LEPIDOPTERA. 24 1 



their own hairs. The rings of their chrysalids are generally so 

 closely joined as not to admit of motion. Of about a dozen kinds 

 inhabiting Massachusetts, I shall describe only two. The first 

 of these may be called Gnophria vittaia *, the striped Gnophria. 

 It is of a deep scarlet color ; its fore-wings, which expand one 

 inch and one eighth, have two broad stripes, and a short stripe be- 

 tween them at the tip, of a lead-color, and the hind-wings have a 

 very broad lead-colored border behind ; the middle of the abdo- 

 men and the joints of the legs are also lead-colored. The cater- 

 pillar lives upon lichens, and may be found under loose stones in 

 the fields in the Spring. It is dusky, and thinly covered with 

 stiif, sharp, and barbed, black bristles, which grow singly from 

 small warts. Early in May it makes its cocoon, which is very 

 thin and silky ; and twenty days afterwards is transformed to a 

 moth. 



By far the most elegant species is the De'iopeia heUa, the beau- 

 tiful Dei'opeiaf. This moth has naked bristle-formed antennae; 

 its fore-wings are deep yellow, crossed by about six white bands, 

 on each of which is a row of black dots ; the hind-wings are 

 scarlet red, with an irregular border of black behind ; the body is 

 white, and the thorax is dotted with black. It expands from one 

 and a half to one inch and three quarters: Its time of appearance 

 here is from the middle of July till the beginning of September. 

 The caterpillar is imknown to me ; but Drury states that he was 

 informed it was of the same color as the fore-wings of the moth, 

 (that is yellow and white dotted with black,) and that it feeds 

 upon the blue lupines |. The European De'iopeia pulchcUa^ 

 which is very much like our species, feeds, in the caterpillar 



* This motli has all the essential characters of the European Gnophria rubri- 

 collis, an insect closely resembling in its colors the Procris Americana. The name 

 of the genus is derived from a Greek word signifying dusky, in allusion to the 

 dark colors of the insects. 



t This is the name of the fairest of fourteen nymphs, who attended upon Juno, 

 mentioned by Virgil in these lines ; 



" Sunt milii bis septem praestanti corpore NymphiP, 

 Quarum, qua; forma pulcherrima, Deiopciam 

 Connul)io jungatn stabili, propriamquc dicabo." ^ncid, I., 71 to 73. 



t Drury 's Illustrations, I., p. 53. pi. 24, fig. 3. 



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