Vol. XXvi] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 22$ 



safe, and until we know to the contrary the only practice worth while 

 in connection with this insect. A good, strong jack-knife is the only 

 tool required, several inches of the surrounding soil having been re- 

 moved previously. 



Another Note on Hyphantria cunea Drury (Lep.). 

 On July 4, 1901, at Blacksburg, Virginia, I obtained a large nest of 

 this species from Pear, the larvae averaging about 5 mm. in length. 

 They were fed in confinement and pupated on August 2. They were 

 not observed further. On August 19, at Annapolis, Maryland, the 

 larvae were abundant in various stages of growth and a month later 

 it was noted that all had pupated for the winter. They were very 

 abundant in that part of Maryland in 1901. On August 29 a note 

 was made to the effect that the caterpillars were very annoying in the 

 town of Annapolis, crawling over houses, on to people and so on. 

 Larvae were still in numbers September 13. 



Dryocampa rubicunda (Lep.). 



July 5, 1901, I obtained some of the caterpillars of this moth from a 

 sugar maple on the campus of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute at 

 Blacksburg, Virginia. The tree was badly infested by them. Ten of 

 the larvae were confined and fed, entering the earth for pupation on 

 July 5 (average) and emerging on July 28 to 30. The few eggs ob- 

 tained were yellow, flattened, globular from above, glabrous, with a 

 diameter of about 1.25 mm. 



A Butterfly Which is Confined to Isolated Areas of Small Size 



(Lep.). 



Some years ago in Virginia I used to accompany Mr. Hermann J. 

 Erb, of New York City, on some of his collecting trips into the moun- 

 tains of southwest Virginia. One of the most interesting of these (to 

 me then) and most fascinating of adventures into wonderland was a trip 

 to a little valley at the base of what is called Roanoke Mountain near 

 Blacksburg. Here there seemed to be a "metropolis" for that beautiful 

 and interesting species of butterfly, Papilio ajax. In this little depres- 

 sion they could be found in large numbers at certain times of the year 

 (mid July for one), while in the surrounding country, only an occa- 

 sional individual would be encountered, probably a stray from the col- 

 ony. I made no note tending toward an explanation. 



Collecting Moths of the Noctuid Genus Catocala (Lep.). 

 During a number of trips with the same collector some of the most 

 interesting were in pursuit of those splendid bark-mimicking moths of 

 the genus Catocola. Armed with stout sticks, an unfrequented moun- 

 tain forest was usually entered and separating, the collectors went from 

 tree to tree, scraping their sticks lightly up and down the trunks. This 

 effectually frightened any moths resting upon the bark and when this 

 happened, the specimen was watched until it alighted again, upon 



