THE LEPIDOPTERIST 29 



three times in thirty years, and have noticed that there 

 flight always ceases about 9:00 A. M., so that later in 

 the day no specimens were found, though the species 

 is evidently not rare. They are never found at electric 

 lights in the valley because they seem to occur only 

 above the tree-zone where there are no such lights. 



In this connection it may be noted that all species 

 of Hepialus have a decided preference for certain 

 hours of the day. In the Davos Valley, Hepialus 

 humuli L., ab. magna, was quite common in the early 

 half of July on all meadows and appeared in company 

 with Hepialus fusconebulosus De Geer, and its uni- 

 formly brown colored form gallica Ld., at about 8 :45 

 P. M., just after dark, while half an hour later none 

 were to be found. Only occasionally are they met 

 with during the day, and I do not know where they 

 hide. On one such an evening I observed copulation 

 to take place, and found that the mated couple re- 

 mained quiet for over three hours before they sep- 

 arated, and the female began to lay her eggs. I do 

 not think, however, that they fly again after midnight 

 but assume that the eggs are laid on the following eve- 

 ning. The eggs are laid by Hepialus, during flight 

 and are thrown about like sand by the female. The 

 American species, Sthenopsis argeneo maculata Harris, 

 which I observed at Farmington, Conn., in June 1914, 

 has similar habits. The insects appeared shortly after 

 sunset and were flying about the roots of alder trees 

 (alnus species) in a swampy place traversed by a clear 

 brook, and at the edge of a wooded slope. There are 

 a number of other American species of Hepialus, 

 notably the beautiful H. (Sthenopsis) auratus, Grote, 

 of which I have seen a perfect specimen taken on Mt. 

 Washington. New Hampshire. It is not unlikely, that 

 if we knew more about the life history of this species 

 especially whether it flys in the morning or in the eve- 

 ning, and in what particular localities, it would be 

 found less rare than supposed. 



Another rare species which was comparatively abun- 

 dant in the Davos Valley and seldom seen in collec- 

 tions, is Poecilocampa popnVi var. alpina Frey. This 



