LECANIUM WEBSTERI, CKLL. AND KING, N. SP., WITH NOTES ON ALLIED FORMS

Extract

In Canadian Entomologist, 1895, p. 255, Prof. Cockerell gave some notes and briefly described a species of Lecanium, found by Prof. Webster and others, as L. ribis, Fitch. Later, in April, 1899, in “The Industrialist,” p. 234—5, he again describes it and gives measurements of the antennæ and legs, and states that Mr. Pergande has some doubt about the identification. In November, 1900, Prof. Cockerell sent me two lots of Lecanium, collected by Prof. W. D. Hunter at Ames, Iowa. These I determined as L. ribis (based on Prof. cockerell's notes), and sent a statement of my determination to him. Very soon I received a reply, in which he cited Fitch's description of L. ribis, and stated that under the circumstances the species which he called L. ribis apparently must be something else, and suggested for it the name Lecanium Websteri, based on the species from Ohio, described in “The Industrialist,” April, 1899, p. 235. On receipt of this letter, I wrote to Dr. Howard, requesting him, if possible, to let me have some of Fitch's L. ribis. His reply was as follows: “Mr. Pergande says that he is unable to decide which of our Eastern species is identical with L. ribis, Fitch. Fitch's type has been destroyed, and there is nothing left but a fragment of the twig on which the species was found, showing only the original size, which must have been between 5 and 6 mm. in diameter. Since Fitch's short description appears to agree with L. armeniacum, Mr. Pergande thinks it to be that species, or a pale form of L. cerasifex, which is our most common Eastern species.” At the same time, Dr. Howard kindly sent me some of prof. Cockerell's L. ribis. These, together with specimens from Dr. Fletcher, P. J. Parrott, and those found by me in Massachusetts, were critically studied.