88 
geles County upon a species of Oak ; a third species was bred in the Santa 
Cruz Mountains feeding originally upon Ceanothus thyrsiflorus, but it 
was extremely abundant also upon fruit-trees, especially prunes and 
plums. J also found eggs of one of these moths in Shasta Valley upon 
a species of wild Currant. Of all the species the most abundant upon 
fruit-trees was C. thoracica, originally feeding upon Willow. This 
species defoliated most of the trees in Napa and Sonoma Counties last 
year. On my visit to Sonoma County this month (October), I found 
numerous old skins still presént everywhere upon apple trees. They 
were either C. thoracica or C. constricta,—these two larvee resembling 
each other somewhat. Fortunately the eggs as well as the larvee are 
preyed upon by numerous parasites. Professor Rivers, of Berkeley, in- 
formed me that of one egg-mass of C. constricta each egg produced a 
small hymenopterous parasite. I have myself bred something similar 
from egg-masses on Ceanothus cordulatus. The old remedy* will be 
found best, viz, cut off and burn the egg-clusters during the winter, 
and collect and burn the nests in spring. 
CUT WORMS. 
Various Noctuid larvee are usually numerous and destructive to 
orchards, vineyards, grain, and vegetables during spring, attacking the 
young foliage, twigs, and even fruit of trees, while in vineyards they 
often defoliate large numbers of the vines. As yet 1 have never been 
able to obtain any specimens of these larvee from the injured field for 
breeding. Dr. Behr, of San Francisco, has shown me one larva that 
had been received from Santa Cruz, where they injure the vines ; he did 
not, however, succeed in breeding them and the species is as yet not 
known. The larvie bore the closest resemblance to those of Agrotis 
messoria Harris (cochranii Riley),t yet many of these Agrotid larve 
resemble each other so closely that their distinction can not be made 
with any certainty. A similar insect, if not the same, was. bred from 
the eggs. (No. 378k). During September and the first of October, 
1887, many of these moths came to sugar at Alameda, and were at the 
time the most common of all so collected. A number of them were con- 
fined in boxes but no eggs could be obtained until the middle of Octo- 
ber. The eggs were of a straw-yellow color at first and after ten days 
changed to a dark grayish color, showing that the embryo had come to 
maturity. The young larvee, however, did not come out before the 
rains set in, December 8, at which date they began to issue and con- 
tinued to appear into January, 1888. They were kept and fed in a room 
and attained full growth in about five weeks, pupating at the end of 
March and issuing as moths one month later. This peculiarity of 
hibernating either in egg, larva, or pupa state during the dry season 
has been observed in numerous other insects in California, which are 
*Professor Riley’s Third Missouri Report, p. 120. t Lbid, pp. 74-76, 
