Epipyropidae 
of Arizona. In Central and South America the Dalceridce are 
more numerously found. Of Pinconia coa we give a represen¬ 
tation on Plate VIH, Fig. 6. 
FAMILY EPIPYROPID/E 
“ So, naturalists observe, a flea 
Has smaller fleas that on him prey; 
And these have smaller still to bite ’em, 
And so proceed ad infinitum .” 
Swift. — A Rhapsody . 
The Epipyropidce are a very remarkable little family of para¬ 
sitic moths, of which, as yet, comparatively little is known. 
Professor J. O. Westwood of Oxford, in the year 1876, pub¬ 
lished an account of a lepidopterous insect, the larva of which 
lived upon Fulgora Candelaria , the great tree-hopper, which is 
abundant at Hong-Kong and elsewhere in southeastern Asia. 
The caterpillar, according to Westwood, feeds upon the white, 
cottony secretion, which is found at the base of the wings of 
Fulgora. In 1902 Dr. Dyar described another species, the moth 
of which was bred from a larva which was found attached to the 
body of a tree-hopper belonging to the genus Issus. The speci¬ 
men came from New Mexico, and was taken at Las Vegas Hot 
Springs. The moth, cocoon, and an alcoholic specimen of the 
larva are preserved in the United States National Museum. Mr. 
Champion, the veteran explorer of Central America, who has done 
so much to instruct us as to the biology of those lands, has re¬ 
corded in a note in the Proceedings of the Entomological Society 
of London for 1883, p. xx, that a similar phenomenon was 
observed by him while collecting in Central America. There is 
here a field of interesting study for some patient observer whose 
home is in New Mexico. Dr. Dyar named the New Mexican 
insect Epipyrops barberiana. 
“ The little fleas that do so tease, 
Have smaller fleas that bite ’em, 
And these again have lesser fleas. 
And so ad infinitum .” 
Swift. As popularly but incorrectly quoted. 
370 
