18 ENTOMOLOGICAL XI.WS. [Feb. 



woods to fly rapidly a few feet and drop again suddenly t< the 

 ground. L. lactispargata Walk, is generally a little later. On 

 1 8th or 2Oth comes the early brood of Scloiia k< ntaria < ',. Ov R. 

 No one who has not seen these early specimens at this season can 

 know anything of the real beauty of this species. These lirst 

 comers are larger and infinitely deeper and richer in tint than the 

 later ones, and there is a soft, tender bloom upon the surface of 

 the wings which is as evanescent as lovely, and is quite lost in 

 drying. Before the 2oth Euftdonia notatariu \Valk., Fidonia 

 truncataria Walk, and Ematurga faxonii Minot, an- plentiful. 



All these are clay flyers, of course. The nights at this season 

 are still very cold, and often frosty, but it is marvellous to see 

 how many noctuids are moving about and are attracted to sugar 

 and to light. Two years ago, between May :6th and 2Oth, Ho- 

 moptera edusa Drury, was in great abundance, flocking at night 

 to our sugar-stations and also to our lanterns on the pia//a. We 

 have often taken more than a hundred of this species with its two 

 varieties, lunata and saundcrsii, in an evening. With them came 

 also H. unilineata (ir. , H. woodsii (ir. , H. bencsignata Harv. , 

 Zale horrida Hiib. , and the three forms of Ypsia nndnlaris Drury. 

 T<zniocampa incerta Hiib. is one of these earliest moths and very 

 .abundant. By the end of the month some of the Bombvcidic 

 make their appearance; the Spilosomas virginica and prim a 

 Halisidota maculata Harr., H. tessellata A. and S. , /'. Isabella 

 A. and S., L. acra'a Drury, Arctia virguncula Kirby; Xotodonta 

 stragula Gr. ; N. basistrieus Walk. Lophoptcry.\ clcgans Strecker; 

 Nerice bidentata Walk, and many others. And you must re- 

 member that this is not in the May of Pennsylvania, or even that 

 of southern New England, but in the tartly cold spring of tin- 

 northern hill country. There the snow often lies upon the ground 

 until June; the streams are icy cold, and all vegetation exceed- 

 ingly backward. Upon what do these early subalpine moths 

 feed? There are almost no blossoms at tin- season of which I 

 speak. From under the snow the cpig <ra lilts a leu pink buds, 

 and in .1 tax orable, sunny May, viola rotundlfoHa, V. .NV/XvVXv'/ and 

 a lew a very few other hardy little plants open tiny blossoms. 



I must not forget to say that it was in the last week ot May, in 

 a very backward season, while sno\\ lay in heaps and drills, in 

 sheltered, shady spots, that 1 took at light my line sp-> iiin-n ol' 

 Pkriigmatobia assimilans Walk. This beautiful insect known only 



