THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST, 163 



By next summer Mr. Edwards and myself hope to settle the question 

 as to the dimorphism of L. arthemis, by rearing the caterpillars from these 

 eggs ; as about one-twentieth of the specimens seen are proserpi/ia, if we 

 are reasonably successful in carrying them through the winter, we are sure 

 to obtain both forms from each kind of parent, if this is really a case of 

 dimorphism. 



Two years ago I captured a specimen here, intermediate in marking 

 between arthemis and proserpina, and this year I have taken another, but 

 these varieties are exceedingly rare. 



The period between the laying and hatching of the egg is about seven 

 days ; the young larva, as has been observed with other species of 

 Limenitis, makes its way to the tip of the leaf and there eats on both 

 sides of the midrib, usually resting on the projecting end of this. On 

 my box I notice that where two larvae are hatched upon one leaf, the 

 second comer constructs a narrow perch for himself from the side of the 

 leaf, and rests upon it. These perches are nearly a quarter of an inch 

 long and about one-fiftieth of an inch in diameter ; they are irregularly 

 cylindrical, and composed of frass and small bits of the leaf, fastened 

 together and covered with grayish silk. 



Besides these eggs I have many of Satyrus nep/iele, and obtained a 

 few of a small species of Nisoniades. The parent was too much battered 

 and broken to be surely identified, but I believe it to be lucilius. The 

 eggs were deposited on willow ; they are oval and have ten strongly 

 projecting upright ribs, these and the space between them being marked 

 with transverse raised lines. In color the eggs are yellow, soon changing 

 to claret-red. The young larva, soon after hatching, eats a narrow slit 

 from the edge of the leaf inward, soon turning at an angle, and then the 

 flap of leaf is bent over and fastened with silken cables so as to afford 

 shelter to the caterpillar. I have sometimes found, in previous seasons, 

 half grown larvse of some Hesperian on the poplars and willows here, 

 hiding between two leaves lightly fastened together, and probably this is 

 the habit of the species in question as it grows up. 



:o:- 



Pieris rap.e. — This troublesome pest to the cabbage grower is rapidly 

 spreading westward. During the past month (August) it has appeared 

 in considerable num-bers in this neighbourhood (London, Ont.,) and is 

 fast becoming one of our commonest butterflies. Already reports are 

 coming in from all quarters of damage done by the larvae. We hope its 

 little parasite, Pteromalus puparum. will soon follow in its wake. — Ed. C. E. 



