164 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION. 



the thickness of the twig, an irregular, somewhat spiral ring is formed and others 

 added, until toward the last the abdomen is raised and the ovipositor brought up 

 between 1 be legs. The lower or first deposited ones incline so as to almost lie on their 

 sides. (5th Mo. Rt., p. 128.) 



Mr. Joseph A. Stuart has communicated to me the following notes 

 on this moth observed by him at Dracut, Mass : 



September 2.5, 1876 : Marked cluster of eggs laid by maia around the stems of Spi- 

 rcea salicifolia in a cranberry swamp. May 25, 1877 : Waded into my meadow to the 

 marked cluster of eggs, and found the larvio hatched and one-quarter of an inch long, 

 feeding upon the plant on which the empty egg-shells still remained. June 3: Plenty 

 of broods to be found in the meadow. June 10 : Those in the meadow began to .scat- 

 ter; at this time commencing to show the two rows of dull-yellow warts upon the 

 back, otherwise black in color with reil head and legs. June 17 : In the meadow 

 they were from three-quarters of an inch to one and one-quarter inches long, and the 

 branching spines showed plainly. Rarely more than one to be found on a plant. June 

 24 : Show the yellow dots between the waits and spines and the yellow "crescents" 

 above the prop-legs. They aie getting more scarce. Have found two specimens on 

 the rough-leaved hardback, but not a single specimen on the dog rose, though in one 

 case found a dog rose growing intertwined with an infested hardback, neither have 

 I found them near a cranberry vine. In former years while picking cranberries from 

 September 15 to 25 have found freshly-emerged moths on a spear of grass and an 

 empty naked chrysalis in the peat moss three to four inches deep. Have never seen 

 them on upland in either State. 



The spines are poisonous, as in most spinose silk-worms, especially 

 those on the back. Notwithstanding its armature, it is preyed upon by 

 two parasites Limner ia fugitiv a (Say) and a species of Microgaster. 



Dr. J. A. Liutner states that the freshly-hatched caterpillars are at- 

 tacked by a bug, Arma modesfa, which destroys whole broods at a 

 time. Dr. Lintner has given the most detailed account of the trans- 

 formations of this fine moth, but for convenience we copy the more con- 

 densed account of the larval changes as given by Riley : 



Egg. — Length, .05 to .06 inch ; obovate ; compressed on the sides and at the apex ; 

 reddish-brown above, below yellowish-white. 



Larva before first molt. — Length, .15 inch. It is black and granulated above, red- 

 dish-brown and smooth below, with a row of spots along the middle joints. The 

 prolegs are brown ; head with a few scattering hairs ; spines placed in the normal 

 position, namely, 6 (in longitudinal rows) on all joints except 11, where two dorsal 

 ones are replaced by a single medio-dorsal one, an additional subventral one each 

 side on joints 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 10, and an additional medio-dorsal one on joint 12. 

 They consist of a thickened, sub-cylindrical, polished black stem, nearly as long as 

 the diameter of the body, truncated at tip, which is coronated with three or four 

 short points, and emits a long black bristle, which, under high magnifying power, 

 appears barbed. On the thoracic joints the stem of the six superior rows is forked 

 near its tip. 



After first molt. — The body remains the same, but the spines, which are now longest 

 on thoracic joints, are more branched, with more hairs from the main stem, and the 

 bristles from blunt ends comparatively short. 



After second molt. — The dorsal spines are still more branched, and often less trun- 

 cated, so that the bristle is less distinctly separated and forms more nearly part of 

 the tapering spine. The bristles also, especially on the lateral spines, are longer and 

 paler. During the latter part of this stage the characteristics of the mature larva 

 are indicated. 



