ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 103 



If hybridization has entered into the parentage of my pair 

 No. i it was obviously in a prevous generation. 



The parents being so nearly alike would seem to preclude 

 the theory of one being a pure blood confusa and the other a 

 hybrid between confusa and dymene. If both are direct hy- 

 brids between confusa and dymene, normal fertility would not 

 be expected unless the specific distinctness of dymene and con- 

 fusa be abandoned. 



It is possible that the results might be due to interbreeding 

 among the progeny of a " back-crossing," but I have not been 

 able to learn of any observed case of this sort. 



We seem thus to get no further than to establish the improb- 

 ability of the parents of this brood being direct hybrids. It is 

 greatly to be desired that someone should breed from dymcnc 

 parents several series of moths. Until that has been done it 

 seems idle to speculate further upon the parentage of pair No. i . 



I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to Mr. Arthur C. 

 Bradley, of Newport, N. H., and Mr. William L. W. Field, 

 of Milton, Mass., for many helpful suggestions and the loan of 

 books, and to Dr. Harrison G. Dyar for permission to quote 

 his most recent views on the classification of this genus. 



APPENDIX. 

 Life history of Haploa lecontei var. coutusa Lyman. 



Egg. Shaped like a sphere, flattened at base. The flattened 

 area is slightly concave, and in diameter about two-thirds the 

 diameter of the egg. Diameter of egg .60 mm. The surface 

 under a low power lens appears smooth and polished. Color 

 when laid greenish yellow. No change of color apparent until 

 shortly before hatching, w r hen the dark head of embryo may 

 be discerned at the summit of the egg through the transparent 

 shell. The eggs are deposited on under side of leaves of food 

 plant, sometimes scattered but usually thickly sprinkled. Not 

 placed in contact with each other as a rule and without regu- 

 larity of arrangement. 



Three lots of eggs I have had under observation were all 

 from females bred in confinement, from hibernated larvae taken 

 at large in May and were laid between June 29th and July 4th. 



