70 Journal New York Entomological Society. [Voi. v. 



other entomologist, preferring a poor specimen to none, attempted to 

 secure it, when he was astonished to see his treasure take wing and 

 disappear. Returning again to the same tree an hour later, he ob- 

 served a second specimen, or perhaps, the same one in the same 

 position, but this took wing and disappeared. Returning again next 

 day, he began to brush the trunk of the tree with a small limb, 

 as is usually done in flushing Catocala. Finally, a moth alighted 

 within two feet of him, ran rapidly a few inches and disappeared. It 

 was then that the observer saw that the moth, after reaching the tree, 

 would run to some projecting piece of bark that had a certain gray 

 color so common upon old elm trees, then make a quarter turn, 

 and fold its wings in a peculiar way upon the spot selected, that 

 blended so well with it as to become invisible. In the normal position 

 of these moths when at rest tlie color of the upper surface of the wings 

 would contract with the color of the surface on which it was resting ; 

 as only the color and markings of the under side of the lower wing, and 

 a narrow margin of the upper edge of the under side of upper wing, 

 harmonize with the grayish spots before mentioned, and therefore these 

 last must be displayed and the others hidden. The moth by making a 

 quarter turn, and by pushing the upper wings deeply between the lower 

 ones, effectually hides all colors not in harmony with its surroundings. 

 As the colors upon the exposed parts vary somewhat from a very pale to 

 dark, the insect, in order to render the deception complete, must se- 

 lect a spot of the proper shade to correspond ; yet Prof. Lugger states 

 that of the hundreds of moths he saw, none could be detected upon the 

 trees unless the spot upon which they were observed to settle was kept 

 carefully in sight until they were approached closely. In this case the 

 deception was more largely a matter of action than of coloration, and 

 the action would certainly imply a knowledge of not only the colors of 

 its own wings but of its surroundings also. Collectors of Catocala are 

 familiar with similar phenomena among that group of moths, as a scar 

 or slight blaze, such as is often made by woodmen to mark paths or 

 boundaries, are more often selected for resting places than other parts of 

 the trees. 



In North American Entomologist, Vol. I, p. 30, Dr. D. S. Kelli- 

 cott has called attention to the fact that the moth Alaria florida Guen., 

 conceals itself during the day in the withering blossoms of the Evening 

 Primrose, (Enothera biennis. The inner two-thirds of the fore wings 

 of this moth are bright pink, while the outer third, hind wings and 

 abdomen, are pale yellow. The moth enters the flower before day. 



