46 THE EEPOET OF THE No. 36 



warm in fact for digging operations. Pupse were found nearer the surface and two 

 sticking up on end, cremaster up, as in the cages. Collecting at this date, though 

 successful, is difficult, for the digging implement is almost sure to injure about as 

 many pupas as it unearths sound ones, so after cutting in two or dinting over 

 twenty a piece of wood was substituted. It was not much improvement as the 

 extra force required to use it bruised the pupae instead of cutting them in two. 

 On returning home it was found that twenty-six sound pupge was the result of the 

 outing. But this was not all, for two larvae were found, one evidently sickly, the 

 other full-grown and well below the ground ready to pupate. One empty pupa 

 shell was also picked up and the plant above searched for the moth. Whether it 

 was this one or another I disturbed during my search cannot be said, but happening 

 to look down a moth was seen running along among the leaves on the ground and 

 took r'efuge under one of them. When disturbed, she ran off and finally hid under 

 another leaf — the performance exactly resembling that of A7uphipyra tragopogonis 

 which in England has earned for itself the common name of The Mouse. Several 

 other moths had by now emerged in the cages and many pupse were \darkening 

 up in color, betokening early emergence. In doing this one escaped and fell to 

 the floor, without attempting to use its wings, and immediately scurried about on 

 the floor in search of a hiding place. It was noticed that the moths in the cages 

 all appeared to try to squeeze themselves as close into the dark corners as possible, 

 often remaining two or three days without altering their relative positions. It is, 

 of course, possible that during the night they may have flown or moved about and 

 returned to their post before morning, but the habit of secreting themselves by day 

 is evident. 



Having a supply of living moths the next point was to secure eggs, and not 

 having any experience in getting bred specimens of Noctuids to mate in captivity, 

 I tried every plan I have ever used in the case of moths belonging to other families, 

 but was unable to get a pairing among themselves, and freshly emerged females 

 placed on the inside of screen doors and taken into the woods failed to " asseanble " 

 any flown males. Finally a large skeleton box, about thirty inches each way, 

 covered with netting, was put in the garden, with stems of several figwort plants 

 stuck vertically in the ground, as well as the cuttings of such perennials as were in 

 flowers and some twigs and leaves smeared with sugaring mixture.. After feeding 

 all the moths forcibly, they were turned into the moth paradise. Two days later, 

 success was attained, one moth having selected a blue-bell, and in the axil of the 

 leaf deposited a cluster of eight eggs, irregularly placed, while lower down on the 

 same stem were about ten eggs in a crooked line, the lowest barely an inch from 

 the ground, and the moth was hiding under the lowest leaf which was drooping and 

 provided a suitable shelter. The moth was brought indoors and placed in a breed- 

 ing cage with cuttings of figwort and blue-bell steans, but e^ddently they were not 

 attractive-looking, for the moth would not use them, but placed eggs in all sorts of 

 places in^ corners, on the glass door, loose on the bottom and most curiously on and 

 in the empty pupa cases of its own kind. It was hoped, by observing where eggs 

 were laid in confinement, that the habits in nature would be indicated, but the 

 results were unsatisfactory. In no case did it seem as if the eggs were placed 

 otherwise than as a sort of makeshift, although the use of the axil of leaf and inside 

 of pupa cases hinted that they would probably be concealed, that is thrust in some- 

 where; which might have been presupposed. However, knowing what the eggs 

 looked like, and armed with a reading glass, we proceeded to the hillside the next 

 Saturday afternoon and looked over the plants from the ground to the top seed- 

 vessels. The inside of the latter were very carefully examined, as well as the little 



