January 1S96.J 



PSYCHE. 



331 



ones are known in tliis and allied careful studv ot secondary sexual char- 

 genera to be only sexual. We need a acters in tachinid genera. 



NOTES ON SMERINTHUS CERYSII KIROV. 



BY F. L. H.\R\"EY, ORONO, ME. 



In his Monograph of the Sphingidae, 

 p. 232, Prof. T- B. Smith says the early 

 stages of the above species are entirely- 

 unknown. We are not aware that any- 

 thing has since been published and 

 presume the following notes may prove 

 interesting. 



On May 13, 1S95, we received a 

 pair of 6'. cerysii from Mr. Albion 

 Tovvnes, Winthrop, Me. They- were 

 mating when captured and remained 

 together for two hours. The next 

 morning there were several eggs in the 

 box. The female continued to lay eggs 

 luitil Mav 17, making the period of 

 ovulation about five days. The num- 

 ber of eggs laid was about 160. The 

 eggs began to hatch about Mav 27 and 

 continued to emerge for al^out five days 

 making the ^"gg period 15 days. 



Mr. Ora'W. Knight, who had the 

 care of most of the larvae and succeeded 

 in carrying some through all of the 

 changes, made the following notes : 



" Placed the larvae in a gauze net 

 upon Salix sericca Marshall. They 

 were fed in this way until June 25, 

 when I was obliged to take them home 

 and they were afterwards fed upon 

 picked leaves. They did not thrive 

 so well and many died, not having 

 strength to pupate. Seven entered 

 the pupa state aljout July 13. Of 



tliese only [\\q emerged, and they 

 unusually small. The great mortality 

 may have been in part due to insuffi- 

 cient food, but this species seems to be 

 very tender, which accoLuits for its 

 scarcity in nature." 



Prof. Call Braun secured a female 

 on willow in his garden, Bangor, Me., 

 which laid nearly 300 eggs, and suc- 

 ceeded in getting about 50 pupae from 

 which only one male and one female 

 emerged. His specimens were fed 

 while young upon willow and after the 

 last molt upon poplar. 



Mr. Knight has found the larvae of 

 tliis species feeding upon Balm of 

 Gilead. The larvae are subjectetl to 

 tiie depredations of parasites. 



The following description of the 

 eggs and larvae were made by the 

 writer. 



Eggs pale green, oblate spheroid, miicli 

 flattened, 2 mm. long. 



Z,«/-t'(;c ju.st hatched, 4 mm. long. Apple 

 green, horn pale green, when hatched, but 

 turning black inside of two hours. First 

 molt on the seventh day, when the horn 

 became lighter colored. The otlier molts 

 we did not observe. 



Mature /«;•:■«« apple green, about 3S mm. 

 long, covered with minute granulations. 

 Yellow stripe on each side of head. Seven 

 oblique pale vellow stripes on each side of 

 the body. The posterior wider and brighter, 



