l58 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



extremely active and is clothed with long hairs, which are mostly of a 

 blackish or reddish tint on the back, but of a lighter colour on the sides of 

 the body. The colour of the skin is gray, marked on the sides with 

 black spots and yellowish streaks. The female moth has all the wings of 

 a beautiful silky white, dotted with black. The male shown at la is easily 

 distinguished by its orange underwings. As an instance of the large 

 amount of good work which is still to be done in entomology, it may be 

 pointed out that, as far as the writer can learn, no complete life-history of 

 this common and beautiful moth has ever been published. 



Figure 2. The Two-lobed Plusia, Autographa biloba, Steph. The 

 Plusias form a favourite group with all collectors of moths. They are 

 active moths, for the most part beautifully marked with bold silver or gold 

 marks on the forewings, contrasting with a brown or bronzed background. 

 The caterpillars of many of the species have not yet been described, but 

 they are interesting from the fact that they are semi-loopers, having only 



two pairs of prolegs on the abdominal segments, instead of four pairs as 

 in most noctuid caterpillars. The food plants of most of the species in 

 the group to which the I'wo-lobed Plusia belongs, are various low her- 

 baceous plants. The caterpillars are of a delicate green colour, closely 

 resembling the hue of the ))lant upon which they feed. 



Figure 3. The Large American Tiger Moth, Ardia caia, L., a. 

 Americana, ITarr. There are few more striking insects than the beautiful 

 large tiger moth which is shown herewith. In some specimens the large 

 black spots shaded with blue on the underwings are very much larger and 

 more numerous than in our figure ; likewise, in some specimens the white 

 markings on the primaries may be more conspicuous or almost obliterated. 

 The caterpillar, which has been described fully by Mr. Arthur Gibson in 

 the "Canadian Entomologist" for November, 1900, is two inches in 

 length, of a deep black above, rust-red on the sides, and covered with 

 long, sweeping black and silvery hairs. The eggs are laid in summer, the 

 caterpillars make about half their growth before winter sets in and become 

 full-grown in June, the moths appearing a month later. 



Figure 4, the Cerise Underwing, Catocala concumbens., Wlk. The 

 Underwings are a very large and favourite group with collectors. The 

 present species is, perhaps, one of the most attractive and is a common 

 moth in Eastern Canada. The caterpillar feeds on willow. 



