MEMOIRS OF THE NATIOXAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



181 



- - d 



Fit;. TO.-Kiiil (.f liody 

 Si/mmeri.^ta alhi/rons 

 loim). 



of / piijia of 

 (sharp- toothfd 



Fourth stiiijc, after tlie third molt. — Leii.i;tii, 30 mm. Tiie marking's and colors arc tlie same 



as in Stage \', but the larva at this ])crio(l only iliHcrs from tlie third stage in being longer in 



jiroportiou, though \yith a greater number of black lines and spots, as de.scribed under the last 



stage. 



Fifth and last stage.' — Sei)tend)er 12. Length. 40-.")() mm. The body now increases in width 



from the jn'otlioracie segment to the eightii abdominal, the head 



being much ronndeil.bnt a little wider than the iirothoraeic segment 



and more pitchy red. The arrangement.of the markings is niainly 



as in the third and foui'th stages, but the straw-yellow bands arc 



now deci) orange, often almost coral-red. The number of blackish 



lines have increased. There are live instead of three dorsal lines, 



the outer line on each side being the heaviest and most continuous 



and scarcely broken at the sutures. The black spots and slashes 



on the sides at the base of the abdominal legs are more distinct and 



luimerous than before, as are the black spots on tht eighth, ninth, 



and tenth segments, behind the dorsal hump. On the hinder edge 



of the eighth segment are eleven black spots, varying in size and 



sliape. On the ninth segment are three sublinear dorsal and two oblong black lateral sjiots, and 



on the tenth segment are three dorsal coarse black dots, and on each side a black dot and oblong 



black spot. The .supraaual plate is distinct, crescentshapcil, ami deep honey-yellow, like the anal 



legs. There is a median ventral, interrupted black line, also 



\, indicated m the tliird stage. 



In this genus, then, we have a return to the functional 

 anal legs, armed with hooks, the end of the body not being- 

 more or less i)ermaiieutly uplifted or extended horizontally. 

 Instead of tins deterrent or terrifying feature we have the 

 showy coral-red hump and the bright black and red bands on 

 a shining, glistening skin (already indicated as early as the 

 third stage), which may be danger signals to birds to whom 

 this caterpillar may be distasteful. 



Cocoon.— A thin, white, irregularly oval, tough web, 

 through which the ]iupa is partly visible, r.eutenmiiller says : 

 "The cocoon is irregularly oval, and is of a tough, sordid 

 white texture, and is spun on the ground amongst leaves" (p. 

 2(!). Miss Soule writes me that "of five specimens, three 



spun flat circular cocoons between leaves and two iini)ated with no attempt at spinning.'' 



/•»/>((.— liody moderately stout, rather long, tlie end moderately blunt; the surface, except at 



the end of the abdomen, coarsely punctured, ami the sutures rather coarsely shagreened. The 



cremaster (tig. 70) is peculiar in being double or deeply forked at 



the end, each fork or spine being stout, llattencd, rugose, but 



with the tip smooth, polished, and slightly directed outward. 



The spines are longitudinally ridged at the base, and trau.sversely \ ^ , \ '/'-P 



■so toward the smooth tip, and the inner side bears three long 



slender seta^, curved at the ends. These setse are ofteu broken 



off, and their presence would not be suspected. The two spines 



vary in distance apart, being in two out of three exam])les closely 



contiguous, while in another specimen they are opened wide apart, 



this difference being probably due to difference in contraction of 



the muscles at the time of death. Length, 17-23 mm. 



Haliils. — This is jierhaps the most common notodontian cater- 



j)illar to be found on the oak. At first the caterpillars are gregarious, but after the first or second 



moll they begin to scatter over the tree. In Georgia, according to Smith and Abbot, the cater- 

 pillar "spun itself up in a thin white web between the leaves October 28, and came out an the 



^^^>^ 



on \ 



Pig. 71. — Pupa (»f Sinninerista albi/rous; anl, 

 anal legs; cr, creniastcr .sbarp-tootbed form). 



-Pupa of Sitmmi'rintd tdbifrons. 9. 



I lieuteiuniiller desvriljes six stai^es. 



