58 Journal New York Entomological Society. C Vo1 - xxvii. 



tion should be easy. When present in the field, the moths may be 

 found resting on the hibiscus plants or on the grass near the plants. 

 The first moths taken by us were obtained by sweeping the tall grass 

 bordering the meadows near the patch of hibiscus at Arlington. 

 They are not disturbed readily nor is the flight particularly rapid 

 nor for any great distance, so that the insects may be readily cap- 

 tured. That they are not more abundant in collections must be due 

 to the character and location of the food plant." 



The eggs, as will be noted in the description, are somewhat globu- 

 lar. They are laid singly on the under surface of the leaves and do 

 not appear to be strongly attached. Eggs laid in confinement be- 

 tween July 23 and July 25 hatched July 29, giving an egg period of 

 five or six days, but the period evidently varies and in some cases is 

 perhaps longer. 



The larva is a striking one, being geometriform and characteris- 

 tically marked, as noted in the description which follows. In the 

 field larvae may be seen usually on the upper and sometimes on the 

 under surface of the leaves near the margins. Very commonly they 

 will be found resting on the uppermost leaves often near the terminal 

 bud. In feeding they make holes in the leaves somewhat like the 

 beetle Rhcvboscelis tenuis, but larger; also, they are sometimes re- 

 sponsible for devouring parts of the bracts around the buds and evi- 

 dently parts of the buds. The conspicuous larva rests or feeds in this 

 exposed situation even in the bright sunshine and it would appear 

 that it would fall easy prey to any birds although it has been sug- 

 gested that it may be protected because it perhaps resembles a fallen 

 and twisted petal. This was not apparent to the writers, however, 

 who found also that the larvae were parasitized heavily in one of the 

 patches of rose-mallow at Rutherford. Messrs. Engelhardt and Doll 

 informed us that larvae under their observation, at one locality, acted 

 as if they were nocturnal feeders. 



The larval period is approximately a month's duration and when 

 the larva matures it crawls to the ground and forms a parchment- 

 like cocoon on the surface. The pupal period of the first brood re- 

 quires only a 'few days, while that of the second brood lasts from fall 

 until the following June. 



As previously suggested the larvae infesting the hibiscus in one of 

 the patches at Rutherford were found to be heavily parasitized. On 



