120 FIFTH REPOKT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION. 



The larviB are about 2 inches louc, of a velvety, blackish-brown color, and are cov- 

 ered with quite long yellowish-brown hairs. They are feeding on oak. 



The larvcB changed to pupae April 21, and the moths issued May 16. 



LarvcTB, ijupie and eggs were also received in July, 18B4, from H. Bliss, Salt Lake 

 City, Utah, who reports them to be extremely injurious to all kinds of fruit-trees and 

 other vegetation. (Riley's unpublished notes.) 



Larva. — Head black, legs black ; abdominal feet pale testaceous. Body black, 

 faintly dusted with rusty, which forms an exceedingly broken and indistinct lateral 

 line and a more complete double dorsal line. Each segment carries a lateral, trans- 

 verse, very faint linear dot above the lateral line, a dorsal pale blue median stripe, 

 and on the hide two irregular pale blue patches separated by a deep black space. 

 The dorsal and lateral hairs are all tawny. J'he general appearance of the larva is 

 tawny brown. Length about 1.40 inches. 



Cocoon. — Constructed in the crevices of bark or in the angles of masonry, where 

 accessible, and consisting of a loose, white web, in which is suspended the long ovate 

 cocoon of dense papery consistency, thickened with a yellowish powdery gum. 

 (Stretch.) 



Moth. — Cinnamon brown, with two transverse pale lines curved outward just be- 

 fore ending on the costa. Base of the fore wings within the iuuer line lighter than 

 without. Hind wings darker than the fore pair. Fringe of both pairs of wings 

 broadly interrupted with pale brown. The female is lighter colored than the male, 

 with two darii-brown lines, the other one continuing straight on to the costa. Be- 

 neath, in both sexes, uniformly darker than above. Expanse of wings, male, 1 

 inch; female, 1.20 inch. 



The cater[)illar of a species of Clisiocampa, which I have now little doubt is that 

 of C. californica, which I have bred from eggs received from Miss Emily L. Morton, to 

 whom they were sent from Colorado by Mr. Nash, was abundant at Virginia City and 

 Helena, Mont., on the leaves of the wild rose so common near those towns, its con- 

 spicuous tents readily attracting the eye. A half-grown larva, found June 16 at 

 Virginia City, measuring .75 inch in length, had a blue-black head. The body was 

 blue on the sides, with dark spots; a black subdorsal spot rndely resembling a St. 

 George's cross occurred on each side of each ring. The median dorsal line was pale 

 blue, interrupted by the sutures between the segments. On each side of the line was 

 a brown ocherous patch. The hairs are ocherous brown; the long ones paler. When 

 fully grown it is about the size of the eastern tent-caterpillar {C. americana), i. e., an 

 inch and a half. The mature larva found at Helena, June 21, was described from 

 life in my notes as follows : 



"Head grayish brown; body pale, grayish-blue on the sides, speckled with black, 

 with a large black squarish patch extending above into the subdorsal broad longi- 

 tudinal band, which is mottled with bright ocherous brown, short wavy lines. A 

 pale bluish distinct longitudinal broad median dorsal stripe interrupted by the sutures 

 between the segments. Hairs long, pale brown. Body blackish beneath." 



At this date the caterpillars had begun to be full-fed, and one caterpillar had spun 

 a cocoon under a stone. 



This caterpillar differs from that of C. americana in having a broad blue dorsal 

 stripe instead of a white one, and there is no broad longitudinal black stripe, as in 

 the eastern caterpillar. It also differs decidedly from the caterpillar of C. constricta 

 Stretch, the dorsal stripe being blue instead of forming a series of black and ocher- 

 ous red spots. The blue dorsal interrupted stripe varies in distinctness and may be 

 nearly or quite absent. In fact, this caterpillar is exposed to much variation, and 

 it would be easy to make several species out of this widely diffused one, which in 

 Colorado feeds on the aspen. A blown specimen received from Prof. J. J. Rivers 

 " from the mountains of Nevada that may be C. fragilis," is unquestionably a very 

 distinctly marked larva of C. californica. My Montana specimens closely resemble 

 it. In Mr. Rivers' Nevada examples the row of long dorsal pale-blue, almost whitish 



