THE CAISTADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST 145 



was joyous and beautiful. And as I sit with open box before me 

 and listen to the sleet driven from out the winter darkness against 

 the window panes, I dream of June vacation days — the scent of 

 spruce and fir arises and I gaze across the logs through shimmering 

 heat waves to the cool shadows of the clustering pines. 



NEW LIFE HISTORIES IN PAPAIPEMA SM. 

 (LEPIDOPTERA.) 



BY HENRY BIRD, RYE, N. Y. 



(Continued from p. 115). 



Papaipema speciosissima G & R. 



A thirteen-year search for the larva of this species, one of the 

 few eastern ones remaining unknown, culminated successfully in 

 1913. By reason of its fine coloration and large size the species 

 was well known as a moth, even though but few examples ever 

 found a way into collection. At the time of the description in 

 1868 (Trans. Am. Ent. Soc, Vol. I, 342), Grote and Robinson 

 relate receiving their type from Seekonk, a suburb of Providence, 

 R. I., and an accompanying figure made its individuality clear. 

 Thirty years later Prof. J. B. Smith found "perhaps a dozen female 

 examples" in the aggregate of the principal American collections 

 which he perused when writing monographically of the genus. 

 While known to be generally scattered over the north-eastern 

 United States, most of the examples coming to light of late years 

 bore the label of northern New Jersey. As the establishment of 

 the preferred food-plant through a painstaking search has brought 

 out a bearing of primitive conditions on the result, it may be helpful 

 to relate details. 



It was conceded the larva would have a boring habit, its large 

 size would indicate the occupation of some stocky stem or root, 

 so this problem of isolating the food-plant was the first question, 

 and one beset by certain ecological features. So long ago as 1900 

 the writer visited the type locality in hopes of meeting some plant 

 peculiar to that section which might furnish a clue to the desider- 

 atum. Obviously, one way of getting an idea of a likely plant 

 for investigation would be to visit a number of places where the 



May. 1915 



