THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 137 



who has attempted to catch it on the wing. But a stronger proof some 

 of you have had in the exhibition of a D. anhippus some years ago, by 

 Mr. Pearson, of Montreal, which had been captured on board a ship on 

 the Atlantic, hundreds of miles from land. 



EARLY APPEARANCE OF CATOCALAS. 



BY JAMES S. JOHNSON, FRANKFORD, PENN. 



Several of your correspondents have given you articles on the early 

 appearance of Lepidoptera this season, and as the Catocalas are my 

 favorites, I will give my experience with them. According to good 

 authority and report, C. epione had the honor of being the first to appear- 

 but I find in this locality a very strong argument against that theory. By 

 referring to my diary I see that C. ilia has the precedence. The appear, 

 ance of these two species during five years is as follows : 



With this reference we find ilia the first, and its appearance this year 

 sixteen days earlier than usual. During the season of 1877 I took 29 

 species, 461 examples (article m Field and Forest, vol. hi., p. 64). This 

 year bids fair to exceed that take, viz., 



1880, June 24; C. ilia, 4 examples. 



grynea, 1 " 



" 25 ; ilia, 5 



insolabilis, 2 " 

 " 26 ; ilia, 3 



insolabilis, 1 " 



