304 



rsrcj/E. 



Inly — SL'pteirbcr 1SS5. 



tive, being ten times morciiunieiDus llum 

 the other ; nearly forty were taken from 

 the inside of a single plant, they being 

 found concealed in all parts from below 

 the ground as far as they could burrow, 

 to the base of the leaf stalks, and some 

 were even in the squash itself; besides 

 these, in the hill in which the same 

 plant was growing, over t\vent\- larvae 

 were found in their chrysalis cases. 

 They cast most of their excrement 

 through holes eaten to. the surface of 

 the stalks. They appear to commence 

 their work near the surface of the 

 ground, and to work their way in each 

 direction. 



When ready for their change, they 

 eat their way out of the stalk, reacli the 

 ground (probably by a thread, for they 

 can spin one) enter the ground and make 

 tlieir cocoon there ; this is formed exter- 

 nallv of grains of earth adhering to silk, 

 and is of considerable stoutness though 

 verv thin ; it is of a light brown color 

 within and blackish without, so that 

 when the earth is removed, the cocoon 

 has a reticulated appearance, from the 

 brown showing through the black ; tlie 

 innermost layer of all is white. Some 

 of tliese cocoons were kept, and the 

 larvae were living within them on the 

 26tn of the following ^May, having re- 

 mained unchanged in the larval con- 

 dition throughout the winter. They 

 subsequently died. Tiiirty or forty 

 cocoons were opened in the hills only 

 to find the larva within. 



This is all the history of this species 

 which was followed. The second spe- 

 cies has verv nearlv the same habits. 



excepting tlial it perforates the base 

 of the leafstalks themselves and lives in 

 tlir leaf stalks, often curled up. J^l. 

 cii. rbitae WAS also found there but not 

 so irequently, and the present species 

 seemed to prefer in addition tiie harder 

 parts of tlie plant, such as the junction 

 of the leaf and stalk, of the. leaf stalk 

 and main stalk, etc. The following is 

 a description of the smaller species. 



Head jet-black. Body white, with a faint, 

 dusky stigmatal band. Upper surface of first 

 thoracic segment nearly black; a transverse 

 series of eight brown spots on each segment 

 behind the first, two faint ones being dorsal, 

 one on each side infra-stigmatal, and the 

 others pleural; those of the thoracic rings 

 are much the most conspicuous, and on the 

 abdominal rings there is a brown dot on each 

 ring in front of and a little within the dorsal 

 spots; the last segment is brown above with 

 spots similar to those of M. ciicurbitae but 

 more distinct; hairs as in that species. 

 Length 13 mm.; breadth 2.5 mm. 



No difference was noted between the 

 cocoons beneath the siuface witii living 

 larvae (J/, cucnrbitac) and those of 

 the present species which were emptied, 

 the chrysalis forcing of!" (how.') the en- 

 tire end of the cocoon, and by means 

 of the hooks on tiie abdominal rings 

 working its wav to tlic surtace. A 

 single larva, kejit in captivity, made a 

 cocoon in a small box partly filled with 

 earth, and it was noted that the cocoon 

 was thinner than that of J/, ciicurbitae. 



Brief additional notes on AI. ciicur- 

 bitae will be foimd in Papilio, v. 2, p. 

 50, bv N. Coleman ; and in Bull. Brook- 

 lyn entom. soc, v. 6. p. lo, by G. D. 

 Hulst. 



