^geriidse 



The name which we use has also been applied by a multitude 

 of writers, and is already well established in use in certain 

 quarters. 



The /Egeriidce are diurnal in their habits, flying in the hottest 

 sunshine. They are very rapid on the wing. Their larvae are 

 borers, feeding on the inner bark or the pith of trees and lesser 

 plants. The pupce are generally armed v/ith hook-like projec- 

 tions, which enable them to progress in a forward direction in 

 the galleries in which they are formed. Some of the genera have 

 at the cephalic end a sharp cutting projection, which is used to 

 enable the insect to cut its way out of the chamber before the 

 change into a moth takes place. The moths have been described 

 as follows by Hampson in '*The Moths of India," Vol. I, p. 189: 

 "Antennae often dilated or knobbed. Legs often with thick 

 tufts of hair; mid tibiae with one pair of spurs; hind tibiae with 

 two pairs. Frenulum present. Wings generally more or less 

 hyaline; fore wing with veins \a and \b forming a fork at base; 

 \c absent; veins 4 to 1 1 given off at almost even distances from 

 the cell. Hind wing with three internal veins; vein 8 coincident 

 with 7." 



The American species have been very thoroughly monographed 

 by Mr. Beutenmuller, the amiable and accomplished Curator of the 

 Section of Entomology in the American Museum of Natural His- 

 tory in New York. It is through his kindness that the author is 

 able to give on Plate XLVI of the present volume so many illus- 

 trations of the species which are found in our fauna. The stu- 

 dent who desires to know more about these things must consult 

 Mr. Beutenmuller's great work. 



Genus MELITTIA Hubner 

 (1) Melittia satyriniformis Hubner, Plate XLVI, Fig. i, 9. 



Syn. ciicurbitcE Harris ; ceto Westwood ; ainana Henry Edwards. 



The larva of the insect is commonly known as the "Squash- 

 borer," or the "Pumpkin-borer." The insect has an extensive 

 range from New England to the Argentine States. It attacks the 

 Cucurbitacece generally, laying the eggs upon all parts of the 

 plant, but preferably upon the stems, into which the caterpillar 

 bores, and in which it develops until the time of pupation, when 

 it descends into the ground, makes a cell beneath the surface in 



380 



