272 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



are unknown, and it might be any of these, but its pecuh'ar workings and 

 choice of food-plant at once suggested the unusual, which was finally borne 

 out at emergence. In choosing CoUinsoiiia Canadensis, the larva takes 

 up with a common and generally accessible plant, and why the moth has 

 not been observed before is one of the mysteries. How an insect of its 

 size and appearance, with larvae actually at work within the confines of 

 New York City, and whose range must extend widely over the Eastern 

 United States, could have escaped notice until this late day is most 

 remarkable, for it does not appear in collections standing erroneously 

 under some other label, as do the other species here brought forth. It 

 simply does not occur at all. Some recent discussion over what is a rare 

 butterfly, etc., recalls that inaccessibility or remoteness of habitat are often 

 the main features of so-called rarity. In this case we certainly cannot 

 make any excuse for inaccessibility, and while there is no claim made for 

 its rarity in nature, we do say it has proved our most elusive Noctuid. 



Collinsoiiia sends up a modest stem to the height of a couple of feet, 

 from a very peculiar rootstock. It has very aptly received the common 

 name Stone Root, for the roots are almost "as hard as a stone," being 

 quite comparable to a piece of well-seasoned hardwood. That the larvae 

 forsake the fairly commodious stem and endeavour to make an impression 

 on the root, was what drew particular interest to it. By maturity these 

 endeavours have borne some result, and a little cell large enough to crowd 

 in has been formed. In looking for something easier the epidermis is pierced 

 repeatedly, so that the cell is often incomplete by reason of these broken 

 tissues. But there is some flavour in Stone Root particularly enticing, for 

 the larvae of two other species are found to work in it in a very similar 

 manner. One of these has a larva so close it is not at first recognized as 

 different, and the other, the ubiquitous cataphracta, is always intruding. 

 itself into better company. Indeed, it is a "sly" borer, as it would make 

 nitela and cataphracta its scapegoats, maturing early, forsaking the plant 

 for pupation, and leaving these two later-appearing species that pupate in 

 their burrows to take the brunt for the damage which is ultimately 

 blazoned in the dying stem. Lucky were we to secure one inflated 

 specimen and to carry through one other to imago. Even with the limited 

 material and but one year's data, there is sufficient to warrant the following 

 description : 



Papaipema asticta, n. sp. — Form and habitus fully congeneric ; 

 ground colour chrome yellow, a little brighter than Merriccata, and the 

 powdering of brown scales not so heavy. Head and collar purplish- 

 brown, no white scales at the base of the antenntm nor at the base of the 



