20 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



A CORRECTION, 



Dear Sir : In my note which appeared in your November number, 

 I wrote, through inadvertence, Phytolacca decandra. The plant I 

 referred to is Veratrum viride — not the " Garget," but the " Indian 

 Poke" or '' Poison Poke." I am ashamed at having to take up valuable 

 space with a correction. Thomas W. Fyles. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



THE COTTON WORM. 



Dear Sir : The cotton worm (Aletia Xyliiia, Say). This interest- 

 ing moth has been tolerably abundant during the middle of :September in 

 this district, and is as much of an entomological conundrum as ever. I 

 took several specimens round the electric lights. They seemed quite 

 fresh and presented no appearance of being travel-worn by their supposed 

 journey from the cotton fields of the " land of Dixie" I captured two 

 specimens on September 19 and endeavoured to hibernate them but failed, 

 one dying on October i'2th and the other on October 15th. I hope to 

 make another attempt at some future day. It does seem curious that we 

 cannot solve the problem of the northern food-plant of this moth. 



E. Baynes Reed, London, Ont. 



CHRYSALIDS DEVOURED BY CATERPILLARS. 



Dear Sir : A few days ago I found a number of Pyrameis cardiii larvae 

 and also several (4) of the common reddish brown hairy caterpillars (Spilo- 

 sonia Isabella), so often seen about gardens in the fall feeding on plants 

 of the common gardei^ hollyhock (Althece rosea). Not having extra 

 boxes to spare I placed both species in a roomy pasteboard box with a 

 plentiful supply of hollyhock leaves. In the course of a day or two 

 several of the Cardui larvie hung themselves to the corner of the box, and 

 in a short time three more transformed to chrysalids. What was my 

 surprise on looking into the box this morning to see if any more had 

 hung or transformed to find the reddish brown caterpillars had devoured 

 two of the Cardui chrysalids, and one of the caterpillars was actually 

 engaged eating the third and had consumed fully one-half of it. This was 

 not done from lack of food, as there was an abundance in the box. Here, 

 then, is a new source of destruction to our butterflies — a sort of canni- 

 balism among caterpillars. 



Shelley W. Denton, Wellesley, Mass. 



Mailed January 9th. 



