^geriidae 
The name which we use has also been applied by a multitude 
of writers, and is already well established in use in certain 
quarters. 
The /Egeriidce are diurnal in their habits, flying in the hottest 
sunshine. They are very rapid on the wing. Their larvae are 
borers, feeding on the inner bark or the pith of trees and lesser 
plants. The pupae are generally armed with hook-like projec¬ 
tions, which enable them to progress in a forward direction in 
the galleries in which they are formed. Some of the genera have 
at the cephalic end a sharp cutting projection, which is used to 
enable the insect'to cut its way out of the chamber before the 
change into a moth takes place. The moths have been described 
as follows by Hampson in “ The Moths of India,” Vol. I, p. 189: 
“Antennae often dilated or knobbed. Legs often with thick 
tufts of hair; mid tibiae with one pair of spurs; hind tibiae with 
two pairs. Frenulum present. Wings generally more or less 
hyaline; fore wing with veins 1 a and 1 b forming a fork at base; 
ic absent; veins 4 to 11 given off at almost even distances from 
the cell. Hind wing with three internal veins; vein 8 coincident 
with 7.” 
The American species have been very thoroughly monographed 
by Mr. Beutenmuller, the amiable and accomplished Curator of the 
Section of Entomology in the American Museum of Natural His¬ 
tory in New York. It is through his kindness that the author is 
able to give on Plate XLVI of the present volume so many illus¬ 
trations of the species which are found in our fauna. The stu¬ 
dent who desires to know more about these things must consult 
Mr. Beutenmuller’s great work. 
Genus MELITTIA Hubner 
(1) Melittia satyriniformis Hubner, Plate XLVI, Fig. 1, ?. 
Syn. cucurbit# Harris; ceto Westwood; amcena Henry Edwards. 
The larva of the insect is commonly known as the “Squash- 
borer,” or the “Pumpkin-borer.” The insect has an extensive 
range from New England to the Argentine States. It attacks the 
Cucurbitacece generally, laying the eggs upon all parts of the 
plant, but preferably upon the stems, into which the caterpillar 
bores, and in which it develops until the time of pupation, when 
it descends into the ground, makes a cell beneath the surface in 
380 
