316 LEPIDOPTERA. 



cocoon of silk mixed with earth. The genus is arctic or sub- 

 arctic, and inhabits Alpine summits. A. ah/ida Lefebvre in- 

 habits Labrador and Lapland. A closely allied and undescribed 

 species, seems to be peculiar to the summit of Mount Wash- 

 ington, N. IL, where it has been detected by Mr. Sanborn. 



Xanthoptera semicrocea Guenee (Plate 8, fig. 3 ; a, larva) is 

 brown, with the base of the wings saffron yellow ; it expands 

 a little less than one inch. Dr. A. W. Chapman, of Appalachi- 

 cola, Fla., states in a letter to Mr. Sanborn, that the larva 

 feeds on the leaves of tlie Pitcher plant, Sarracenia. It is red 

 and cylindrical, with short black tubercles on the top of each 

 segment, and a black cylindrical spine on each side of the 

 four basal rings of the abdomen, surmounted by fine hairs. 

 It does not spin a cocoon but hangs loosel}" b}"- a few silken 

 threads within the pitcher-like leaf, and the moth is the only 

 insect that can get out of the bristly and narrow opening of 

 the "pitcher." 



The little slender-bodied genus Erastria has filiform antennae 

 and a slender crested abdomen, with the usual lines and dots 

 quite distinct. The larva is smooth and slender, with only 

 three pairs of abdominal legs. The pupa is enclosed in a co- 

 coon among leaves or moss. E. carneola Guenee is a common 

 species, with the outer edge of the fore wings flesh colored. 



In Brephos the hind wings are bright orange, the body is 

 hairy and the antennae are ciliated ; the abdomen is slender, 

 and the wings are broader than usual. The larva is smooth, 

 elongate, with sixteen legs, though the first two abdominal 

 pairs are useless for walking, hence the larva has a semi- 

 looping gait. It feeds on trees and makes a slight cocoon 

 in moss or under bark. B. infans Moschler inhabits Labrador 

 and New England. It flies early in April before the snow has 

 left the ground. 



Catocala is a beautiful genus, the species being numerous 

 in this country and of very large size, often expanding three 

 inches or more ; the wings are broad, and in repose form a 

 very flat roof. The larva is elongate, slender, flattened beneath 

 and spotted with black, attenuated at each end, with fleshy 

 filaments on the sides above the legs, while the head is flat- 

 tened and rather forked above. It feeds on trees and rests 



