1652 THE BUTTERFLIES OF NEW ENGLAND. 



the outer stigma is edged by two-proiiged or three-pronged slender, efpial scales (7 d, f ) 

 and accompanied by some (juadrangular scales with truncate and slightly toothed apical 

 margins (7 g) ; in the field below the stigma are found triangular striate scales with 

 strongly convex apical margins (7 b), or more elongated forms with less convex mar- 

 gin, slightly enlarged at the outer edges (7 a). 



Egg (66 : 30). Surface covered with very inconspicuous punctuations, very nnmer- 

 ous, l)eing 40 or 50 to a cell, almost circular but slightly ovate, not more than. 002 mm. 

 in diameter; cells averaging from .025 mm. to .042 mm. in width; color dead parchment 

 white; height, .08 mm. ; lireadth, 1.04 nmi. • 



The egg is fuller in the upper half tlian that of E. sassacus. 



Caterpillar. First slaije. Head (80: 52) very dark castaneous, almost black, shin- 

 ing; the surface with distant, irregular, impressed lines and furnished with rather dis- 

 tant, short, delicate, whitish hairs, each inserted in a slight and shallow punctuation; 

 ocellar field black ; first joint of the antennae pale, second fuscous, third and fourth 

 black, the bristle black; palpi castaneous, the second and third joints paler at tip; 

 mandibles dark castaneous. Body white with a very f.aint greenish tinge; dorsal tho- 

 racic shield castaneous, its anterior edge and a line nearest the posterior edge black ; 

 dermal appendages pale or slightly dusky, those of the upper row directed inward a 

 little, those of the next ro^v slightly forwards ; the last segment has very long pale 

 hairs directed at first upward and then backward; first thoracic legs dusky, the ter- 

 minal joint black; other thoracic legs white, the two apical joints slightly dusky; pro- 

 legs pale; spiracles pallid with a dusky annulus. Length of body, 2.4 mm. ; breadth of 

 head, .5 mm. ; of body, .(J5 mm. 



Distribution (30 : 7) . Tliis member of the Allegliani;in fauna is liardly 

 known outside of New England or its immediate border, tlie only extra 

 limital localities from which it has been re])orted being Albany, N. Y., 

 where Mr. Lintner finds it "plentiful" and where I have taken it with him, 

 and Wisconsin where Hoy says it is common. Edwards also reports it 

 from Texas, but this would seem to need special verification. 



In Xcw England it is confined to the soutiiern half, the northernmost 

 known station being Milford, N. H., plenty (Whitney). In Massachu- 

 setts it has been found several times, but never abundantly, in the imme- 

 diate vicinity of Boston (Faxon, Minot), in Springfield, a single specimen 

 (Emery) and Middleboro common (Hambly). Tlie only other localities 

 from which I know it are in Connecticut, Farmington (Norton) and New 

 Britain (Ilulljert, Scudder). 



Oviposition. The only eggs I have obtained were sent me by Mr. 

 Hambly, laid in the bo.x in which the female was imprisoned, mostly on 

 the sides, a few on the bottom ; tliey hatched in two weeks. 



Food and habits of caterpillar. The caterpillar feeds upon grasses 

 altiiougli never yet raised to maturity upon them. It is very sluggish at 

 birth, for in eating its way out of the egg it takes four or five nibbles to 

 cut ofi[' a single roundish slice of about the size of one of its own mandildes, 

 after which it waits a great while before resuming its labors, so that the 

 completion of its task requires a long time ; tiie mere act of crawling from 

 the egg occupies half a minute ; it weaves a web with every step down the 

 side of the egg and when its hinder extremity is about half way down the 

 declivity, it turns upon its track to devour the remainder of the shell ; one 

 caterpillar which ate less than three-fourths of its former abode was seven- 



