. THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 55 



bush and which was unknown to me. I took it home, but it refused to 

 feed upon alder, and I was unable to identify it and find out upon what to 

 feed it. The only descriptions I had at hand were those of Mr. Reed in 

 Annual Report for 1881, and no one of these seemed to answer. Finding 

 that it refused every plant which I offered to it, and yet did not seem pre- 

 pared to pupate, I put it in spirits, which, however, so discolored and 

 shrivelled it that I threw it away. ^Vhile it was alive I made the following 

 brief note of its appearance : Light green, whitish on back, covered all 

 over with white dots edged with black, but these most conspicuous on 

 thoracic segments and substigmatal surfaces. Head granulated, margined 

 by yellow and black line. Legs pink, stigmata orange fawn-color. Seven 

 oblique white lines edged with rose and black, the last line prolonged to 

 the caudal horn, which is long and slightly curved, with black sides and 

 rough. It was my intention when jotting down this memorandum (to 

 assist me in identifying the larva) to make a more full and minute descrip- 

 tion, which unfortunately I neglected to do. Recently in reading in 

 Psyche the descriptions of larvae of Sphingidse, I came across one (Vol. 

 IL, page 77) which immediately recalled to me the larva I had taken in 

 the summer. It is the description of a larva considered to be probably 

 that of Dolba hylcetis, and of which the food is sweet fern. The principal 

 points in the description of the mature larva are as follows : Head 

 scabrous ; sphingial bands yellow or white edged with crimson, and this 

 crimson often followed above by a narrow margin of black \ horn black 

 on the sides, with slight lateral yellow stripe, green above and beneath ; 

 the whole body profusely sprinkled with circular white dots having a black 

 areola ; spiracles testaceous, afterwards bright reddish, prolegs light brown. 

 On turning to Mr. Reed's paper I find for this species : " Head green, 

 with a pale blue line on each side ; body pea-green with lateral oblique 

 pink bands edged below with white \ caudal horn crimson." (Abbot and 

 Smith.) My object in sending this note is to find out Avhether it is now 

 definitely known that the larva answering to these descriptions is that of 

 the species to which it is referred. The moth has not been taken here 

 yet so far as I know. I found last summer several other species in early 

 stages, but did not attempt to rear them. Among them was one less than 

 an inch long taken on button bush ; thoracic segments lessening to head, 

 which was small \ general color pale green ; covered all over with minute 

 prickles or granules ; horn very long and prickly. 



