THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 77 



Citheronia regalis Fabr., C. sepalcralis G. & R., and C. Mexicana G. & 

 R. The Pine Citheronia, C. sepulcralis G. & R., is found from Massa- 

 chusetts to Florida, but I have not heard of its being taken farther north, 

 or in Canada. It seems to be a rare moth, having been taken by Abbot, 

 who seems not to have known its transformations. It was unknown to 

 science until we described it from material found by the late Mr. James 

 O. Treat, of Massachusetts. 



NEW WORK ON JAPANESE BUTTERFLIES. 



The task of preparing and illustrating a work upon the Butterflies of 

 Japan, after the model of Mr. Distant's Rhopalocera Malayana, has 

 been undertaken by Mr. H. Pryer, of Yokohama, who with persistent 

 enthusiasm for the past seventeen years has been engaged in collecting 

 the Lepidoptera of the Empire, and studying their habits. The work, 

 entitled Rhopalocera Nihonica, will appear in three parts, ato. It is 

 printed upon Japanese " untearable paper," made of a curious combina- 

 tion of the fibres of rice straw and silk. The text is in English and 

 Japanese. The plates are drawn upon stone and printed in colours by 

 native lithographers under Mr. Pryer's own supervision, and are truly 

 -excellent. The first part, bearing the imprint of the " Japan Mail " 

 office, is before us. The writer during a recent stay in Yokohama had the 

 privilege of examining a portion of the MS. of the Second Part and the 

 proofs of the Plates which are intended to accompany it. It may be 

 worthy of note that the letter-press of Parts II. and III. will greatly exceed 

 -in volume that of Part I. 



The Japanese islands, stretching from Shumshu, the northernmost of 

 the Kuriles, in Lat. 50° 40' N. to the Riu-kiu group in Lat. 24° N., possesss 

 every variety of climate from the semi-arctic to the tropical. The islands 

 of the great central group, Yesso, Nippon, Shikoku, and Kiushiu, are 

 traversed by lofty mountain ranges, and dotted with volcanic peaks, some 

 of which rise from 9,000-10,000 ft., and one of them to 12,450 ft. above 

 sea-level. Upon the summits of these mountains perennial winter reigns, 

 while at their feet a semi-tropical vegetation blooms and flourishes. In 

 addition to the wide diversity in climates which prevails in the islands and 

 the contiguity of colder and warmer climates due to the mountainous 

 character of the country, there are more subtle influences at work depend- 

 ing for their operation upon the rainfall and the aerial currents. The 



