686 AN INTRODUCTION TO ENTOMOLOGY 



the United States. Isolated individuals are found in the North in 



Fig. 857. — ScoUopteryx libatrix. 



Fig. 856. — Erebus odora. 



late summer or autumn. These are found as far north as Canada 



and west to Colorado, and even in 

 California. These have doubtless 

 flown north from their southern 

 breeding places, possibly from Cuba 

 or Mexico. 



The larva feeds on certain tropic- 

 al legiuninous trees, Cassia fistula, 

 Pithecolobhtm, and Saman. 



The scalloped owlet, ScoUop- 

 teryx libatrix. — This moth is easily 

 recognized by the shape of its wings, the outer margins of which are 

 deeply cut and scalloped (Fig. 857). The color of the fore wings is 

 soft brownish gray, slightly powdered with rust-red, and frosted with 

 white along the costa. There is an irregular patch of rust-red reach- 

 ing from the base to the middle of the wing, a single, white, transverse 

 line before the middle, and a double one beyond the middle. The larva 

 feeds on willow. This species is found in all parts of the United States 

 and in Europe. 



The cotton-worm, Alabama argilldcea. — Excepting perhaps the 

 cotton-boll weevil, this is the most important insect pest in the 

 cotton-growing states. The adult insect (Fig. 858) is a brownish 

 moth with its fore wings crossed with wavy lines of darker color and 

 marked with a bluish discal spot and two white dots as shown in the 

 figure. This moth is found in the Northern States and even in 



