44 ' THE REPORT OF THE [ No. 19 



There was spnt to me by Mr. J. Taaton of this city, a most singular looking creature 

 of the class Myriapoda, and shortly after another was brought by Mr. C. E. Abbott, both 

 of them supposed to have come in packing, and had attracted their attention as some- 

 thing quite uruisual. From information received by me at our annual meeting, it proved 

 to be Vermatia forceps, Rafinesque, of the family Scutigera, and the first reported appear- 

 ance of it in Canada. There is an excellent figure of it in the fourth report of the N. Y. 

 State Entomologist for the year 1887, page 129, and from that article I have gathered 

 the following information: It is properly a soathern resident, but has been gradually 

 extending northward, until it has now become well established in most of the eastern 

 States. Its body is when full grown, about an inch in length, with a uniform width of 

 a quarter of an inch, but rather narrower at the hind end. It has fifteen pairs of long 

 legs which terminate in a black, sharp hook. The front pair of legs are about half an 

 inch in length, the others gradually increasing in length to the second last pair, which 

 are about an inch and a quarter, whilst the lai^ pair are an inch and a half or more. It 

 is known to be carnivorous, feeding upon insects, for which it enters and frequents 

 houses, and when seen for the first time, is sure to attract attention by its grotesque at- 

 titude and rapid movements, and may even create alarm; but for which there is no cause, 

 as it is extremely timid and anxious to escape. Yet, from its anatomical structure it is 

 suspected that it may be poisonous, but there is no authentic instance recorded of its 

 ever having inflicted injury to a human being. From Insect Life, Vol. 3, P. 85, I copy 

 the following: ** Mr. Webster spoke of the predaceous habits of Cermatla and its preying 

 upon the Croton hug. Mr. Fletcher had observed the insect with Mr. Howard, at Wash- 

 ington. Its mode of capturing the Oroton bug before devouring it was remarkable. It 

 sprang over its prey which was thus encaged between 'its many curved legs " 



The unusually warm weather in October, had the eff'ect of bringing to maturity great 

 numbers of the Tomato Sphinx, and many were captured on the wing. I secured a fine, 

 fresh specimen on a shop front in the principal thoroughfare of the city on the morning of 

 the 19 th. 



Anosia Archippus was noticably scarce through the season, as compared with the 

 previous year, and yet Messrs W. E. Saunders and H. Gould saw them on the 1 9 th of 

 September, accumulated in such multitudes on the trees at Point Pellee, as to put the 

 green of the foliage out of sight, whilst the lower branches were drooping with their 

 weight. On the 27th of October, the janitor of the Y. M C. A, brought me a living 

 specimen which he had taken from a bush, helpless from the coldness of the day; bright 

 and fresh, as if newly hatched. It was very lively in warmth and sunshine, and fed 

 freely, but dormant when the room was cold. On two occasions it remained in the same 

 position from about four o'clock Saturday afternoon, until near noon on the Monday fol- 

 lowing. On the 13th of November, I allowed it to remain too loijg on a frosty window, 

 from which it never fairly recovered, and it died on the 16th. It retained its bright 

 colors to the last. It was a female. I opened the abdomen and made a microscopic ex- 

 amination. It was very fat, but I could see nothing whatever to indicate the presence 

 of eggs. 



ANOSIA ARCHIPPUS, YET AGAIN. 



By J. Alston Moffat, London. 



In a series of most interesting and instructive articles on the Migration and Dis- 

 persal of Insects, by J. W. Tutt, F. E. S , editor of " The Entomologist's Record and 

 Journal of Variation," London, England, after a reference to the methods of many 

 different insects, he arrives in due course, in the July number, 1900, to a consid- 

 eration of what has been written upon the movements, spring and autumn, of Anosia 

 Archippus, Fab. (Fig. 7) and the claims that have been put forth for it, as differing in 

 many respects from all other butterflies. The opinions that he has formed from a con- 

 sideration of what has been written upon the subject, and the conclusions he has arrived 

 at upon it, can be gathered from the following extra3ts taken therefrom: 



