March, 1902] 



PSYCHE. 



321 



This species occurs, long before snow 

 has gone, in large colonies, under loose 

 wet bark and under soil, in crevices at 

 the base of a tree. Although most 

 common on pine, it lives also on elm and 

 apple. In mild weather, it wanders 

 about on the trunks of trees or on the 

 ground, and it occurred in enormous 

 numbers as a "snow-flea," in Maryland, 

 as recorded above. Captive specimens 

 laid eggs between April 9 and April 13. 



On April 12, I found abundant eggs of 

 this species among a colony of adults at 

 the base of a white pine; the eggs were 

 white, spherical, and deposited in irregu- 

 lar heaps. 



I have never been able to find this 

 species in its customary haunts at any 

 time of the year after April 12; it is 

 probably at least digoneutic, however, 

 and may prove to be dimorphic. 



ON THE LIMITS OF THE FAMILY SATURNIIDAE, WITH A 

 NOTE ON THE GENUS ROTHSCHILDIA. 



BY A. S. PACK.'\RD, PROVIDENCE, R. I. 



The elimination of so many non-spin- 

 ning genera from the Saturniidae as pro- 

 posed in this paper leaves that family 

 very much curtailed. 



As I pointed out some years ago,* it is 

 divided into two subfamilies, of very 

 simple larval characters, i. e., whether the 

 two dorso-median tubercles of the 8th 

 abdominal segment of the larva remain 

 separate, or are united in a single me- 

 dian one. 



The subfamily Saturniinae, character- 

 ized by having six separate tubercles 

 (the two median ones being separate) 

 on the 8th abdominal segment, com- 

 prise the following genera, Perisomena, 

 Cricula, Saturnia (I cannot see that Calo- 



* Studies on the transformation of moths of the family 

 Saturniidae. Proc. Amer. Acad. .\rts and Sciences, Boston, 

 (n. s.) XX, p. 58. 1893. 



saturnia mendocino differs from Saturnia), 

 Heniocha, Loepa. 



The subfamily Attacinae was at the 

 same time characterized by the larvae 

 having but five tubercles on the 8th ab- 

 dominal segment, the median one being 

 double, resulting from the fusion of the 

 tubercles belonging to the two dorsal 

 series. The imaginal cliaracters bear 

 out this arrangement. 



The following genera belong to this 

 group, beginning as heretofore with the 

 most generalized forms, the exact se- 

 quence being subject to farther modifi- 

 cation : Copaxa, Opodiphtera, Tagor- 

 opsis, Syntherata, Rhodia, Rinaca, Neo- 

 ris, Caligula, Graellsia, Argema, Actias, 

 Tropaea, Antheraea, Telea, Metosamia, 

 Callosamia, Samia, Epiphora, Philosa- 

 mia, Rotirschildia, Coscinocera, Attacus. 



