151 



Avine-red, the sub-dorsal area remained yellow-green, but was red- 

 tinted on the posterior part of each segment ; the sides same red ; 

 green ; a pale red line along basal ridge ; about the spiracle a little 

 underside diluted wine color; body covered with short brown hair. 



One day later, 5-10 inch; greatest breadth, 19-100; width, 

 T4-100; same color as on previous day. 



Next day , length 56-100, same color, stopped feeding, and 

 4 days later fixed for chrysalis. In about 24 hours pupated, at 8 

 days after 3d moult (as observed). 



CHRYSALIS. — Length, 3-10 in. ; breadth of abdomen, 2-10, 

 at mesonotum 13-100; height of abdomen 19-100 inch ; oval at 

 both ends; the abdomen distended, narrowing anteriorly; the 

 mesonotum rounded and sloping to top of head case ; the under 

 side almost straight from end to end; color black or brown black, 

 with obscure red bands ; there being on either side a narrow black 

 stripe in middle of abdomen ; on mesonotum this stripe disap- 

 pears and the red remains ; whole surface finely corrugated ; the 

 dorsum and sides much covered with short hairs, and along the 

 venter is a line of longer ones. The chrysalis will pass the winter. 



On 17th of May, 1880, I happened to be standing under a 

 wild plum tree near my house, and with no special motive reached 

 out my hand and plucked a young plum. On this there appeared 

 an onisciform caterpillar with head and some segments of body 

 buried in the side. Feeling sure it was of some butterfly, I 

 searched long for more larvae, but found none. I did see one of 

 the plums on another tree which had been partly excavated. 

 This caterpillar was in the penultimate stage, as it turned out, 

 and I raised it to chrysalis, always feeding on the inner part of the 

 plum. The chrysalis died during the winter, and before any color 

 came to the wings of the pupa, so that I had no clue whatever 

 to the species or even the genus. I hoped it might prove to be 

 Feniseca Tarquiniiis, but thought it was a Thecla ; it might be 

 T. Poeas, rather a common species here, and the food plant of 

 which I had tried in vain to discover. 



About middle of April, 1881, Mr. T. L. Mead visited me, and 

 on several days brought in examples of Thecla Henrici, and con- 

 fined some of the females on whortleberry and oak, the former 

 suggested by Scudder's list of food plants, published in Am. 

 Nat., 1869, but got no eggs. On opening one of these females 

 the eggs were found fully formed. Finally it occurred to me to 

 try wild plum, and the bag was tied over the end of a branch 

 still in flower. No eggs were observed till the fourth day, when I 

 found fifteen had been laid in a bunch, all but one at the base of 

 a flower stalk, on the upper side. Although watching these care- 

 fully, the branch having been cut off and set in a bottle of water, 

 they hatched when I was not at home, and all but six of the cat- 

 erpillars were lost by dropping off The &gg shells were eaten 

 scarcely more than enough to permit egress. To prevent further 



