152 FIFTH REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMMISSION. 



the head and form the thoracic patch are bright tawny-brown, becoming darker 

 towards the edges on the thorax. Metathoracic and lateral hairs concolorous with 

 posterior wings. Abdomen pale tawny, anal segment darker. Expanse, male and 

 female, 1.85 inches. (Grote and Robinson.) 



210. Edema aliifrons (Abbot and Smith). 



This is perhaps the most common notodontian caterpillar to be found 

 on the oak. At first the caterpillars are gregarious, but after the tir?t 

 or second molt they begin to scatter over the tree. In Georgia, ac- 

 cording to Smith and Abbot, the caterpillar "spun itself up in a thin 

 white web between the leaves October 28, and came out on the wing 

 the 18th of February. Others spun on the 29th of March, and came 

 out on the 2d of May. The whole brood feeds together, especially when 

 small." 



Mr. James Fletcher reports that in 1884 the caterpillars appeared in 

 great numbers and were most injurious to both oaks and maples at 

 Ottawa, Canada. (Bep., 32.) 



It is common on white oaks in Rhode Island and Maine late in August 

 and through September ; those observed at Providence spinning a thin 

 cocoon between the leaves early in October and until October 20-28. 

 October 5 I found some small larvae (probably next to the last molt) 

 with the stripes straw-yellow instead of orange. The moth appears in 

 June in the Northern States. 



Larva. — Head large, orange-red, swollen, raised towards the apex; wider than the 

 thoracic segments, the body increasing in width towards the end, which has a large 

 swollen orange-red hump on the eighth segment. The body smooth and shining, 



with no hairs ; a pair of broad subdorsal yellow lines 

 inclosing five median black lines on a pale lilac ground. 

 Below the yellow line are three black lines, with a 

 second yellowish spiracular line. Anal legs pale or- 

 ange-red ; all the legs pale orange. 



Pupa. — Of the usual form ; the cremaster is very 

 characteristic ; it is flattened from above, deeply cleft, 

 \|lj/ with tubercles from which arise three or four curved 



Fig. 52.— Edema albifrons (from setse on each side. Length, 0. 78 inch. 



Packard). Moth. — It is easily recognized by its whitish ash 



color, the square apex of the fore wings and the broad 

 white costal margin on the outer two-thirds of the wings; this white band 

 sends a tooth backwards, bounding the upper and outer side of the discal brown 

 ring, and there is an obtuse tooth between that and the apex ; the inner 

 brown line is curved and sinuous; there is a faint deeply-toothed outer line and a 

 distinct narrow deeply-scalloped, rich, deep-brown marginal line, the scallop filled 

 in with whitish ash scales. Base of the wing inside of the middle line whitish ash ; 

 hind wing and abdomen uniform ash-slate color; wings beneath of the same color; 

 costal edge slightly bathed with whitish, with traces of a curved submarginal band, 

 broadest on the costa and broken up behind. Expanse of the wings, 47"'"\ 



Vi^hile in Florida in April I collected at Crescent City on the live or water oak a 

 fully grown caterpillar which I supposed to be Edema albifrons. Bringing it to Provi- 

 dence in a tin box, it spun a slight cocoon between the leaves late in April, but the 

 moth did not emerge uutil Sei)tember 30. Although the summer was a warm one, aud- 

 the room in which it was kept had a warm exposure, the moth was evidently re- 



