December 1894. J 



PSYCHE. 



177 



PREPARATORY STAGES OF SPHINX VASHTI STRECKER. 



BV HARRISON G. DYAR, NEW YORK. 



The eggs were obtained by Mr. C. A. 

 Wiley at Miles City, Montana. 



Egg. Elliptical, flattened above and 

 below, sniootb, green, slightly shining. 

 Under a .i inch objective it appears slightly 

 marked irregularly. Length 1.6 mm., 

 width, 1.4 mm., height 1,0 mm. 



First s/agc. Head round, sutures not 

 distinct, ocelli nearly forming a circle ; pale 

 greenish, slightly reddish around the mouth, 

 ocelli black ; width 0.7 mm. Body cylindri- 

 cal, the segments annulated; with minute 

 setae; whitish green, not shining. Horn 

 long, thick, black, not tapering and only 

 slightly thickened at base, its length i.i mm., 

 held nearly erect. 



Second slage. Head rounded, higher 

 than wide witli some large white granules. 

 Color yellowish green, the mouth pale; 

 width I.I mm. Body annulate, dark green 

 with large white granules; seven oblique 

 whitish lateral lines. Feet green with 

 reddish tips. Caudal horn 2 mm. long, 

 heavily covered with short, stiff" spinules. 

 black, except at extreme base. The gran- 

 ules are slightly conical, without distinct 

 setae. 



Third f/age. Head rather square, rounded, 

 higher than wide, flattened in front and on 

 the side, clypeus inconspicuous. Pale green 

 with large white granules and a faint yellow- 

 line on each side, not reaching the vertex; 

 ocelli black ; width 1.9 mm. Body as before, 

 but the back heavily frosted with white. 

 Lateral oblique lines pale yellow, becoming 

 white dorsally and continued backward in the 

 general white shade. Feet paler than the 

 body. Horn spinulose, pale brown, shaded 

 with black before, behind and at tip, its length 

 3 mm. 



FoiirL/i s/age. Head as before; the faint 

 yellow stripe arises at base of antenna before 

 ocelli and fades out before vertex ; width 2.9 



mm. Body leafgreen, heavily covered with 

 large conical white granules and frosted with 

 white dorsally. Oblique lines pale yellow, 

 marked with larger granules, obscurely con- 

 tinued along dorsal area by frosted white 

 streaks. Horn with conical granules which 

 are slightly more slender than those on the 

 body and are each tipped by a minute seta. 

 It tapers to tip and is marked as before. Spira- 

 cles white with brown center. Thoracic feet 

 reddish, abdominal ones fleshy brown with 

 black line at extreme tip. 



Fifth stage. Head slightly depressed at 

 median suture, rounded, clypeus sublan- 

 ceolate. Shagreened, green, smooth with 

 inconspicuous white dots and faint yellowish 

 line not attaining the vertex, marked behind 

 by a faint dark shade. Body smooth, annu- 

 lated ; on the posterior edge of joints 2 and 3 

 an elevated band, thickly studded with smooth 

 white granulation filled in with blackish 

 dorsally. General color soft whitish green, 

 thickly but inconspicuously dotted with white 

 or entirely uniform in color; becoming yel- 

 low in the fold of skin before and behind the 

 granulated bands and in the suture between 

 joints 4 and 5. Lateral oblique lines white, 

 each bordered in front by a distinct, narrow, 

 black line with a faint blue shade above and 

 continued by a white shade to the middle of 

 the dorsum, the last pair reaching the horn; 

 but these shades disappear later. Horn 

 greenish white; black above, below and at 

 tip, smooth, shagreened, without setae. 

 Tlioracic feet whitish with red tinge; ab- 

 dominal ones tipped with vellow and black. 

 Spiracles brown centrally, witli pale rim. 



Pupa. Mahogany brown, shaded with 

 blackish, a short, rounded, free tongue case, 

 8 mm. Cremaster large, flattened with a 

 short furcation at tip. 



Food plant. Snowberry {Syiiiphoricarpua 

 raceinosus). 



