MEMOIRS OF THE NATIONAL ACADK.MY OF SCIENCES, 277 



ring iiiul ;i costal spot. Fringes wliite. Under surface iiiliginous, with tlie borders white, tlie 

 costal and terminal marks mostly repeated, and with two duskier shades across subterminal 

 space. Secondaries fuliginous, with ternnnal black spots Ijetweeu the veins; lunule and two more 

 or less distinct transverse bands dusky; fringes white; under surface paler, with the dusky 

 bands more strongly relieved. Head beneath, front femora and tibi:e inside, two spots on middle 

 and liiiid tibia', tarsi, pectinations of antenuiO, a mark (obsolete in one specimen) between eyes 

 and bases of wings, across the shoulders, around the teguhe, and at base of thorax, a spot on 

 each tegula and two in niiddh' of tliorax, and a transverse band on anterior edge of each. joint 

 superiorly, brown-black. 



'•Alar expanse, 1.25-1.5U inches. Length of body, 0.(J0-(I.75 incli. 



"Described from three 9 , one bred by myself, one by Miss M. E. ilurtfeldt, of Kirkwood, Mo., 

 and one by J. 11. Muhleman, of Woodburn, HI. — all from willow-feeding larva'. In each case the 

 larvie were supposed to belong to boreaiis, and no critical descriptions were taken. The variation 

 is not great; in one sjjecimen the wings are noticeably shorter and more rounded than in that 

 chosen for my tignre, and the marks on primaries are less clearly defined; the bands on secondaries 

 are also scarcely indicated, or only by faint spots on the veins, wliile the costal marks on primaries 

 interiorly coalesce so as to form but three broad marks. 



"The eggs of Cerura are hemispherical, i. e., very ilat on the attached side: and while the 

 larvie of mitltiscripta and borealln resemble each other, their eggs are easily distinguished, those 

 of the former being pale yellowish green and those of the latter jet-black. 



"The species approaches nearer to the European bicuK2)is than to the North American Jtorrtdi.s. 

 I am uuac(iuainted with the scitistrriptd Vi'Micv of Grote and Eobinson's "List," but as Mr. 

 Grote has seen niultiseripta and pronounced it new, I have no hesitancy in describing it." 



Of these two specimens, one is like the candbJa of Lintner's description in the hind legs 

 being entirely white above and beneath, with no marginal black dots. In the other examples the 

 dots are minute, though distinct, showing that they are on the verge of extinction. 



MnJiiscriiita also varies in our examples from New York (Doll); the hind wings are white- 

 above and beneath, and another is intermediate between the Ibregoing example and those with 

 dark wings. The thorax also varies in the amount of black markings, and the two hinder lines 

 are wanting. 



The following notes on the preparatory stages of Centra mulfificripfd Itiley, by Dr. Dj-ar,. 

 are (;opied from I'sydie, vi. 



Eyg. — Sliglitly more tiian hemispberical, the base flat, dead sordid vihite, covered with iiiauy short, dark-browU' 

 liairs irregularly laid on and distributed also on the parts of the leaf adjoining. Diameter. 1.3 mm. Laid in groups 

 of live or less ou the under surface of a leaf. These eggs had hatched when found, the larva having emerged from 

 a hole in the side, leaving the rest of the shell intact. 



First staye. — Head sub<iuadrate, dejiressed at the vertex, black and shining. AVidth. O.G nun. Body furnished 

 ■with minute tubercles, a spiued process at each side of the cervical shield and two tail-like appendages which take^ 

 the place of the anal feet. Color black throughout, a little paler veutrally. 



Second stage. — Head rounded, minutely jninctured, with a tubercle below the vertex of each lobe. Color 

 purplish black, a little jialer about the sutures of the clypeus (triangular plate). A few short hairs. Width, 0.9 mm. 

 The body has several rows of minute piliferous tubercles, two large, thick, heavily spiuose cervical horns ou .joint 

 2; tails long, sharply spiuose, shiny black, the extensile threads purple black, whitish at base. Body velvety 

 purple black, the venter greenish. Length of body, 4 mm. ; of tails, 4 mm. 



Third static. — Head with two tubercles before the apex of each lobe, one in the center of and one each side of 

 tho clypeus. Color, dull black, clypeus and month reddish, ocelli black, antenna>, pale. Width, 1.3 mm. Cervical 

 horns thick, heavily spiuose, the spines blunt and each tipped with a hair. About sis rows of elongated, piliferous 

 tubercles on each side, alternating anteriorly and i)osteriorl,v on each segment. Tails long, heavily spinose, black, 

 the extensile threads brown, white at base. Body and legs greenish yellow, a black dorsal band covering the 

 cervical horns, narrowing to joint 4, where the dorsum is angularly elevated, widening to near. the .spiracles on joints 

 8 and 9, then continuing evenly over the subdorsal space to the last segment. Spiracles narrowly black ringed. 

 Length of tails, 5 mm. 



Fourlli stage. — Head dead purple-black, greeni.sh at the sides posteriorly, the upper half sprinkled with little 

 yellowish dots, but leaving a line of the ground color each side of the central suture. 



Clypeus and mouth paler and shiny, antenna- whitish, ocelli black. Width, 2.1 mm. Body as licfore, 

 considerably elevated dorsally at joint 4. with a rounded pinkish dorsal process. Cervical shield large, purpli.sh 

 black ; the horns rather thick and short, heavily tuberculated. Bod.v yellow-green ; the dorsal stripe black as liefore, 

 but a little purplish; spiracles white, with a line black border, the posterior ones more or less surrounded by black. 



