INSECTS INJURING OAK-LEAVES. 169 



the reniform spot broad, but slightly excavated externally, obscured by the greenish 

 discal shade, ringed with black and with a central streak. Transverse posterior 

 line intensely black, geminate, minutely dentate. Subterminal and terminal lines 

 white, interrupted, dentate between the veins ; fringes whitish, broadly interrupted 

 with black at the extremities of the veins; costa with some whitish marks. Hind 

 wings gray ; darker along the veins. Disc of thorax whitish gray, with two central 

 blackish spots. Tegula3 and collar blackish, the latter with a black line and grayish 

 above. Expanse of wings, 1.60 inches. (Grote.) 



228. Apatela brumosa (Guen^e). 



According to Coquillett, the caterpillar of this moth feeds on the plum 

 and hazel ; it spins a thin tough cocoon. In Illinois two caterpillars 

 assumed the chrysalis state in September, the moths appearing in the 

 last week in April and first week in May of the following year. 



Larva. — Body black, marked with a broad yellowish-brown stigmatal stripe; hairs 

 in spreading clusters from warts, those upon each end of the body being yellow, the 

 rest white ; sixteen legs ; head black ; length 38 ™™. 



Gueu6e says it lives on the oak and is entirely clear yellow, with a fine continuous 

 blackish dorsal line, and the head of a pale red. The piliferous points in a trapezoid, 

 somewhat warty, very small, pale red, and emitting but a single hair. The stigmata 

 is circled with blackish. 



Moth. — A little larger than the European A. rumicis, which it somewhat resembles. 

 Wings of a little less fuliginous gray, with all the lines and the visible spots black ; 

 the orbicular spot quite large, clear, and marked with a central point ; the reniform 

 spot very large, and stained in the middle with black. A broad blackish shade, more 

 marked even than in A. rumicis, starts from the base of the wing and ends almost on 

 the terminal border, being interrupted behind the reniform spot. The fringe is dis- 

 tinctly checkered. The small white lunule which we see on the inner margin in 

 rumicis, does not here exist. Hind wings of a very clear yellowish-gray, somewhat 

 transparent, with the veins more distinct. A feeble cellular lunule, and the fringe 

 checkered, outer edge brownish, in the female. (Guen6e.) 



229. Apatela ovata Grote. 



This is a very common caterpillar, feeding on the red and white oak, 

 and ranges from Maine to Georgia. It is a peculiar caterpillar, eating 

 patches while clinging to the under side of the leaf. It varies much 

 in color, some being reddish orange, and pinkish in tint; others dirty 

 whitish yellow. In the pinkish specimens the dorsal line of dark dia- 

 mond-shaped spots is obsolete. One was yellowish with dorsal brown 

 spots; another caterpillar was brown, with ten pairs of bright straw- 

 yellow dorsal spots. This singular larva, which differs from most of its 

 congeners in being nearly naked, is probably protected from its ene- 

 mies, as it lies curled up on the leaf, by its resemblance to a withered 

 patch or blotch on an oak-leaf. It pupated September 19 to 25, not 

 spinning a cocoon, and undoubtedly entering the ground. 



We have also found it on Betula populifoUa ; and two specimens oc- 

 curred on the chestnut ; one of a straw-yellow, the other of a reddish 

 tint. The moth was identified for us by Mr. John B. Smith. 



The flattened body, very large head, the dorsal row of short diamond- 



