ANTENNA. OF LEPIDOPTKRA. 13 



Smell. — There can l)e little doubt that the .sense of smell is very 

 acute in the Lepidoptera. Hundreds of species of both moths and 

 butterflies are known to possess special organs for the emission of 

 odors. Di-. Fritz Muller* says that the males of DuJonl'^ bihli^, one 

 of the Nymphalidie, is able to emit as many as three distinct odors, 

 each kind being produced by a separate apparatus. The possession 

 of contrivances for the emission of such odors would in itself argue 

 the existence of organs for their detection. The wonderful celerity 

 with which the Noctuidse and Arctiida? can iind "sugar" at trees or 

 in open places lends additional weight to the belief that thei*e must 

 be well-developed organs of smell. The only tenable theory to ac- 

 count for the well-known habit of " assembling" among Le})idoptera 

 is based upon their [)ossession of an extremely acute sense of smell 

 or something very akin to it. This habit is not confined to any one 

 grouj), though it is most fre(piently observed among the Saturniina. 

 It has been notedf in many widely separated families, e. g., Hei)iali(he, 

 Tortricina, Geometrina, Noctuina, Lymantriidje, Lithosiidse, Zy- 

 gsenidpe, etc. The most remarkable exam})le that has come under 

 my notice is recoi'ded in "The Entomologist" of December, 1<S94. 

 On the U)th of July, 1894, a gentleman of Carnforth, England, 

 placed three females of Bomhj/.v qncrcus; each in a cage of perforated 

 zinc, in a leather collecting bag. On the 20th they were removed, 

 and the bag was carried on a trij) to the Isle of Man. On the 24th, 

 after returning to England, the bag was taken to Witherslack INIoss 

 and a number of males not only came to it, but even crept inside. 

 Afterwards, at various places, on the 26th, 27th, 29th and 31st, num- 

 bers of males came to the bag, though no females had been in or near 

 it dnce the 19th, a period of twelve days. 



During the early Summer of 1894, a breeding-cage with cocoons 

 of Callosamia proinethea was placed at one of the windows of the 

 Entomological Laboratory at Cornell University. The window was 

 a second story one, and was directly over a much frecjuented walk. 

 When the warm days came the window was opened, and after fe- 

 males had emerged great numbers of males came to the cage, flying 

 even in the middle of the day in strong suidight. On the afternoon 

 of the 15th of June, between three and half-pa.st five o'clock, forty- 



* Notes on Brazilian Entomology by Dr. Fritz Muller, Trans. Eut. Soc. London. 

 1878. pp. 211-223. 



t The Entomologist. London, vol. xxv, p)). >S4, 121, 163, 218; vol. xxvi, j). 21 ; 

 vol. xxvii, p. ITii. 



TRANS. AM. ENT. SOC. XXIII. JANUARY. 1896. 



