218 THE CAi^ADlAN ENTOMOLOaiST. 



carried an oviposition of a single Noctuid to the perfect stage, nor can I 

 recall a published record of its having been done. Further, in illustration 

 of the veil that still hides portions of the life histories of these forms 

 which rarely obtrude themselves upon our sight except under cover of the 

 night, it may be mentioned that during the thirty years in which )ny 

 studies have engaged me to a greater or less extent in the rearing of Lepi- 

 doptera, I do not recall an instance where I have observed the Noctuidse 

 ifi coitu, and therefore have no personal knowledge of the time, place, 

 manner or duration of the initiative of Noctuid life. 



It is known that in the Attacinse, among the Bombycidee, in confine- 

 ment, the lives of the moths are very brief The sexes mate a few hours 

 after emerging from the pupae, and continue in copulation for twenty-four 

 hours or more. Oviposition may be commenced the following day, and 

 completed within four or five days thereafter. Perhaps a week longer will 

 complete the life period of the female — extending in all to about fifteen 

 days. The male usually dies a few days after copulation — several days 

 before the female. 



In the Sphingidge, the lives as observed, in confinement, are longer than 

 in the Attacinae, but I have no records from which to give comparative 

 duration. Our observations upon the Phalsenidae lead us to believe that, 

 as a general rule, their lives are shorter than are those of the Noctuidte. 



An approximation to the life period of the Noctuidte may be obtained 

 from the dates when the several species are observed abroad. The pub- 

 lished records of the collections made by " sugaring " will furnish con- 

 venient data for this. I regret that at my present writing, away from 

 books of reference, I am unable to refer to the papers of Messrs. Thaxter, 

 Norman, Westcott* and others. From a paper published by myself in 

 Entomolog. Contrib., iv., pp. 43-51, it appears that the period of collection 

 (embracing probably nearly the entire life period, as the examples when 

 first taken at sugar were apparently just from pupse, and those last taken 

 so worn as to be hardly capable of flight) of quite a number of species 

 was about one month. Among these may be mentioned Habrosyne scripta, 

 Agrotis baja, A. subgothica^ A. bicarnea, A. repentis^\ Hadena verbas- 

 coides, Gortyna sera, G. niditans, Leucaiiia pa liens, L. phragmitidicola, L. 

 lapidaria, L. pstudargyria, Orthodes infirma, Orihosia helva, Scoliopteryx 

 Ubatrix and Pseudaglossa lubricalis. 



* Psyche, ii., pp. 34-38, 80; Canad. Entomol., vii., pp. 3, 21; Id., viii., p. 12. 

 t Now regarded as distinct from A. messoria Harris. 



