THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 79 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



CALLIMORPHA. 



Ed. Can. Ent. — Dear Sir : In reference to my former note on Calli- 

 morpha, I would state that in my "Check List" the white forms were 

 referred to Lecontei as varieties. I was totally unacquainted with what 

 may be a more Northern form, viz., confusa Lyman. Mr. Lyman's ex- 

 cellent plate and paper must be commended, but I must insist that neither 

 Mr. Lyman (nor Mr. Smith for that matter) have done more than separ- 

 ate the forms in the perfect state ; and in this Mr. Lyman seems to have 

 shown great tact and is the more correct, having made no fresh synonyms. 

 The yellow species commence the series in my Check List, in which ves- 

 ta/is and fulvicosta are distinguished as different forms or varieties, and I 

 have only to add to my former communication respecting the interchange 

 of yellow and white in this Subfamily, that it notoriously occurs in the 

 sexes of Leucarctia acraea. The American species of Callimorpha are 

 probably not long separated from an original type — they form to-day a 

 pro-genus, like Datana. In such cases where the naturalist attempts to 

 still further separate the species or races as Mr. Smith has done, the work 

 of all previous describers should be studied and certainty attained as to 

 what forms have been already named and what remain without a designa- 

 tion. In all this work there is nothing really original. "When some one 

 breeds all these forms, as Mr. Edwards does the doubtful Butterflies, there 

 will be a real scientific addition to our present imperfect knowledge. 



A. R. Grote. 



Dear Sir : Dr. Harris, in his well known work on Injurious Insects, 

 states that the caterpillars of the Callimorphas conceal themselves in the 

 day time une'er leaves and stones. According to my experience, the larvse 

 of Lecontei and confusa may be found on the food plants at all hours of 

 the day. About ten or twelve years ago. Lecontei was rather abundant 

 on certain parts of Montreal Mountain, and I observed quite a number of 

 the larvse, from some of which I reared the moths. I unfortunately 

 neglected to take a description of the larva, nor did I ascertain what the 

 food plant was. When the Mountain was opened as a public park, a 

 carriage drive was cut right through the Lecontei ground, and since that 

 time it has become very scarce, and I have so far failed to re-discover the 



