84 Journal New York Entomological Society. [Voi. xxx. 



of the larva. Here the larva remains until fully grown, the gall 

 meanwhile increasing in size until by the latter part of July the larva 

 is mature; the rods have usually ceased growing; and the gall meas- 

 ures from 13^ to 2j/4 inches in length depending upon the species 

 of Solidago upon which it is found. 



Description. 



The Adult: The two sexes are not strongly dimorphic, but they 

 may be distinguished by their size and activity when confined in 

 cages. The female measures 23 mm. from tip to tip of wing while 

 the male measures only 20 mm. The forewings are dark, the anterior 

 middle part being a reddish brown while the base and tip of the 

 forewing shades from brown to gray. The hind wings are consider- 

 ably lighter but ashy-gray in general color. 



When the wings are folded their tips flare upward and the moths 

 strongly resemble an upturned boat of which the dorsal ridge of the 

 wings represents the keel. The wings extend slightly beyond the 

 abdomen. The males average 10.5 mm. in length from head to tip of 

 wings and the females 12 mm. 



The Egg: The tgg (Fig. i) is more or less cylindrical but rounded 

 at both ends and measures .3 mm. by .8 mm. in size. The chorion 

 is delicately sculptured with numerous ridges which gives its sur- 

 face the appearance of being composed of numerous delicately sunken 

 polygonal areas. When first deposited the ^gg is creamy-white in 

 color, but with the development of the embryo its color turns to yellow 

 and finally a pale orange. During winter when the embryo is com- 

 pletely developed the chorion appears slightly shriveled. The writer 

 has had occasion to section numerous eggs and has found the chorion 

 to be tougher than that of the average lepidopterous ^gg. 



The Larva: The newly hatched larva measures about 1.3 mm. in 

 length and .3 mm. in width. At first it is pale green with a dark 

 brown head and pronotal shield, but soon after commencing to feed 

 the general color becomes brown. This uniform brown color is 

 maintained throughout its period of growth although as it becomes 

 full grown, four minute darker pigmented tubercles, which are ar- 

 ranged in the form of a trapezoid, are to be observed on each segment 

 (Plate VIII, Fig. 5). 



