June-Sept. 1891.-] 



PSYCHE. 



131 



40. Ancvloxypha iiumitor, Fabr. Not 

 abundant, but more so than at the north. 



41. Painphila canipestris, Bdv. Not coni- 

 inon. 



42. P. phvhieus, Dru. One of our most 

 common species. 



43. P. cernes, Edw. Abundant. 



44. P. accius, S. and A. Abundant. 

 4v P. pontiac, Edw. Not common. 



46. P. eufala, Edw. Not common. 



47. P. fusca, G. and R. Rare. 



4S. Pvrgus tessellata, Scudd. A very 

 cominon species. 



49. Nisoniades juvenalis, Fab. Common. 



50. Pholisora catullus, Fabr. Common. 



51. Eudamus pylades, Scudd. Common. 



52. E. bathjilus, S. ^: A. Very common. 



53. E. tityrus, Fab. Common. 



NOTE.S ON THE REARING OF PLATYSx\MIA CECROPJA. 



BY KATHARINE VV. HU.Sl'OX. HOXBURV, MASS. 



In the suinmer of 1892 the writer I'eceived 

 twenty-nine egs;s laid on June 30tli b_\' a 

 Cecropia moth in captivity, in Roxburv, 

 Mass. Thirteen of tliem were detaclied from 

 the surface on which they had been deposited. 

 On July 13th twenty-four eggs hatclied, 

 among them the thirteen just mentioned. 

 Though the young larvae remained in the 

 box with their egg-shells, and were carried 

 in a satchel four hours without food, none of 

 the shells were eaten. 



One of the caterpillars died the next day, 

 one was lost, and two were put into alcohol. 

 Of the remaining twenty, all but one arrived 

 at maturity after an exceedingly healthy life 

 of six weeks and a half, during which they 

 moulted four times. Two of them, however, 

 when ready to spin, seemed unable to produce 

 silk, and died. Seventeen made cocoons. 



The larvae were reaied in Bristol, Maine. 

 The breeding cage was merely a pasteboard 

 box covered with wire netting. All the 

 caterpillars were kept in the same box. It 

 stood in an open window, but not in the sun, 

 and was thoroughly cleaned every dav. 



The caterpillars were fed on apple leaves, 

 which were always dipped in water before 

 being placed in the box. Only the young 

 shoots of the trees were used, as these fur- 

 nished a suitable series of leaves from the 

 very young and tender to the mature. They 



were taken t'rom trees of widely diflerent 

 varieties- 



The newly hatched caterpillars were about 

 three-sixteenths of aji inch long. The body 

 was black with six rows of yellowish brown 

 bristles extending its wh.ole length. In a 

 few hours the bristles also became black. On 

 the fourth day the minute tubercles at the base 

 of the bristles showed a decided yellow color, 

 and on the sixth the bodies were an olive 

 brown. On the eighth day, after having 

 eaten nothing for about eighteen hours, the 

 caterpillars moulted. 



The color of the new skin was Indian 

 yellow; the head, tubercles, and bristles 

 were black; and the feet were yellow. Be- 

 tween the tubercles were rows of small black 

 spots. Four caterpillars were much darker 

 than the others. In less than an hour after 

 their moult the Indian yellow changed to 

 olive brown, which in turn gave place to 

 black. Their bodies afterwards showed a 

 yellowish tinge but were easily distinguish- 

 able from the others. 



The largest ones now measured five-eighths 

 of an inch. A few ate their cast-oft" skins, 

 but the majority showed no disposition to do 

 so, and the same was true after each succes- 

 sive tnoult. 



The second moult occurred on the thir- 

 teenth dav, after a fast of twentv-four hours. 



