310 



PSYCHE. 



[January iSgg. 



with white irrorations; face of a peculiar 

 pink-purple color with pink face lines. 

 Body — first segment very white-green, anal 

 segment very vel low-green, the other seg- 

 ments very blue-green, all with white irro- 

 rations. The subdorsal lines had disap- 

 peared; and the obliques were of small white 

 granules, except the last pair which were 

 pinkish, broader, and rougher. The crests 

 on the second and third segments were much 

 less conspicuous, barely noticeable. Mouth 

 parts, legs, and tips of props pink-purple; 

 a band of deep red-purple on the anal props. 

 Spiracles red purple in pink-purple spots. 

 Anal shield heart-shaped, swelling, with the 

 tip dark red-purple. Caudal horn very 

 short, only i mm., slender, white, and rough. 

 On the subdorsal line of ten segments was a 

 spot' of red-purple, — in some specimens. 

 Others had but few spots. They varied 

 from three spots, on each side of the body, 

 to ten. These spots recalled the red spots 

 of 5. myops. 



Some specimens sent to Miss Ida M. Eliot 

 in Nonquitt, Mass., and fed on populus 

 iremuloides, had no red-purple spots. 



Aug. 13th. — The first one stopped eating 

 while the last one hatched was molting for 

 the third time, being much smaller and 

 slower of development than any of the others. 

 Length when full-fed 8 cm. 



In the last molt the larvae ate voraciously 

 and were very vigorous. In the first and 

 second molts they were very delicate, and 

 many died without any apparent cause. 



These larvae are especially interesting 

 because they omit the plain green, unmarked 

 stage common to most sphingid larvae in 

 the first molt, and because they show, in 

 different stages, marks characteristic of three 

 other species, ^et are very different from all 

 of them. I have seen no other sphingid 

 eggs which undergo so many changes of 

 color, or which have any color except green, 

 becoming either yellowish or lead color 

 just before hatching. 



Aug. 19. — The first pupa cast the larva 

 skin. The pupa was 4 cm. long, rather 

 stout, with eyes and antennae well defined, 

 and wing-covers short in proportion. Its 

 color was green at first, then brown. 



LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GEOMETRIDAE. — I. 



BY HARRISON G. DYAR, WASHINGTON, D. C. 



Aplocirs mimosaria Guenee. This larva 

 has been briefly described by Walsh and 

 quoted in Packard's works. The description 

 is not only brief, but erroneous, as the larva 

 is entirely without " short velvety hairs " and 

 has none of the structure of Phobetron, as is 

 stated by Walsh. 



The moths f^y early in June, emerging 

 from over-wintering pupae. There is a 

 single annual generation, the six larval 

 stages being slowly passed through, lasting 

 from late June, when the eggs hatch, to Sep- 

 tember. Observations made on Long Island, 

 N. Y. 



Egg. Elliptical, very strongly flattened 

 above and below, the edges sharp, the sides 

 perpendicular, so that the eggs resemble 

 biscuits. One end is depressed, the height 

 being less at one end of the ellipse. Surface 

 strongly reticular, the cell areas appearing 

 almost like granules. Color bright orange, 

 not shining ; later red, and just before hatch- 

 ing sordid brown. Size .75 X .6 X -4 mm. 



Stage I. Head rounded, smooth, pale 

 brown, slightly streaked with darker ; width 

 about .3 mm. Body with a series of trian- 

 gular subventral projections on joints 5 to 9, 

 bearing setae iv and v which are remote, 



