THE GRAPE-LEAF SKELETONIZER. 87 



When the larva' are full grown they seek some secluded place in 

 which to pupate, usualh' spinning their cocoons on fallen leaves or 

 in trash around the vine, or, when confined, to the sides of the cage. 

 The period covered by one group of larva? in spinning their cocoons 

 will vary from 1 to 2 weeks, although the time required for the for- 

 mation of each individual is not more than 2 or 3 days. 



The winter is passed in the cocoon, the insect l)eing in the pupal 

 stage. 



IDENTITY. 



The slight variation in ai)peai-ance of the moths iind the differently 

 marked larva' bring up the question of identity. Dyar " thinks there 

 is little difference between the moths of Ilamsana americana and 

 those of II. texana which Stretch separated by the presence of an- 

 other vein, because moths of both kinds Avere taken together in the 

 same locality. He fonnd, however, two kinds of larvse, those of 11. 

 texana having the dorsum of joints 2-13 broadly bright-3^ellow, and 

 banded between each joint with blackish and again across the middle 

 of each, including the warts, with purple-brown. The larva? of Ilar- 

 risana australis were similar to those of II. texana. He further says, 

 " If it were not for the two kinds of larva?, I would not hold these 

 three forms separate." Credit is due to Dr. H. G. Dj^ar, of this 

 Bureau, for examining all of the material in the Bureau collection 

 and for determining it all as belonging to one species, Ilarrisana 

 americana Guer. 



NATURAL ENEMIES. 



Up to the present time only one parasite had been recorded from 

 this insect, namely, the chalcidid PerUanrpuH i)latij(/aster Say, which 

 Riley mentions as being a parasite of the larva. This summer, how- 

 ever, the writer reared a little hymenopterous parasite which was de- 

 termined by ]Mr. J. C. Crawford, of the U. S. Xational Museum, as a 

 braconid, Glyptapanteles sp., and also an inchneumon, Limneria sp., 

 which was reared from larva? sent in by C. M. Streeter, Dalton, Pa. 



REMEDIES. 



While the insect has never proved a serious pest in large vineyard>. 

 and is usually more troublesome in gardens or back yards where there 

 are only a few vines, it has been found sufficiently numerous at 

 times to demand attention and remedial measures. 



The gregarious feeding habit of the larvse makes hand-picking in 

 small areas the most efficient treatment, as one person can go over a 

 large number of vines in a short time and destroy a very large mnn- 

 ber of the larva^, since thej'^ Avill be found in large groups upon the 



* rroeeetliugs of the Eutomological Society of Washington, Vol. V, p. o2(;. 



