ntomolo0bt. 



Vol. XXIX. 



LONDON, DECEMBER, 1897. 



No. 12. 



NOTES ON GRAPTA INTERROGATIONIS, Fabr. 



BY H. H. LYMAN AND A. F. WINN, .MONTREAL. 



This species was unusually abundant in this, as in many other 

 localities, during the season of 1896, and afforded an excellent oppor- 

 tunity for studying it, which we took advantage of by rearing it from the 

 egg. The preparatory stages are well known, and a full account of the 

 life history was given by Mr. W. H. Edwards in Can. Ent. XIV., pp. 

 201-207. As noted by Mr. Edwards, the larvae vary greatly, and this 

 is true even in those raised from the same batch of eggs, and these 

 variations seem to be in no way connected with the two forms of the 

 imago. 



In Mr. Caulfield's List of Diurnal Lepidoptera of the Island of 

 Montreal, published in the Can. Ent. in 1875, ^^is species is called 

 " rare," and its seasons are stated to be " May (hibernated) ; July to 

 October." 



The question as to the number ot broods in the season is an interest- 

 ing one and requires careful examination, but the majority of the 

 authorities are not vety clear upon this subject. 



Dr. J. G. Morris made no attempt in his " Synopsis " to deal with 

 seasons or broods. 



Dr. Harris is not very clear, as he says that the butterfly " first 

 appears in May and again in August and September," and that " the 

 caterpillars come to their full growth in the latter part of August." From 

 these statements it would seem as if he only recognized one annual 

 brood, the individuals of which hibernated and appeared again in the 

 spring ; but he says further tiiat " there is probably an early brood of 

 caterpillars in June or July," though he had not seen any on the hop vines 

 before August, but from his remarks on the duration of the pupa stage, 

 viz., " the chrysalis state usually lasts from eleven to fourteen days, but 

 the later broods are more tardy in their transformations, the butterfly 

 sometimes not appearing in less than 26 days after tlie change to the 

 chrysalis," would seem to indicate that he recognized more than two broods. 



