BULLETIN OF THE - British Columbia Entomological Society EDITED BY R. V . HARVEY, M . A . VANCOUVER, B. C.

QUARTERLY SEPTEMBER, 1907 N o. 7

(Continued fr om la st Iss ue.) BRITISH COLUMBIAN FLEAS. Ther e is in the possession of the P resident or our branch a copy of a Mo nogr a ph of the F lea s of th e vVor ld, wr itten by P rofessor C. F. Bake r, a nd published in t he P ro­ ceedings of t he U. S. Nationa l Museum. It is a ver y 'complete work of 107 pages, illustr ated with 17 pla tes, a nd in it are listed 135 species, arra nged in fi ve families gr onped together in t he order , Sipho na ptera , or as we u sed to call it, [oli o wing K irby & Spence a nd W estwood, t he Apha J1lp tera . , The fi rst fo ur famili es of the o rder a r e ver y sma ll , con taining only fiv e species in a ll , a nd none of these are Brit ish Colu mbian, or likely to be fou nd her e. The fifth family is styled P ulicidae, a nd six species out of t he 130 seem to be me m- bers of our fauna. These a re :- 1. Pulex irr itans Linn. 2. Ctenocepha lu s canis Cu rtis. (On dogs and cats ). 3. Ce ratophyllus ga ll inae Sch rank. (On poultr y) . 4. C. charlottensis Baker. (T n a m ouse nest) . 5. C. keeni Baker. (On P e l'omyscus keeni). 6. C. perpinnat us Baker. The last three wer e a ll discover ed by t he ver y energet ic e ntomologist, th e Rev. J . H. K een, Chu rch of E ngla nd Missiona ry, fo rmerly of Masset, Q. C. I.. a nd now r es iding at Metla ka tla.

NOTES ON B R EEDING LEPIDOPTE R A . By .T . W . Cockle, Kaslo, B. C. Part II. Larvae. Upon th e emergence of the young la r va th e fi rst r equisite is to pr ovide t hem with food, a nd wh ere the food-pla nt is unknown t hi s often proves diffi cult. The usual m et hod is to intTodnce a variety of leaves into the breeding-j a r, trusting in t his way to fi nd something t hat they will eat. If a fter t he la pse of a few hours the larvae have r efused to eat what ha s been off er ed, a noth r iot of leaves s hould be introduced,- a nyt hing that suggests itself as likely should be t ried. Trouble of t his nature may often be avoided if t he eggs a r e obtained from a fema le t ha t was captured b y bea ting. It will be found an alm ost invariable rule that when a moth is ovipositing it will rest on or n ear the food-plan t, a nd a record of t he pla nt o r t r ees from w hich t he par ent was dislodged s hould always be kept. Great car e m ust be used in cha nging v ery young la r vae from a fa ded leaf to a fresh one ; if they ar e not r ea dil y r emova ble with a camel-hair brush, it is a dvisa ble to place a nother lea f over t he m until the next day, when t he fe w r em aining on the old lea f lll ay be picked off ; or a sma ll piece of leaf to which t he a bclo mina l props a re attache cl may be cut a wa y a nd r emoved with t he la r va . Obser va tion as to the stages of moul ting s hould be ca re fully noted, as t hi s is a very cri tical t ime with la r vae, a nd any dist urb­ a nce of them after they have a ttached t hemselves fo r shedding t heir sk in is li kely to r esult in the ir death. In feeding broods of noctuid larvae, which will usua ll y eat a nything, pr efe r en ce should be given to the less juicy fo liage, beca use t hey will be mor e ea sily ke pt clea n, a nd be less subject to fungoid diseases. When lar ge broods a r e desir ed t he bag m ethod,-of plaCi ng the br ood on a lim b of th e food-pla nt- is prefer a ble to attempting to feed them in confinement, but a few of the same brood m ay be k e pt in jar s fo r examination. In dealing with wild larvae, an y t hat are soli tar y in their habits mu st be k ept in se par ate jar s or boxes, as th ey a r e Ji a ble to beco me canniba ls if kept together, and a canniba l la rva ra r ely reaches m a turity. T h e car e of hiberna ting larvae is t he ha rdest task of the br eeder, so li ttle is known of the conditions favor able to the ir safet y. T he best success I h ave had in dea ling with these la rvae h as been to place t hem in a box of s traw, and t hen place t he box out of doors in a moder ately d ry pla ce. Do not di sturb t he m in the spring until their food­ plau t is well gro wn a nd t he weather is war m . 2 B. C. ENTOMOLOGi CAL SOCiETY

Amongst the curious instan ces of food-plants are r ecorded cases wh er e the young larva e r efu sed to eat fresh gr een leaves, but subsequently ate the same leaves after they had wi t her ed ; this would denote that they eat the damp fa llen leaves under the t r ees. Re ferring to Dr. Dyar's r equest in the .June Bulletin for breeding notes on Xylo­ mania-I find that m y notes on X. rubrica give wild cherry and aspen poplar as the food-pla nt of t his species. This s hould fo rm a key to the proba ble food-plants of other m embers of th is family.

NOTES ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF INSECTS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. By R. V. H a rvey. (Conclusion.) In t he last issue I selected the Dipterous Family Syrphidae to illus tra te th e peculiar r elationship whi ch exists between the insect fa una of the White Mountains of New H a mpshire a nd tha t of Europe on the one ha nd and British Columbia on the other . Jt is onl v fa ir to a dd that t his r elations hi p is by no mea ns so we ll marked in other families of t'his order. To take o nl y t hose fam ilies of which li sts have been published in this Bulletin: In the As ilidae on ly fiv e of o ur species seem to be found in the East, but three of these occur on the ~Whit e Mountains; in the Bombyliidae a bout 50 per cent. of our s pecies are generally di stributed over t he continent of North America; the r est a re confined to t he Paci l"ic slope; in the Tachinidae no less than 80 per cent. a re also Eas tern species; of our Taba nidae a bout 30 per cent. a re either Eastern or Arcti c species. Now whil e the dis tribution east a nd west seems to po in t to a common ongm of the fa una of North Amcrica in a circumpola r region of pre-glacia l times, the facts of their distribution north a nd south a r e susceptible of t he same explanation. To begin with, tile affinities of our fauna wit h that of Alaska are most note worthy, a nd those of our buttertlies wb ich are CO llllllon to the W estern U nited States ar e there found to be usua lly a lpine in their ha bita t. The foll owing a r e mounta in species in California and Color ado : Vanessa californica, V. milberti, Thecia californica, Pamphila mandan, and Erynnnis manitoba, most of whi ch occur at a ltitudes of foul' to eight thousand feet in those states, as recorded by M I'. Green wood Wrigh t. B ut perhaps the mos t notable examples of species occurring a t high er a ltitudes as they r ange south ar e to be found a mong the Bombidae, or H umble-Bees. The r e port ot Dr. , IV . H. Ashmead on the H a rrima n Ala ska expedition of 1899 conta ins some interest­ ing facts bearing on o ur subject. H e notes a genera l affinity betwe en the Alaska n species and those of E ur a~ i a on the olle ha nd a nd of British Columbia a nd W ashington Oll t he other. Of seventeen species or Bombus r ecorded by him, no less than ten a re known to occur in B ri tis h Co lu mbia . Only fo ul' a r e noted as found in the U nited States, and t he distributio n of these is in st ructive : 1. Bombus nevaden,sis occurs in the in­ terior plateau o t' Britis h Columbia, but is a lpine in Ne vada, Utah a nd Colorado; 2. Bom­ bus sitkensis fli es at sea-le vel in Britis h Columbia, but in Colorado and New Hampshire must be sought on tlle highest pea ks; 3. Bombus frigidus is said to fly throughout Brit­ ish Co lu mbia (Ashmead ), bu t is a m ounta in s pecies in Colorado and New Mexico ; 4. Bombus nearcticus r a nges from the m ountains ot British Co lumbia to those Of Idaho and California. L et u s now consider more closely the di stribution of the insects within the limits oC our own province. The physical features of the country, the north a nd south trend of the chi ef mountain ra nges, divide the province up into four we ll-ma rked r egions, differing to a cons iderable degree in clima te and surface. First we have Vancouver Js lanLI, or r atit er t he southprn portion of it, where the clima te is ver y mild a nd fairly dry; second, the Lower Ma inland, which s hould include t he north e nd of the Island a nd a ll the coas t west of the Cascade Mountain s. This is the r ainy r egion, wher e the vege­ tation is ver y dense; it contains the best timber in t he province ; third, the Dry Belt, compr ising t he di s tricts round K a mloops, t. he Okan.'1ga n, Similka meen ancl Bounda ry COi 1l1 t ry, chara cte ri zcd by a vcr y low rainfa ll a nd cold er winter : fou rth, the Kootenays ancl Rocky Mountains r egion. The last na m ed r egion seems to be the ri chest in insects, wbi le the h eavil y timber ed Lower Mainla nd is the poor est. The first two agr ee in the general aspect of the fauna, a nd the last two a lso show many points of similarity. But the point I wish to emphasize is n ot the s imilarity, but the diSSimilarity be­ tween these four r egions. L et m e ta ke a fe w concrete examples. Parnassius clodius is a coast species r a nging commonly up to Moun t Cheam, wher e it overlaps the r a nge of its conge n E' r P. smintheus, the inland s l1 8cies. Clodius has, however, been r ecorded a s far ea st as Greenwood, in t he Boundary di strict, while smintheus is found nea l' la titude 57 on the Stildne River, nea rer the coast. Papilion daunus seems to be confin ecl to the Dry Belt, and oregonia is not found on t he coas t. Lemonias cooperi a nd whitneyi ra nge from Victoria up to the confines Of t.h e Dry Belt, wher e the ir places ar e ta ken by L. palla a mi L. macglashani. B. C. ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 3

Phyciodes mylitta is limi te rl to the Lowe r Main la nd, a nd in the inte rio r is r e pre­ s e n ted by P. barnesii. Eugonia j-album is appar e ntly a b se nt on the Is la nd, and Polygonia silenus h as not been r ecorded fro m the interior as yet. Coenonympha ampelos is abundant a round Victoria, abse nt in the Lowe r Mainland, but r eappearing again in Similka m een with s li g ht varie tal diffe re nces. Oeneis gigas is common on the Is land . wher e it is n ot ( pace MI'. Greenwood vYrig ht), confined to " bare rock y knobs" in that " inhos pitable lo ca li t ~.. ,·, It has been ta k e n on Grouse Mounta in, neal' Va n couver , at 4000 teet, hut in the Cascad es a nd furth er ea s t w e take only its n eal' ally O. chryxus. vYh e n I',' e look at th e rang e of these same s pecies in the States to th e s outh of us. we fiml n o sn eh w8 11 -milrke cl r e~ i o n s; s pecies like P. clodius, P . smintheus and Phyciodes mylitta are found frolll the coa s t to t h e R ocldes. Now while these cases, and. many othe rs that mig ht b e a dded, m ay be fairly we ll accounted for by the t hem'v of ( 1 ) a common circumpola r origin. (2) a south ward migration in the g lacia l period, fo ll owed b~" (3) a re t urn northward at the close of that ll eriod, s ti ll ther e are whole series of facts in dis tribut ion w hic h seem to confli ct with it. Some of these facts have been a lready a lluded t o a bove, a ud othe r s will n o dOllb t occur to those who h ave marI e s pecial s tud ies in orrler s not re fe rre d to in this paper. I think. howeve r , t.h at the array of facts bearing out the a pproximate truth or this theor y will ou t\\'eig ht those wh ich a t first s igh t seem to be to some extent agains t it.

THE B. C. LEPIDOPTERA LIST. (Additions.) Po ntia sisymbri Bdv. """"""".. . .. Ka slo 70b Eury m us alexandra, var emilia Edw...... Kaslo a nd Boundary 159 Le monias editha Bdv. " .. " ... "" .. " ...... """",, .. "" ...... """Bollndil ry 37 0 Callipsyche behrii Edw. "" "'"'''''' .... "" .. _"".""".80111](l a r y 526 Po I ites peck i us K by. " .... " _" ... ,, . """""" ... """Kas 10 ; a u \) s peci III e n Fi s hea yosem itae .... ,,"""_...... " .. """""."",,.Kas lo Fishea exhilarata ... " .. " ..1(a s lo 1[,20 C ho rizagrotis sore r Sm ith .... """"." ."." .. """."".",,,, ..K aslo 1686 Paragrotis numa Strecker" ...... """ ..... ,, """" .. " ..... " . . Kas lo Paragrotis quinto Smith ( M. S .) "" .. 1%5 He lioph ila diffusa W a lker .. "".£(as lo 19 S~l Heliophila calgaria na Smith .. " ...... "",, .. " ...... Kas lo (Note .- The coast s pecies form erly going under tllis na m e in our co ll e (; tiun ~ is H. roseola Smith). P erigrapha achsha " ... " ... " ...... " """,,.. """."" ."Ka s lo; on e specin1 cn Orthosia acta Smith (ms) . " " " ".",," ...... "",, .. Kas lo 2504 Autographa v-al ba Ottol .... "" ... " """". """" .... " ... " .. "" ... " .. ".""Kaslo

LOCALITY NOTES. 193 Phyciodes m y litta Edw h as been r ecorded fro l11 lbe BO llndary di t; lrid. 401 Chalceria snowii Edw is an a lpine s pecie s. 404 Cupido hetero nea Bdv; Oka nil giln a nd Bounrlary ; not Kas lo. 728 Marumba modesta Harr ; [ 1' 0111 Kilslo anr] N e lson. ~S lb Apantes is ornata, var ochracea Stretch ; from 1< aslo. 2-I'i9a Euchalcia festucae, va r putnami Grote ocellI'S a s far west a s V e rnon.

SOME OF OUR NOCTUlDAE. B y R. V. H arvey. No. 2.-Plusia, and a lli ed genera. The s pecies fo rm e r l ~ ' grou ped unrl er this n a m e have been r earra n ged , and the gt'l1 l1 S s lIb rliv irl ed r ecently b y D r. DY3 r , whose a rrang em e nt ll as been a ccepled b y Dr. Ottoleng lli , o[ Ne w York, who h as marIe a s pecia l s turly of this g rollp. . The old genus P lusia is n ow divided into s ix gener a. foul' of which a re r e pre sen ted in British CO llllllbiil, na m ely- P lus ia (2 s pecies) ; Euc halcia (1 s pecies); Eos phorop­ teryx (1 s pecies); Autogra pha (17 s pecies). These fO llr g e ne ra a re sepa ra ted a s I'o ll o\\'s :- Plusia has s hort palpi ; the (ore-wings decicl edl y fa lcate, with a dis tinct tooth at the anal a ngle . Euchalcia has the fore· wings not fa lCilte, a nd scar'e ly a ny tooth at t he anal a ng le. Eosphoropteryx h as long palpi a nd n a rrow wings, \\'ith a tooth at t he a na l a n g le. Autographa h as th e ror e-wings not fa lcate ; til e a li te r ma rg in s calloped , a nd a moderate tooth at the a na l a ngle. 4 B. C. ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Genus Plusia. Hubner. 1. aereoides Grote. The fo r e-w ings a r e a lmos t unHorm gold e n-brown, tending towards pinkish at the outer margin ; the Y-mark is abse nt, but the cross-lines a r e distinct, the outer line b eing brig ht golde n. Not common ; r ecor ded from W e llington, Agassiz and Kaslo. 2. metallica Grote (s capula ris H. Edw.) Much larger t ha n the last; the [ore­ wings a re golden -brown, with a subapical buff patch a nd buff ou ter m a rgin. The mark is r oug hl y c rescentic, large, s ilve r y a nd solid ; be low it is a patch of gold en-brown. F r es h s pecimens ha ve a brilliant m etallic sheen . Ge nerall y dis tributed , but not common. Ge nus Eucha lcia. Hubner_ putnami Grote. This is con sider ed by many to be the AmeJ'ican race of the Europea n fest ucae , which it s trongly resembles. Its popular na m e is th e "Gold spot," an(1 it is one of th e most Ilrillia nt of our s pe cies. T h e head a nd colla r a r e ora ng e, t h e thorax purplis h . j;~ or e -w in g s purpli s h; a nd or a nge costal patch n ear base; a golde n m eta llic s ubapical s t rea k . The Y-mark is large , oblique, som e times broken in two, t h e uppe r h a l[ a lways s olid. Be low is a qua drate ora nge -y e llow patch w ith m e tallic sh ee n. Coml11on on the Coast; r ecorded frol11 Nana imo. Genus Eosphoropte ryx Oyar. thyatiroides Guenee. Thora x thi ckly tufted ; wings s lig htly pointed . For e- wings g reenish-gre y, s uffused in places with pin k; a pink blotch at base. Y-mark distin ct, s ilver y, broken. MiSS ion , ,Ve llington ; ra r e. Ge nus Autographa Hubner. 1. mappa Grote & Robinson. Ground co lor dllll pink with brown s h a d es a nd brown cr oss-lines, picked out with bla c k. Y-mark golde n , broken ; upper half a wide V, lowe r nearly circ ular. Fairl~' common on t h e coast ; recorded (rolll Sa ndon and Kaslo. 2. flagellum Walker. A northern s pecies. whic h seem s to b e found throughout Canada; figured in Holl a nd's 1\1 oth Book. R ecorde d fr om Kas lo. (1 s pecime n ). 3. pseudogamma Grote. Closely a llie d to the n ext specie s, but the g round color is p ur e g r ey, wit hou t a trace of blue ; darl{ er markings rich brown. K aslo, H ope Mountains, Stildne Rive r. 4. californica Speyer. Our com mon est s pe ci es; a la rge insect with pointed wings ; g round color blue-gre y, w it h brown s ha des. Y-mar k s ilvery, unbrok en as a rule, oblique. A day-fl ying s pec ies, cOlllmon e v e r ~ ' wh e r e . 5. brasscae Riley. A ver y injurious s pecies, known as t he Cabbage Looper ; CO llllllon t hroughout North A merica; figured in Holla ncr s 1\1oth Book a nd lll a n y othe r works. Kas lo. 6. rectangula Kirby. A s mall s pe cies, g rayis h in g round color , with a ll lines a nd s hading sepia-brown. Me di um s hade dark, s ha r ply d e fin ed b y white lines. Y-mark la rg e, uns ilvere d a s a rule, ve ry variable a n d often fa ntastic in outline_ No a n a l tooth. Gen e rally dis tribute r], bllt not co mmon. 7. uaureum Guenee. A douhtful record, re ceived from the Inte rior. 8. vaccinii H. Edw. An ea s te l'l1 s pecies, fi gured in Holl a nd's Moth Book; m ay be di sti ng ui s hed by the hea vil y c heck er ed fringe of t he fore-wings. This name, w ith celsa a nd octoscripta, Ill ay r e fe r t.o on e species . Kaslo. 9. selecta Walk ( viridisignata Grote ). A la rge s pecies with pointe d wings. Ground color an almos t uni fo rm b lue-grey; Y-mark of a pec ulia r gree nish-golden hue . Ana l tooth la rge. Vancouver Is la nd ; Kas lo; Hope Mountains. 10. octoscripta Grote . . A s m a ll s pecies , blue-grey s uffuse d wit h brown ; lines cl istinct, mos tl y lIouble. Y- ma rk s t Ulll Py, uns ilver e d, unbroken , the lower h a lf round wit h a dot in the middle. This s pecies seem s to have been going unde r the n a ill e of celsa H. Edw., in som e of our coll e ctions ancl th e r e may be some confus ion be tween th e two. Is land anel Lower Mainla l1(l ; n ot cO lllmo n. 11. epigaea Grote. A fairly la rge s pecies, uniform li ght g r ey. Y-mark s lender , s ilver y, incon s pi cuous; b e low is a . dark brown blotch, fa eling into th e ground color on t h e inne r margin. Anal tooth large. Gene rally di s tribut ed . ( To be continueci.)