LEPIDOPTERA. 31 1 



fore-wings of a brighter purple-brown color, the round and kidney- 

 shaped spots contiguous to the former also brown, the olive-col- 

 ored edging of the band wavy, with a powdered blue spot between 

 it and the triangular olive-colored spot on the inner margin, and a 

 distinct brown spot on the inner hind angle of the posterior 

 wings ; all the wings beneath are broadly bordered behind with 

 light brown, and the spots upon them are also light brown. It 

 expands from one inch and three eighths to one inch and a half. 

 This species has been taken in Massachusetts, but it is rare, and 

 the caterpillar is unknown to me. 



In the remarks preceding the description of Notodonta concin- 

 na, mention was made of two kinds of caterpillars, living in great 

 numbers on fruit-trees in the latter part of summer. The sec- 

 ond kind are now to be described. They grow to a greater size, 

 are longer in coming to their growth, their swarms are more nu- 

 merous, and consequently they do much more injury than the 

 red-humped kind. Entire branches of the apple-trees are fre- 

 quently stripped of their leaves by them, and are loaded with 

 these caterpillars in thickly crowded swarms. The eggs from 

 which they are hatched will be found in patches, of about a hun- 

 dred together, fastened to the under-side of leaves near the ends 

 of the twigs. Some of them begin to be hatched about the twen- 

 tieth of July, and new broods make their appearance in succes- 

 sion for the space of a month or more. At first they eat only 

 the under-side and pulpy part of the leaves, leaving the upper side 

 and veins untouched ; but afterwards they consume the whole of 

 the leaves except their stems. These caterpillars are sparingly 

 covered with soft whitish hairs ; the young ones are brown, and 

 striped with white ; but, as they grow older, their colors become 

 darker every time they cast their skins. They come to their full 

 size in about five weeks or a little more, and then measure from 

 an inch and three quarters to two inches and a quarter in extent. 

 'The head is large, and of a black color ; the body is nearly 

 cylindrical, with a spot on the top of the first ring and the legs 

 dull orange-yellow, a black stripe along the top of the back, and 

 three of the same color alternating with four yellow stripes on 

 each side. The posture of these caterpillars, when at rest, is 

 very odd ; both extremities are raised, the body being bent, and 



