THE NOTODONTS. 



tail with its head is fairly certain to be Datana ministra 

 (Plate LV). It is somewhat fuzzy, especially when 

 young, and is given to associating with its brothers and 

 sisters, the whole family gathering in a mass and going 

 through their gymnastics at the same time. The naked 

 pupae winter in the earth. The adults emerge in June and 

 July; their front wings are reddish brown, their hind wings 

 pale yellowish. The eggs are laid in flat masses of about a 

 hundred on the leaves of their food plants. The larvae 

 of Datana intcgerrima are darker than those of ministra, 

 they lack the yellow neck-band, and they seem to have 

 more fine white hair. They feed chiefly on walnut and 

 hickory. The adults are browner (not so reddish) than 

 ministra arid the pair of fine lines which enclose a dark area 

 near the base of the front wings do not diverge from each 

 other so much. You may find Datana angusii, and other 

 species as well, but the larvae of all, as far as I know, 

 throw themselves into the posture shown for ministra. 



The larva of Scliizura concinna (Plate 

 LV) , which feeds on apple and other orchard 

 trees as well as on rose, blackberry, and a great variety of 

 plants, is frequently noticed because of the prominent 

 bright red hump on the first abdominal segment; the head 

 is also red; the body is black, striped with yellow. Hol- 

 land, quoting Sir George Hampson, says the pupae of 

 Notodontidae are naked; I put in a "usually," above, 

 because I have it on good authority that the larvae of this 

 Species become full grown in late summer or early fall and 

 then spin loose silken cocoons to which are attached bits of 

 earth and rubbish, so that they closely resemble their 

 surroundings as they lie on the ground beneath rubbish, 

 or just under the surface of the soil. After some time the 

 larvae transform to pupae, in which stage the winter is 

 passed. The adult has a wing expanse of about an inch 

 and a quarter, gray front wings with a curved cross-row 

 of brown shades near the middle, and white hind wings 

 with dark vein-tips and a small dark spot at the hind 

 angle. 



185 



