240 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



ASSEMBLING OF ATTACUS PROMETHEA. 



Sir, — About 3 o'clock p.m., on the nth of June, whilst hunting along 

 the east side of a high picket fence, running north and south, with woods 

 on the west, and a field on the east, my attention was arrested by the 

 unusual movements of what I thought was a black butterfly. It was 

 fluttering up and down the tall pickets, passing through between them 

 and returning again, in a state of evident excitement. It left off, and flew 

 close by me, when I saw that it was a male promethea. Meanwhile 

 another had taken its place, and was going through similar movements. 

 I at once inferred that a female must be in that vicinity. I moved on- 

 ward, looking between the pickets, and I saw a female suspended to the 

 lower end of a cocoon, out of which she had probably emerged that day. 

 The cocoon was attached to the end of a slender twig, 12 or 14 inches 

 from the fence, and about 4 feet from the ground. 



I remained close by and watched the movements. There were at 

 least four males on the wing. They would fly 20 or 30 feet along the 

 fence, either way, and return. They never flew far afield, and I did not 

 see that they ever entered the woods, whilst one or other of them was 

 always fluttering about the spot, regardless of my presence. They 

 seemed to tire themselves out in a main effort to locate the object of 

 their search. I had watched for about fifteen minutes, when one came 

 quietly along, passed between the pickets, fluttered hither and thither for 

 an instant, then I saw its mate was found. During my observation the 

 female was perfectly quiescent ; not a movement of wing or foot. There 

 were three males still on the wing when I left. 



Are we to consider A. promethea a day flyer ? or are all the Suturniidse 

 ready to pair at any hour of the twenty-four when circumstances are 

 favourable ? It seems they do not require to fly at all to feed. The 

 female may oviposit during the night. 



I was greatly impressed during the observation by noticing how little, 

 if at all, eye-sight was made use of. J, Alston Moffat. 



Mailed August 1st, 



