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Biograhy of Acontia delecta, Walker. 

 Bv Archibald C. Weeks. 



The larva? (four in numljcr) were taken wlien nearly full grown. 

 during the ifirst week of September, 1884, feeding upon the Hibiscus 

 moscheutos,!.., (Rose Mallow), on the meadows bordering the inteiior 

 of the Long Islam.! beach. 



Upon reaching home they were placed on mallow leaves, the stems 

 of which were inserted in a glass iuk-well filled with very moist earth. 

 They fed voraciously and on the second day after capture spun in the 

 earth at the base of the stems oval cocoons, two-fifths of an inch in length 

 and firmly coated with clav. 



These were exposed to the nornial temperature and kept thoroughly 

 moist, until July 5th, of tiie following year, when two of the imagines, 

 (^ and 9) appeared, reproducing the brilliant coloration of the larva — 

 the black, irregular, metallic L upon the white ground of the primaries, 

 with angle at the inner margin, contrasting strongly with the pale saffron, 

 margined with a darker shade, of the secondaries — the maculatron above 

 being roughly and faintly pictured beneath. 



The following is a description of the larva : 



Length i'/, inches. 



Head and first segment smaller than remainder of body. Head rounded, some- 

 what flattened on the sides, broader at bottom than at top, strongly cieft at sumniir, 

 ground color dirty white, mouth parts black ; ground color enclosing a triangular 

 black space in front ; bottom, middle and summit of eyes with black spots, sometimes 

 confluent ; eyes with exceedingly minute sparse hairs. 



Body cylindrical, considerably enlarged anteriorly on the 3rd and 41)1 se^^ments. 

 Ground color dark, purple. On all segments a subdorsal line of black spots, strongly 

 edged with orange, especially on the middle segments. On the 3rd and 4th segments, 

 directly below the ist subdorsal line, appears a 2nd double line of black spots in 

 pairs, each pair joined and included by an oval orange patch. On each of the oilier 

 segments are two other spots directly behind the first subdorsal. These are edgal 

 with orange, especially in front, and more con'spicuou.dv on the middle segments. 

 The black spots, especially at the middle segments, have a slightly tuberculous ten- 

 dency, and from each of them a single short minute l>lack hair projects, barely visilile 

 to the naked eye. There is also a row of sublateral patches, white anteriorly, orange 

 posteriorly, broadest behind and narrowing towards the front, each patch containing 

 from 3 to 7 irregularly located and varying velvety black dots. The 1st and 2nd 

 pair of anal legs, are wanting. The larva is consequently geometriform, and has the 

 geometriform mode of progression. The fore legs are black with whitish orange 

 towards the base. Anal legs orange on the outside, their color being confluent with 

 the lateral patch —except in last pair. Anal legs somewhat projecting behind. A 

 cluster of 5 or 6 minute hairs projects horizontally and directly above and between 

 the anal claws. The rows of subveniral black dots nearly correspond as to position 

 with the subdorsal but want co'or ; from each dot hairs similar to subdorsal project. 



