THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 133 



THE LIFE-HISTORY OF LEUCOBREPHOS BREPHOIDES 



WALK. (LEPIDOPTERA).* 



BY ARTHUR GIBSON AND NORMAN CRIDDLE. 



Leiicobrephos brephoides Walk, was for several years known in 

 Canadian collections as L. middendorfi Men. It was not until 

 19071 that the late John B. Smith corrected the error and stated 

 that the former "is the only species thus far known to inhabit 

 North America." In the Entomological Record, for the years 1901 

 and 1903, the species is recorded under the name middendorfi, 

 which name is also used by Fletcher in The Ottawa Naturalist, 

 XXIII, 67. 



We have been much interested in the habits and life-history 

 of this interesting and rare moth. In 1903, the junior author 

 forwarded to the late Dr. James Fletcher some eggs of the 

 species, and these and the larva? were then studied, as time per- 

 mitted, by Fletcher and the senior author. In 1915, Mr. F. H. 

 Wolley-Dod forwarded, to Ottawa, 35 eggs, which had been ob- 

 tained at Midnapore, Alta., on April 5-10. These latter gave us 

 an opportunity of studying, more definitely, the preparatory 

 stages. The notes made by Fletcher, in 1903, were incomplete, 

 but such as are of value we include herewith. 



The Eg<j_. — 0.5 mm. in diameter; 0.9 mm. in length; oblong, 

 rounded at both ends; indistinctly longitudinally striate; densely 

 granulate-punctate, the granules acute and irregularly connected 

 to form faint transverse ridges. 



When received from Mr. Dod (April 20) the ova were darkened 

 preparatory to hatching. Fletcher, in ms., states that the colour 

 of the egg is "pinkish-ochre at first, turning a leaden gray before 

 hatching." The egg shell is opalescent; the larva emerges through 

 a rather large, ragged, hole at one end. 



The eggs which were sent to Fletcher in 1903 were laid in 

 confinement at Aweme, Man., on April 15-16. Fletcher's ms. 

 note reads: "Laid on the leaf scars of young shoots of Popidus 

 tremidoides, above the scar, and deposited flat on their sides, 2 or 



*Contribution from the Entomological Branch, Department of Agriculture, 



Ottawa. 

 tCanadian Entomologist, XXXIX, 370. 



April, 1010 



