THE VIOLET NEPHELODES . LARVAL NOTES. 103 



Btigmatal stripes a faintly indicated pale line dividing the space nearly equally. 

 V^enter nearly of same buff color, with a tinge of green. Head perpendicular, 

 immaculate, paler than body, rugulose, sub-polished, faintly translucent, pale 

 dingy-olive, the jaws, and sometimes the mouth-parts, darker. Legs andprolegs 

 of same pale olive color, the latter with a black baud at outer base. Stigmata 

 black. 



" One of the most marked Noctuid larvae, at once distinguished from all others 

 known to me when full-grown by the pale immaculate head (recalling copal) and 

 the polished, bronzy or umber color of body. The upper stripes are often obso- 

 lete or sub-obsolete in the middle of body, but are persistent on the plates. The 

 bronzy color in paler specimens is due to brown and yellow raottlings, and in 

 dark specimens becomes nearly black ; while the spots are generally minutely 

 mottled with carneous. 



"Pupa: — Normal dark brown, the tip with two horizontal, almost parallel, 

 spines." 



Notes of the Occurrence of the Larvae. 



The following larval observatious, made by Prof. Riley, in Missouri 

 (except the last two), have also been placed in my hands for use in this 

 notice of the species : 



April 24, 1871. Found under rock, apparently feeding on clover. 

 Tolerably common around Kirkwood and along the Iron Mountain 

 Railroad, nearly full grown. Curls sidewise. 



April 25. It feeds on grasses, clover, Polygonum aviculare, and ap- 

 pears to take most of the succulent plants. 



May 5. Found the same rather common at Columbia, Mo., on sod, 

 under plank and under shelter, in different sizes. Occurs with quan- 

 tities of its pale bright green frass. On the 8th, others were found at 

 Kirkwood. 



May 19. One nearly full-grown was discovered high up on a stalk 

 of blue grass, feeding in the hot sun (exceptional). 



May 28. Of nineteen specimens placed in a vivarium and others 

 under a sieve out of doors in a meadow, several proved to have been 

 parasitized ; one had nineteen Tachina eggs upon it ; another gave 

 forth Microgaster larvae which had spun their white cocoons in a sur- 

 face cavity in the ground made by the larva, and still another gave an 

 Ophion cocoon The healthy ones have all entered the ground but are 

 still in the larval state. 



June 22, The larvae are still unchanged. 



Sept. 3. Sieved the ground and found all changed to the pupje. 

 Two days later the first moth emerged, and others issued subsequently. 



May 1, 1873, The season backward (apple blossoms just out). Found 

 the larvas of different sizes, — some quite young and others full-grown. 



April 26, 1876. The larvse are quite common on St. Louis Fair 

 grounds. 



