232 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



chiefly on the flowers whose colors suit them best for protection ; in fact the 

 insects seem to have been modified in color to suit the flowers they live on. 

 This species is seldom found upon any other flowers than those oi Riidbeckia 

 hirta L. I have once taken it upon the flowers of tansy, once upon a 

 partially yellowed leaf of (EnotJio-a, once upon a high dandelion flower, 

 twice upon the orange-red flowers of Asclepias tiiberosa L., and once fly- 

 ing about some of the many flower-bunches of a clump of sumachs. 

 These are the only exceptions that I have noticed, and are but isolated 

 instances. 



The perfect beetles are very abundant here in July ; in my notes I 

 find reference to them only from 3rd to 13th July. It is in the heat of the 

 day that they are to be found upon the upper side of the flowers, probably 

 feeding upon the pollen ; toward evening, and in cloudy weather, as well 

 as sometimes in sunny weather, they are to be found on the under side of 

 the flowers, clinging to the sepals or petals, where they doubtless spend 

 the night. Thus these flowers furnish the perfect beetles with food and 

 home j and probably their larvae bore the very stalks which support the 

 flowers. The beetles seem to avoid generally the large patches, fre- 

 quenting isolated clumps with only a few flowers, or single flowers. On 

 one isolated flower I have taken five or more, mostly large specimens, 

 while the same day (8th July, 1S83) I went through large patches of the 

 flowers without taking one, or only a few scattered ones. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



ON WILLOW AS FOOD-PLANT OF PAPILIO TURNUS. 



Dear Sir : As stated on page 140, willow ;s given in "Butterflies," 

 p. 309. I asked Mr. Scudder for his authority, and he replies, " Gosse, 

 in Canadian NaturaHst." On page 293 of this book, London, 1840, I 

 read : " I have taken it " (the caterpillar) '• from willow, poplar," &c. So 

 far as I know, in the 45 years since that line was printed, willow has not 

 been noticed as one of the food-plants of Turnus. I asked Mr. John 

 Akhurst, who has bred Turtius as often as any one living, if he had ever 

 found the larva on willow. He says he never has, and enumerates a great 

 number of other trees on which he has found it. I should like much to 

 know if any of the readers of this magazine have ever found this larva on 

 willow, or of their own knowledge can say that this is one of its food- 

 plants. W. H. EmvARDS, Coalburgh, W. Va. 



