November 1S96. 



I'SICHE. 



451 



hair pencils as in next stage. A mark in tlie 

 incisure Ijetween joints 3 and 4 pinkisli, di- 

 vided b_v a dorsal black line and surrounded 

 by black spottings. 



S/agc VIII. Head round, shining mahog- 

 any red, paler along the sutures; a line above 

 the mouth and bases of antennae white : 

 width 5 nmi. Hair thick, obscuring the 

 body, uniform pale chocolate brown or gray 

 brown with a whitish cast on the sides, 

 crested and appearing darker along the dor- 

 sal line. The hairs separate around the in- 

 cisure between joints 3 and 4 exposing the 

 skin which is here slightlv orange tinted, the 

 three upper warts on 3 and 4 being whitish 

 and set off by black patches on the skin. A 

 white hair pencil from warts i and iii on joint 

 4. a few long whitish hairs from the same 

 warts on joint 3: a white pencil from wart 

 iii on 12. Skin red brown iiioie or less 

 spotted with black or all black except the 

 leg-; spiracles white. Joint :; is retracted, 

 its hairs directed forward over the head. 

 Hairs all finely barbuled ; warts i to vi on 

 abdomen; wart iv distinct, but not full size; 

 four warts on thorax. Length of larva about 

 30 mm. The orange colored incisure on the 

 thorax forms a rather distinct mark, set oft" 

 by black and the six white rays. 



Cocoon. Firm, compact, the larval hairs 

 closely lelted ant] manv of them projecting 

 through, so that the cocoon cannot be 

 handled without receiving their sharp points. 

 The cocoon has the color of the hairs. 



Food Plants. Sea grape {Coccoloba /fori- 

 dami and C iiz'ifera). kindly determined by 

 Mr. F. Kin^el. The larvae were found on 

 no other plants and I think their occurrence 

 on Hibiscus, as recorded by Gundlach. must 

 have been accidental or at least exceptional. 



The species has a wide range. It occurs 

 in our country in Florida (ciiictipcs) and 

 Arizona {riavisii Hy. Edw.) .extending soutii- 

 ward through the West Indies and Mexico 

 to Veneztiela, through Brazil {iiitcrlineit/a 

 \Va\\i., /iinnit/a H. S.) to .Vrgentina. Nfoths 

 iVom Buenos Ayres are paler than Cuban 



specimens, the marks less contrasted, but'all 

 essential features are the same even to the 

 banded legs. The markings on the fore 

 wings are irregular and variable as in //. 

 tessr/di-is. 



Doubtless there is some local variation in 

 the larvae in different parts of this wide range. 

 Cocoons from Buenos Ayres are almost black, 

 indicating that the larvae must be consider- 

 ably darker there than in Florida. 



Notes on Lepidopter.\. — On cutting 

 open a cocoon of yl. /iiiiii to see if the pupa 

 was alive, I found that the moth had crawled 

 out of the pupa-skin and, being unable to 

 get out of the cocoon, had laid eggs all over 

 the inner side of it. The eggs were almost 

 black, instead of being white. 



For three summers I have noticed that 

 male orioles preferred sphingid larvae to all 

 others, and by following them I have found 

 many larvae of £>. inscripta, A. riessiis. and 

 7". iihhottii, besides R. myyoii. I saw one 

 oriole carry from a woodbine filtv sphingid 

 larvae in an hour and a haif. So far it has 

 been only the male who has hunted in the 

 woodbines, though liie female was getting 

 food in elms and ash trees close by. 



Each June, for three years a P. cardui. 

 has rested on the gravel of our driveway 

 almost every night. It appears between five 

 and six o'clock, settles in almost the same 

 place in the driveway, drops its forewings 

 between its hindwings, and stays quiet until 

 some carriage, person, or dog disturbs it, 

 when it flies about for a few moments, and 

 them settles down again. If an English 

 sparrow flies anywhere near it the butterfly 

 flies towards it, flutters around it as it does 

 around one of its own race, then rests again 

 on the gravel, and is to he seen there as long 

 as there is light enough to see it ! 



Of course it cannot be the same butterfly, 

 and it is queer that only one should come 

 at a time, and that the resting place should 

 not vary by ten inches either on diflFerent 

 nights or years. Caroline G. Soiile. 



Brooktiiie, ^lass. 



