28 PROCEEDING'S ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



Under the head of " Notes and Exhibition of Specimens" the 

 following was presented: 



NOTES ON THE IMMATURE STAGES OF HEMITAXONUS 

 MULTIGINCTUS ROHWER.i 



BY W. B. HALL. 



The following observations were made from mateiial collected 

 on a cultivated fern bed in Wakeman, Ohio. The ferns in this 

 bed were transplanted from their native haunt which is on the 

 banks of the Vermillion River ? near Wakeman, Ohio. 



From certain upchecked tests it seems that this species can be 

 only partially controlled by hellebore. 



Host. Athyrium thelypteroides (Michx.) Desv. 



Egg. The eggs are attached on end to the upper side of the 

 leaf, often as many as ten or twelve on a frond. They are 

 smooth, shining, honey-yellow, about 1 mm. long by 0.5 mm. 

 broad. Before hatching the young larva can be observed through 

 the transparent egg shell. Incubation varies from 50 to 60 hours. 



Oviposition. From observations in 1914 it appears that ovi- 

 position occurs about May 22. 



Larva. Light green with black spots on the head and a light 

 line along each side of the body. On hatching it is about 2 mm. 

 long and when through feeding, about 10 mm., long. In the 

 rearing cages the feeding stage is 11 to 12 days. [The last feed- 

 ing stage larvae preserved alcohol have a large brownish spot 

 on the anal plate, the vertex, occiput and front medianly brown- 

 ish, and a blackish spot behind the eye. They correspond closely 

 with the larva of dub/'tatus var. amicus as described by Dyar.] 

 There is only one generation a year. 



Natural enemies. The House Wren (Troglodytes domesticus) 

 feeds on the larva. It was interesting to watch a pair of wrens, 

 which had their young in a bird house near by, carry the larva 

 to their young. They would dart in among the fronds, catch 

 their prey, and fly away to their nest. One female made 5 trips 

 in 3 minutes. 



[In the same vial with larvae is a single Dipterous puparium 

 indicating that this species is parasitized by some fly.] 



1 Remarks enclosed in brackets have been supplied by Mr. S. A. Roluver. 



