1 66 LEPIDOPTERA. 



feed and continue forward on tlieir mighty march. If they 

 come to a field of grass or grain that is young and tender 

 they devour the whole of it down to the very roots, but if it 

 is grown up to stalks they eat the leaves only, and then 

 usually crawl to the top of the stalk, cut off the head, and 

 drop it to the ground. In corn (maize) too they eat off all 

 the leaves except the coarse keel or mid-rib. It is leaves 

 that are green and juicy that they eat; the dry leaves of 

 ripened grain they do not feed upon," " This army worm 

 is one of the most remarkable insects known, in this, that it 

 makes its appearance suddenly, in countless millions, where 

 no worms like it have been seen before, and after eating all 

 the grass and grain in its path for a few weeks, totally 

 disappears, no worms of its kind being seen in the same 

 place afterwards." " I have no doubt that it is a constant 

 resident with us here in the Northern States. Its natural 

 abode, its ordinary lurking place, I am confident is in the 

 wild grass of wet spots, in swamps, and on the borders of 

 marshes, waste places which we seldom visit in summer, and 

 where we notice nothing but the swarms of mosquitoes which 

 assail and torment us, forcing us to retreat as speedily as 

 possible." 



" This army worm I find is one and the same species 

 all over our country. I have seen specimens of the moths 

 bred from it, last year in Maryland, this year in Illinois, in 

 Pennsylvania, in Massachusetts, and in the eastern parts of 

 Maine. Thus we find it to be everywhere the same 

 species." 



" While this insect is single-brooded in the Northern 

 States, Mr. Riley finds it double-brooded in Missouri, and 

 thinks that three broods of the caterpillar may sometimes 

 appear in one season. In Illinois the moth lays its eggs 

 in April and May, from four to six weeks earlier than in 

 the Eastern States; or the larva appears earlier. In 

 Missouri from the middle of April to the middle of May ; 

 probably about the middle of June in Massachusetts, and 



