Nov., '04] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 3OI 



Notes on the Life History of Polychrysia formosa Gr. 



By W. D. Kearfott. 



At the Southern end of Greenwood Lake, N. J., Ma}^ 20, 

 1 901, while digging up some plants of large yellow Ladies' 

 Slipper (probably Cypripedium hirsutum Mill.) I in some 

 way disturbed the repose of a singularlj' shaped larva, wdiich 

 fell to the ground close to my hand ; the nearest plant was a 

 low- growing huckleberry shrub, (probably Vaccinium iiigriivi 

 Wood or vacillans Kalm) some of the leaves of which were 

 enclosed in box with the larva, and as it freely ate them, I 

 have no doubt it is the food-plant. 



Not appreciating the rarity of the larva, the moth from 

 which was later identified by Professor John B. Smith, I made 

 no detailed description of it, but the following notes may be 

 sufficient for others to recognize it if found : 



Shape : — Like a much flattened triangle. The head is 

 small, and each segment to anal end slightly higher than the 

 one before it. The anal segment is three to four times the 

 height of head and segment 2, and it ends in a vertical line, 

 as if cut off with a knife at right angles to the body. 



Color : — Pea-green, with whitish wavy dorsal band and 

 whitish wavy circumferential bands around each segment. 

 Length about 25 mm. Head bright green and very small. 



About May 27th the larva spun a loose cottony cocoon of 

 white silk and a day or two later pupated, The cocoon was 

 loosely woven, roughly oval, about 25 by 20 mm. and consist- 

 ing of an outer wrapper rather evenly woven, in which were 

 inserted at about equal intervals a number (about 35) of tiny 

 pure white knots of silk, the inner covering rather loosely 

 woven, and the pupa was clearly visible through both. A 

 fine $ moth i.ssued June 14, 1901, the pupa still remaining in 

 the cocoon. 



Notes of larva .skin : — Head 1.6 mm. wide by 2 mm. long, 

 rounded, slightly bilobed or cleft by paraclypeal suture, lobes 

 rounded, clypeus triangular, apex reaching to within one-third 

 of top. Mandibles dark brown, four indentations making five 

 teeth or points on each. Antennae short. Setae on head and 



