June, 1897.] Dyar : LiFE-HisTORiES OF N. Y. Slug Caterpillars. 59 



to ocherous brown and the bright red shade bordering the green out- 

 wardly may be distinct or wanting. 



The forms have a certain dependence on locality. In the Hudson 

 valley the delphinii form predominates, rarely becoming as green as 

 viridiclava ; on Long Island the tendency is towards green and the 

 elliotii form is frequent. The species ranges to the South, our locality 

 being toward its northernmost extension. In the southern part of 

 Florida the delphinii form appears, approaching the true cippus of Dutch 

 Guayana. According to Cramer's figure, cippus is a brown moth with 

 three green patches^ the third at the end of the cell, apparently. This 

 is a form which our species has no tendency to assume, and if it really 

 extends into South America, it is more likely to be represented by 

 Eiiclea cemilia Stoll, which differs from the delphinii form in having 

 the basal patch yellow, instead of green, a variation which is occasion- 

 ally indicated in New York specimens. 



Eiiclea dicolon Sepp, is also nearly related, but has a very dif- 

 ferently colored larva. In the Mississippi valley and Texas, the forms 

 pcenulata and incisa occur. The larva of the latter is unknown and 

 I have no opinion as to its relation to our species ; but the larva of 

 pcenidata as described by Professor French does not differ from those 

 which have produced viridiclava and elliotii here. The moth of 

 pcenulata is only slightly more green than elliotii and it seems prob- 

 able that it is a variety of our species. 



The variation in the larvae is considerable. In our preliminary 

 synopsis (Journal III, 146), we recognized pccmilata as distinct from 

 delphinii on the characters of the number of detachable spine patches 

 and coloration; but further experience renders this view untenable. 

 There is a certain local tendency coupling the forms of larvae with the 

 moths as indicated in our table. In the Hudson valley the larvae are 

 generally green with red or yellow horns, the subdorsal band broken by 

 brown spots and the four spine patches well developed. On Long 

 Island the terra cotta form prevails, though not exclusively, without the 

 brown spots and with feebly developed spine patches. However, rarely 

 the terra cotta colored form has four spine patches ; such a larva pro- 

 duced a moth of elliotii. Then the Florida larvae, having the charac- 

 ters o{ pee nu lata in the unbroken subdorsal band and single pair of spine 

 patches, but the green color of delphinii, have recently been described in 

 this journal. The moths were delphinii, and thus all the differential 

 characters have vanished, leaving a single variable species with a ten- 

 dency towards local forms. 



