126 



PSrCHE. 



[October 1897 



but six and seven stages are not infre- 

 quent, while there are eight in Scepsis 

 and Apatelodes and nine and ten in 

 Arctians, while the European iVola 

 centona/is moults nine times, other 

 species shedding their skins six times 

 ( Buckler). (Psyche, v, pages 420-422). 

 Callosamia promethea moults but three 

 times as a rule. 0)-gyia antiqua was 

 found by Hellins to moult from three to 

 five times. Riley found that in O.leuco- 

 stigma the males moult four times, the 

 female four but sometimes five times, 

 while Dyar states that in O. gulosa the 

 male larvae moult three or four times, 

 the female always four times : while in 

 O. antiqua there are six stages, and 

 in the female seven. Lithocolletis, 

 Chambers thinks, as a rule moults eight 

 times, Comstock thinks L. hamadrya- 

 della casts its skin seven or eight times. 

 In the blow-fly (Calliphora) Leuckart 

 and Weismann have inferred at least two 

 moults, while Weismann suspects that 

 there are as many as four. In Alusca 

 domestica we have observed that the 

 larva moults three times ; in Oestridae 

 there are three larval stadia (Brauer) . In 

 Corethra there are four larval moults, 

 and Miall thinks there are probably as 

 many. In the phytophagous Hymenop- 

 tera there are three moults or four larval 



stages in Neynatus ericksonit, but Dyar 

 informs me that less than four stages in 

 saw-fly larvae is very rare, that he has 

 only one record of less than five, and that 

 that is doubtful ; five for Nematid, six 

 and seven for others, is certainly the rule. 

 " The highest I have is the indication 

 of eleven stdL^tsiox Harpiphoriisvari- 

 anus " (Can. Ent., xxvii, p. 20S). 

 In Bombus we have observed five differ- 

 ent sizes of larvae and hence suppose the 

 least number of ecdyses is five, while 

 we are disposed to believe that this 

 insect as well as wasps and bees in gen- 

 eral shed their skins as many as ten 

 times during their entire existence. 



The honeybee, Cheshire thinks, since 

 he has found the red and ruptured pel- 

 licles, probably moults six times before 

 it spins its cocoon, or passes into the 

 semipupa condition. (Bees and Bee- 

 Keeping, p. 20). 



As to the cause of the great nimiber of 

 moults in the Arctians and the beetles 

 experimented with by Riley, it would 

 seem that cold and the lack of food dur- 

 ing hibernation were the agents in Arc- 

 tians, and starvation or the lack of food 

 in the case of the beetles, such cause 

 preventing growth, though the h3-po- 

 dermis-cells retained their activity. 



DIPTERA OF THE ORGAN MOUNTAINS IN SOUTHERN NEW 

 MEXICO. — I. 



BY C. H. TYLER TOWNSEXD, LAS CRUCES. NEW MEXICO. 



In Science, for Dec. S, 1S93, the Organ Mountain range, w^hich lies in 

 writer gave a general description of the the Dona Ana county, some fifteen miles 



