H7 



Napthaline Cones. As a defense against destructive insects, I can 

 bear ample testimony to the value of tliese cones. Last year I suffered greatly 

 from the depredations of the well known small red ant, the bodies of freshly 

 caught Lepidoptera beint; eaten entirely away, and great damage done to the 

 wings, by the scales being bitten off by these pests. This year, in each of my 

 store boxes, I have placed one of the Naphthaline cones, and though the ants 

 have been as abundant as ever, I have not lost a single insect, out of nearly 

 3000 specimens. I des'ra also to say that I do not observe the sinallest trace 

 of " grease " arising from the use of the cones. Hy. Edwards. 



Callarctia ORNATA. Packard. I find after careful investigation, that this 

 form, which has long been a puzzle to entomologists, is only one of the innum- 

 erable varities oi Arciza achaia, G. & R. and tnat it is the same as the No. i 

 of my notes on th's species, (" Papilio," vol. 2. p. 91.) I have a specimen 

 from Buite Co. Cal., which fits the description exactly, even to the median 

 outer spot being divided by the pale median nervules. I believe that at the 

 time Dr. Packard made his description, that of A. achaia had not been pub- 

 lished. ' R. H. Stretch. San Francisco. 



Larv^ of Sphingid.e. The newly-hatched larvas of several of the 

 Sphingida: appearing on the Anipclopsis qnuiquefolia and grape, in June 

 and July, are very easily distinguished, even as they emerge frotn the egg. 

 Thyreus abbottii appears earliest, in 1881 about June ist, in 1882 near the 

 20th. The larvJE are cylindrical, of a unilorm light blue-green with a powdery 

 bloom, body finely striated transversely. Stigmatae indistinct. Anal horn erect, 

 black, yellow at the base, long and very slender. Ainphio7i nessus,ixox^ one 

 to two weeks later; is cylindrical except a slight enlargement of the third 

 and fourth segments, increasing at every moult. Body pale yellow-green, with 

 two light, longitudinal, subdorsal lines, straight from the head to the eleventh 

 segment, thence curving to the anal horn, which is short, black, ochrish or red- 

 brown at the base, taoering abruptly, and often carried in a line with the 

 back. Philampslus achemon, which should arrive with the close of June, this 

 year comes in July's second week. The larva is cylindrical, of a pale apple- 

 green, with a distinct yellowish line formed by folds of the skin, dividing the 

 sej^ments, and li^hr, perfectly straight subdorsal lines. With this comes P. 

 pandortf!, the larvs very similar in early stages. Both species change after 

 two or three moults, to rich dark wine-color, straw-color shading to Vandyke 

 brown, or other beautiful colors. A P. achemon, bred from the t.gg,, at second 

 moult became a clear, light cherry-color, growing brighter for several days. 

 Julia E. Sanders, Davenport, Iowa. 



. Probable difference in two broods of Drasteria erechthea. 

 Several \ears ago, while examining specimens of this species, I found that the 

 first brood of the moths captured in New England in May and June were 

 smaller than the August brood. Seven specimens of the spring brood of the 

 ordinary gray tint had fore wings .65 inch in length ; the ochreous variety, 

 .67 inch.' On the ether hand, the average length of the fore wing of the August 

 specimens is .82 inch. If this difference betweeij the two broods is found 

 to be permanent, it might be attributed ta-th^fact that the smaller size of 

 the spring brood is due to the autumnal brood of larvae feeding in late 

 summer and early autumn on less juicy and nutritious food than the mid- 

 summer caterpillars, the young of the August brood of moths, when larvae 

 feed on fresh, green clover. It will be remembered that, according to Mr. 

 William Saunders, the food plant of the common moth is the clover. 

 Having received a considerable number of this species from upper Califor- 

 nia and Oregon, I have found that they are uniformly much larger than East- 

 ern examples. The normal gray form has fore wings .84 inch in length, 

 while those of the ochreous variety measure .95 inch. It thus appears that 

 the Pacific coast specimens are much larger than Atlantic coast examples, and 



