50 FORTY-FIBST REPORT ON THE StaTE MuSEUM. 



moth so labeled in my collection and also taken examples with him 

 for further stud}' and for comparison, has since written to me in rela- 

 tion to them, and pronounced them to be Orgyia definata Packard 

 (Proc. Entomolog. Soc. Phil., in, 1864, p. 332). Ihe question of the 

 correct determination of this very abundant siDCcies with us, deserves 

 prompt attention, and I will therefore extract a portion of the letter 

 received from him, as of special interest to Lepidopterists. 



The Orgyia, as I expected, proves to be 0. definata Packard. It is 

 certainly a good species, distinct from 0. leucostigma. The specimens 

 of leucostigma in Meske'.s collection [made largely in the vicinity of 

 Albany, and lately added to the National Museum], also turn out to 

 be, on examination. 0. definata. It is an interesting* question, there- 

 fore, whether O. leucostigma really occurs near Albany. O. definata 

 does not occur in or near New York city, and, so far as I am aware, 

 none of the local collections have it. It occurs again in Maine, but 

 it has probably been so generally confused with 0. leucostigma that 

 little is recorded of it. The latter I found on Cape Cod in great 

 abundance. It will be a matter of interest, also, to tiud whether the 

 larva differs. Thaxter has bred it and says that it does. 



The following is Dr. Packard's desci'iption of Orgyia definata, from 

 lac. cit. sup. : 



Umber-brown; head, thorax, base and inner margin of primaries 

 more testaceous [than in 0. leucostigma, cit. j)rec.'\. A faint, basal dark 

 straight transverse line. Beyond and near the linear lunate discal 

 spot, which is surrounded by the testaceous brown, is an indistinct 

 nearly straight line. An outer very distinct curved line, being- 

 straight on the costa to where it is angulated on the fifth subcostal 

 nervule, and again half-way between the discal spot and internal 

 margin. Beyond this line on the costa is an oblong, dark, well- 

 defined spot succeeded by a submarginal row of dots, ending in a 

 white spot near the internal margin. 



Beneath lighter, lines faintly seen beneath, the outer one extending 

 faintly on to the secondaries, which have a discal dot. 



The markings are much more distinct in this species than in 

 0. leucostigma, while the outer line is angulated nearer the middle. 



Length of body, 9? 0.60; exp. wings, 1.20 inch. 



Boston (Sanborn). 



The question raised in the above should be satisfactorily^ decided 

 by observations that can easily be made the coming season. 



A Second Brood in New York. 

 The operations of the second brood of O. leucostigma were observed 

 by me in New York city, on the fifteenth of August last. Nearly all 

 of the larvse had already disappeared, but some not yet full-grown 

 were feeding or wandering about in search of food. Maples in 

 various parts of the city had been badly eaten. A large horse- 

 chestnut at the north-west corner of Second avenue and Twelfth 



