THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 171 



Mr. D. S. Kellicott sail he felt sure that his observations as reported 

 in the paper referred to were correct, and he was glad to know that both 

 his own conclusions and those of Mr. Riley could be thus harmonized. 

 It would seem he had not carried his observations far enough to discover 

 that all the larvas of Scudderiana fed at first in the terminal leaves. Late 

 in the fall he had often taken from the terminal leaves the mature larvae 

 referred to by Mr. Riley, but had so far failed to obtain the imago from 

 them. He had some doubt still of its being identical -with P. Scudderiana. 



Prof. Riley also called attention to the life habits of Helia americalis, 

 which he finds in the larval state to feed in the nests of Formica rufa. So 

 far as he knows, this is the first Lepidopterous insect known to develop in 

 ants' nests. He also gave his experience in rearing Arsame obliqicata 

 during the past two years, and exhibited specimens in different stages of 

 development. The eggs are laid in curious broadly conical or plano- 

 convex masses enveloped in hair, and a cream colored mucous secretion, 

 which combined look much like spun silk on the inside, and on the out- 

 side like the glazed exudation of Orgyia leucostigma. The larva, which is 

 pale at first, but dark in its later stages, bores into the stems of Saggit- 

 taria and Nelumbium, and is semi-aquatic, the last pair of spiracles being 

 exceptionally large and dorsal. There are two annual broods, the second 

 hybernating as larvje in moss and decaying stumps near the water. The 

 moth shows great variation and the summer brood is on the average not 

 much more than half as large as the spring or hibernated generation, and 

 generally much paler. 



Mr. D. S. KeUicott said that he had bred this moth at Buffalo, N. Y., 

 where it was very abundant, and he had found it associated with another 

 species, an account of which he promised to give at some future session. 



The meeting then adjourned to meet at 2 p. m. the following day. 



Wednesday, August 15th, 1883. 



The members of the Club met at 2 p. m., the President in the chair. 



A paper was presented by Prof S. A. Forbes entitled " Memoranda 

 with regard to the contagious diseases of caterpillars and the possibility 

 of using the virus of the same for economic purposes." The writer had 

 adopted the results of Pasteur's discoveries in relation to the disease 

 affecting silk-worms as the foundation for his researches. M. Pasteur 

 some time since demonstrated the constant presence of a parasite in the 

 intestines of silk-worms affected by this disease, which has at times 

 threatened the silk industry in Europe. This parasite was not only the 



