286 [T)|-.f'KMHKIl 



Metamorphoses of CERATOMIA QUADRICORNIS, Harris. 

 BY J. A. LINTNER. 



On the 4th day of July, a female Ceratomia quadrlcornk was bri)u;iht 

 to me. which I inclosed in a box, in the hope of securing some of the 

 e,ti,gs. with which the body appeared to be distended. During the three 

 ibllowiiig days, it deposited one hundred and seventy eggs. A couple of 

 days thereafter it was found dead ; on opening the abdomen, not a single 

 etis; was remainiu"' in it. 



This is the only instance in which I have been successful in obtaining 

 a deposition of eggs from a Sphinx^ although frequently having had thejn 

 to die. with their bodies filled with eggs apparently matured. Mr. Ed- 

 wards, of Newburgh. N. Y., informs me, that he has this season succeed- 

 ed in pairing Sinerinfhus i/emiii/ifua, Say, from which he obtained eggs 

 the following day, and in ten days, the larva;. 



The Eii"- of 0. anadricontk, is of a uniform delicate pale green, smooth, 

 njund as seen from above when attached to the leaf, but slightly flattened 

 on its upper and lower sides ; greatest diameter .054 in.. The shell, after 

 tlie escape of the larva, is thin, colorless and transparent. 



The young larva; made their appearance on the 11th and 12th. They 

 were of a pale green color; measured .2 in.; caudal horn sparsely dotted 

 and tipped with brown, straight, of about half the length of the body ; 

 the thoracic horns apparent; the dorsal serrations barely visible. 



Their exit from the shell, is effected by eating an opening of sufficient 

 size to permit their egTess. Upon emerging, the first act of the larva, is 

 to devour the remainder of the shell. Transferred to some tender leaves 

 of the Elm (Ulmus americann) — its natural food — it crawls about for a 

 time, as if seeking a suitable position for feeding, which in almost every 

 instance, is on the nervure of the leaf, with its head towards the margin. 

 If disturbed, it throws itself in the peculiar Sphinx attitude, when even 

 but a few hours old. If another larva ventures to crawl over it, it lashes 

 its body violently from side to side, or entwines about the intruder, both 

 •sometimes falling together, or hanging suspended by the thread, which 

 they emit in their progress, at this stage of growth. 



Two days before its molting, it ceases feeding, and assumes the follow- 

 ing position (which it holds until the change): the terminal prolegs em- 

 bracing one of the nervures, the body detached from the leaf, and its an- 

 terior portion strongly curved, until the head is brought almost underneath 

 it. After the lapse of a few hours, V)y })lacing the larva between the eye 



