1894-] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 277 



NOTES COMMON OR OTHERWISE. 



By ARTHUR J. SNYDER, North Evanston, 111. 



Calocampas are early flyers. One curvimacula was taken 

 April 4th, several C. nupera were taken during same month at 

 sugar. During warm, bright days of Winter and very early 

 Spring, a visit to maple trees, -from which the sap is running, will 

 repay the collector if he wishes Graptaj-albiim or Vanessa antiopa. 



Many fine Sphingidae, as well as other good things, may 

 be secured by visiting the blossoms of the various species of 

 milkweed at dusk. On June nth a fresh specimen of Amphion 

 nessus was caught in the hand as it was flying about a crack in a 

 barrel used as a leach for manure. A few plants of nicitiana, a 

 bed of petunias and one of verbenas, are good things for an 

 entomologist's flower garden. 



At least forty Plusias were taken on the evening of August 

 9th from a bed of verbenas. On the same bed I have, during 

 one week, taken P. simplex, P. precationas, P. octoscripta, P. 

 biloba, Deilephila lineata, Papilio asterias, P. turnus, P. cres- 

 phontes, Danais archippus, Limenitis disippus, Nemeophila noc- 

 tuclla, i and several micros. Larva? on plants often drop, by 

 means of a web, to the ground when the plant is touched by the 

 collector. 



One day in July a male and female Colias philodice, which 

 were near each other, were taken at a sweep of the net. On 

 holding the female and releasing the male the latter refused to go 

 .away, but continued to flutter about the hand which held the 

 female for at least five minutes, when the female was finally 

 released the pair flew away together. 



One badly battered specimen of Erebus odora was taken 

 here late in the season of 1893. One was seen about the same 

 time at sugar on two successive nights. On August gth, this 

 year, a fine, large specimen was found on the wall beneath my 

 back porch. 



The larvae of Hjmoptera edusa, and of some species of Cato- 

 cala vary but little in appearance, though the former are smaller. 

 Both may be found on willow. 



A larva found on grass and supposed to be Acronycta obli- 

 nita (a species which I have reared before on smartweed) fed 

 heartily on "black heart," a plant closely resembling the common 

 smartweed, and produced a perfect imago of Arsilonche hcnricii. 



