1 1O"t curious f n<:t abou t tbe11l i s t hat t he," are so l i tt le affected h~' cold, The~' " 'ill ITal k around ",hell the tcmperature if; sen'rn l rl e,!!l'l' e~ ll el o\\' freezing, although tbey ar c lIlO'St act i\'c ,,' 11 cn th e Ill l'l'Cllry ri ses ,to 35-40 degrees, In t he CUllur/ioll lJlI/oIJ/o7o{Jist f or i\Iarch, HJOS, I publi shell a sbort paper Oil the peclllinr lIlflting ltnhits of I-hi s 111sect, and mOl'e r ecen t l ,l' I Vl'epIll'etl another n l' tie-le \\'lIi<:1l Il lo r e f ull,\' descrihes I-li e extl'[lol'tl illnl',v lIlet ll orl o f c() 1'1l1a t i on, " 'hiell I 1I0lY 'tn J;e pl ensurc of presenting to t hi s lIlee tin;:r of Ollr Societ~', I h a l 'e in m y collect ion t\\'o specil's of these insects, B , ca liton /ioll s and auother species \\'hi ch ('fi n onl," Ile itl entificll 1' l'01ll j' I'Cf< IJ "pec:illlen f<, 'ril e lnttel' Itns fI l11'o\\'n sti,t;l1lat,)l folel, thl' Iyill ,!!-COl'erts blaek. n n!l thE' spce if's gf'lIel'nll,\' i " m ore hai l',\', Th e (lifferell('e ill (-he co1'o l11' of th e sti;:rIlHltal f ol (l (li;::appenrs nHer dryill;:r, so t bat th e (lispa rity l'flnllo t be c-itrrl a;;; f1pplicnl>l e to cnbillet "pec-in'ens, I 11:1" e m:lny speeimell" of D iptcrn aIH1 other o rd er s of fli es \I' bid.! 11m\'(' coll ected durin ,!! the lI' inter an(l hayc r eeord ed , Th e cflptu1'e of T OI,tri cids, 'l'ineic1", a wl CIll',l'SOph tl f'o l1 nel 1111(11'1' t i l l' l' f1 1'I, of L11'," sta ll (l ing t r ee;;; (l \11'ill ,g t hc lI' inter months, and n" a s,I'"f-l'lIlati c co ll ee-tor I nll1 inclinNl too treflSll1'e III ,I' \\'inter cflp tllres ra t her Ihan th e [J l'o f'u ~ion of fOl'lllS \\'hi c-h are to lie fO llllll eye r~' IYh cre i.1I t he ~\lI11\JlC1', THE M A TING OF BOREUS CALIFO R NICUS, By J, W, COCKLE, 1(A SI.O, B.C', " ' hil st 011 the 1nlll't for sll ow-illsents t-o-(lay, Februnr.\' nth, nllLl hayin ,~ beell sll ccessfnl ill securing se l 'crfll speci ll1ell s of ]1 01'(,118, I lI'a~ l'et urnill ~ h om e \I'hell I elise-ol'ereel a pail' in copUlation, The t empera t ure, lI'hicl.! bnd been below freezi ng all lla~', lind jnst ri sen, a lld [I t the ti me \I'ns H hO ll t RR 0 Fah 1', It i s ,,'pI I to sta t e h er e I'lm t I ha l 'e foulIll 'the~e cU riOllS in sec-t:s h oppill ~ about 011 t i le SIlOIl' wh en the r lle1'1I10lllet('l' shml'erl s(, I'er :1l1 cIt'.!!I'ees of frost. but t he,v a r e Il s11all ,1' 11IOSt actiye jllst afl'er a SII O\l'-St01'lI1, ,yhen tile te lt1[lera t \l1'e i s [rom 3::;-40 c1 egrees, Wi sbin;; to kllOlI' hO\l' copu ln t ioll lI'ns poss ible with tlJ(' se cllrioll sl y f orlll ed ill sects, I l ay clOWIl 011 the SIlOll' ill order to be able to ll ~e HIe small pocl; et-lells for obsel'\'ation, TlIe [elltale InlS perched 01 1 th e lJ:.u'k of the mal l', her I'rollt le;;~ f'oWcd I1p so t lla t sh e l'l:0 C t;EDL'\W,) l!JlJ, ------ --------- ----------I,nel t a ll his [.>:.Ick ; t lie ~eeond IJ'lir I'estt'd 0 11 t lt e mal e's liack, 1I ' l!il ~t tlt e l ongE-I." [Jack pair bung d01l' 1I heside t lle lJolly ot' tlle lI1al e, Theu tile IIIOst cllI' iollS f act presented itse l f , tllat t he mal e \\'as holding t he f elllale \yith its \YiLlgs, \\"lIi eb \\"er e h ook ed o \'er t he f elllora of t lte froll t l egs, " 'ha t appear ed to be t lie odpo~i to r o f ('lte felllale \\"a~ t lll."ust dO\\"11 perpendicul arl,\' illtt) t he organ of the lIIal e, In t lti s l at('er obseryati Oll I sul.Jselluell t l ,\' (li sco \'er ed I lI'a>: at t'au llt, as on F ebrua r y 23rcl I again hall nn opportunity of study ing t h ese iuseets, a lld instead of lJeing th e o\'iposi('or T fonnd t ha t i t \ya:; t he lo\\"er bait' of' tlle' o \'ipositor -shiel d ; t he U[lper por ti oll ot' tlle shield r ellwined ill a lI orllla l p ositi on, TlIe fact of th e llIal e \I~illg hi :; ,I[.or ted \I' ings to holLl th e f elllal e llur in ,~ copulation \\'as ne\\' to m e, a:; i t had ne\'e r occlllTed ('0 me ('0 ilJlagine ('ha t wings could be placcd to snch Ilse, M," l'ec1Iulbellt position on the sno\\' ueing yer~' unpleasan t, I r elllo \'ed the pair (0 a hox. LlIlt as tlte," illllll eLliately sepa l'flterl I \ya s una ble to llIake any furtlll'r oIJ~el'\'a("j o ll , On l!'eunlll ry 21tll [ again had t he good I'Ol't1lne to find a secollll pair lIIating, a nd in order to Yerif," the olise1'\'a Uon s I had made on the pre\'ious pair of thest' inscr(s, I proceeded t o lift t henl on a slleet or SIlO\\' \\'itll tb e aid of a piece of l lark, T-l a "i ll~ dOlle t lli s succe~sf ull ," \\'ithout disturbill ):i tll elll , I \\'as abl e Ito ouse l'\'e thelll m ore l eisurel y , The f em al e in t hi s case II ad t lle fron t pair of leg ~ cr os;:ed ulJllerll eath t be bOll,v, II'hil ~t t he other tll'O pairs lI'er e foldf'll c lose aga inst 11 1'1' sides, :'\ one of t he legs \\'er e (-OlH.: l1ing tlle lIlal e at allY pOint. ~he lI'a s lI eld 1.> ,\' t h e Ill;] Ie ill t he sallle II'ny as in til e firs t pair obsen ell , h,\- t be \\'ill gs of t lll' m a le lw ing clasped o\'('r til(' t'eluur of t ile front l egs, B oth the large hill f11Jl1 a llt'ellll :e of' the fenll1l e \\'ere f ollletl ha('k ltet ll'een th e I\'ings or th e mal e, III tlle ca se of the first pair ousen ec1, I th ought that t he 0 \'ip08 itor \\'as t'llru st (1 011'11 illto t ll e Illal e orga ll s; t hi~ \\'a,; in corred, The 10\H'r ha l f of the o \' ipos i to r -shield i:; thrllst do \\'11 all(l i s firml,\' h elll b,v the clasper s of t lle m a l e, and tLle 1'('[lSOll I O\'l' l'l ookl'll t be lIIal e ol'g, ln i s t hn t it i s transparell 1'. a lid \'i ell'ell agai nst a backgl'onLHI of SIlO\\' i s il!\'i:;ihl e, J puslled t he f emale a \Y:l~' frolll the cl asp of t he mill e':; IYings, bu t be illllnell iatel ," slIappe(l t hem together. catclling one t1n tellun ; upon IllY rpleasillg thi s, he cO llllll ell cell 1[0 run off, th p f emalp being ullbel!l e,,,cept uy tl) e cla spers, Hnl! suclI i s t il e st r engt ll of thi s hol d t ha t li e lI'as alil e to rUIl around hohlill g th e f emale in all uprigllt pos ition by thi s suppor t al one, ,\Yhell e\'er t he l egs of til e f elllal e -toucll ell IIi :; "a el;, hi :; wiugs sllu t like a rat-trap o\'er them ; t lli:; 1I1t)\,eulent of tll e \\' illg:; \,"u s l'l' l'ca( ptl at :; lI or t iu terl'1ll s \\'!tell e\'er t he l egs \\'er e r elllo \-ell froll! tlli s cl asp, [ brough t -t ll elll honl(' and lI'a :; t hell aul e to obser\'e tllP gellital or gan of I hp male, wbi cII , as I pre"ion"ly s(-al'ell. j" t l'<lll ~p;] \'e nt and is llirected U[)\\"lrd ill th e inside sbell or al e o \' ipo"itol'-shi cltl. T Jlls shipld Olw ns laterall.\' nearl y at its eell tre: t be nppel' haH i s stfl t iolla r,\', lI' llil ~t t lt e 10\l'er half' i s ca[1fllll e o f beill':; lleftedell at an acu te right a ll gle dOIYllwanl: t lte t ip o f thi s porti oll \\-lti eh i s lI eW by t lt e clasper s is armed with sh or t ~p in es a lll! h;(il'~, Tile win gs of tile mal e, \\'hi (:11 are l ess than half t he l ength of t h e audoll1ell, fll'e cUl'\'ed 1l0IYnll-nl'(1 and a r e fll'lll etl on the co:; (-al edge witlt a r ow o f' sharp h orn~' spin es ; t her e nre it 1'e\\' spill E's on tlt e l o \\' cr llIa rgi ll , These uo douu t ad(l Iltate riall," to t ile b olLliug-po\y er a IHI pre" en t tlte fpllIora of the felllale fronl slipping al ollg the \\'ings, ~'he suggest ion i:; 1I1f1(le t hat, til e lIlale hl'illg eapalli e o f suppor ting alld carryi llg til e f elllale Ity t ll e b ol(l of it:; clnspers, all exnlllinatioll of th ese lIIi ght ,HIll to the I,nol\'l ellgp of t lt e stru cture of these i ll sects nlHl tbe r eason \\'hy SUdl a suppor t i s possible, l'POll r eacllillg hOlll e I placed the specimens under a g lass fo r furtber oLlsen 'ati oll ; tile f elll a le, heillg uull eld ami Ila\'lng r e,gainetl her feet. \\'a s alJl e to t o\\' the JIIa le aroulIll on hi s ha ck; this she continued to do f or two hours, liut [luring the first portion o f the tilll e t he male lIIade frail ti c efforts to r ega in hi s f eet, anll al so to snflp hi s \\'ings o\'er sOlli e appellllage to the f emal e, hu t in thi s he \\'as 1lIlsnccess f'nl ; i t \ya s ,Ill t() 11 0 IHlrpo~e ; she tlragged him t o ll eath , or Yer,\' Il eal' it'. nnd i t Wfl" 0111,\' wh ell I pill ched her with 111,\' f or ceps an(l r enc1er etl h er l'a rtin II~' ["I r,tl~'secl tlla t "PI"I r,1 ti oll I'rolll th e Ill;) Ie tOllk pl;lCC, ,"heu tl; i ~ 54 B.C. E K T O:)lOLOG I C.-\L SOCllnT. occulTel1 I \HI S a lile to fully olisen e the tra ll spa rell t male orga ll. I a lll not aware iIo,,- far tile motle of h oll1illg til e f emale ma y be pract ised by ot11 er inse<:ts h on- iug a like struoture to t his, but t his r ecord can stand as to wha t extraonlinary use th e wings maybe put and their adaptability for the purpose for wh ich th ey were created. Februa r y 27th. I went out to-day on a special hun t for B o'r c lI s, a rmed \yit h yials of etl1 e r a nd a lcohol. '1' \1 e first pa ir J discovered I dropperl into the yi al of ether, bu t they sepa ra ted instantly. The second pair I decided to try to freeze, ~o li fted t hem a nd trans ferred them to a box of snow. 'rbe mal e r eleased bis \ying-hold an d ran around with the femal e in an upri gb t position, holding only by t lte claspers. 'rhe fcmal e malle no effor t to ex te lld ber legs, but kept them in the previously descr ibed position, folded close to t11e liody. Tile male made repeated effo r ts to r ega in hi s \yillg-hold hy j erking t he ahdomen upward, thus throwing the female f0 1"\\-a rd within reach of hi s \yings, whi ch snapped together at eyery sucll E'ffor t. I le ft them l1ui et in tile box of snow and the mal e soon r egained hi s win g-hold. Upon my pourin ,1:; a littl e etller on the s now and closi ng the box in the hope of r educing th e temperat ure to a sufli cien tly low degree to r ender til em comatose. t ile mal e again r eleased hi s wing-hold . It seemed t hus impossilil e to kill th em in the desired po ioon. I t ransfe rred them to t he yia l of et he l'. I think the female ca n release herself eyen at tile i"nstant of clea th, a nd it r emains yet to be seen if I ca n succeed in f reezing t hem in the desired position by t he aiel of a fr eezing mixture applied outsiele to the box in \Y hich they a re enclosed. INSECTS COLLECTED IN THE O K A N AGAN VALLEY, 1913. By K M. ANOI, RSON, P ROYlNCfAL ill us EuM, YICTORIA. Enrly i n Apri l, accompa nied by an a ssista n t, Mr. C. B . Garrett, I was cl ef":l il eLl lJY the Depar tment to coll ect binl s and mammals fo r the Proyin cia l ilIuse l1 ll1 . ' -i cto ri a, B.C. Although 111.\- \york Wfi S chi efly confined to collecting and presen-ing Ilirds and mamlllals. \ye l1lana~er1 t o secnre ahout 4,000 entol11010gka l specilllen;;: . . \ la rge number of yer)' interE's ong forms of insect-life fe ll to the n et, many ~pecimens s ti ll a \yaitill g iclen tification. mostly in Coleoptera , I-]~' lJ) enoptera, an el Djptera. Fl'OLll m.\- point of Yi ew. t lJ e Oka nae:a n Yall e.\- offers to ale entomologist one of t he best ('oll eetin ,I:;-;,; ronncls ill British CoI1l1n J) ia , a nel I fe('1 ('erta in that, with a ~eason's sys tellla ti c r ese:uclJ , an enthus ia s tic student ,,-o ul d add ma ny speCies to the British Columbia list. ,,-hi ch is f:ll' f.rom being compl ete. T he \yeather clu ring t he ea rl y pa r t of Apri l ,,-as Yery l1n settled. still keeping ('old and wet. and notLliu g lIlu ch in the in sect line could be fOllncl sayc a fe\\" beetles. cr ickets, and a sma ll scor pion under ba rk. After coll ectin g a week fit P enticton, \ye moyed Can1[1 sonth s ixteen miles to Shuttl ewor t ll Creek, a distance of about hyo nlil es f rolll Oka nagan Fall ;;:, On arrh'a l at t'he creek things bega ll to look bri ghter. the Slln was shini ng. a nd we obsel'\"ed a nnmher of insects on the \Ying. ITere \Ye camped from Ap ril ] 3tb to 20th , takin g at iJiten-a ls a series of t he early blue Cyanil"is l1ifjl"cSCCIl.' , 111 cisa/i(l, Cl'yp l! on and T. 'i1"oides , Pontia sisYlliuri , 1', occi(/ enta/i.~ , S1}l1chln: Cl'eURO, A1180Il'i(l cs. a nd Sor a. th e lieautiful orange- tip. A few Ko('tna \Yere collected at light. th e ni ghts still l,eeping cool; nothing bu t an occas ional Xylomi.(Jcs simplc.r: , or com mon Geometer. mad e t heir RppearancE'. J)1'({ stcl'ia cl'o ss iu.scula and L cptnl'ctio, cal-if01"11iatn \ye re CO Ul mon about the ca mp on sunn y days. On April 20th \Ye mOI'ed cam p to ::::choonoyer Cahill , a n old trapper 's bome ill the JIlollntains at an elevation of abont R.500 feet, 'iVi th a n ea rly s ta rt. accolll-panied by Charlie Shuttleworth a nd two pack-horses, we started on our way up the moun tain-side through a drizzling rain, whi ch shor tly afterwards turned in to sleet a nd sno,,", tbis ma kin g travel slo\\" over th e slipper y moun tain-trail. 'Ve tnlyell ed abou t fi\-e hours. a rl'i\"ing at :t he cnhin n\lout 1 p.m. The h orses, t ired out, \yere immediately unpacked, a ca mp-fire made. and after a meal of hot coffee 

The mating of Boreus californicus

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The mating of Boreus californicus

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Journal of the Entomological Society of British Columbia