146 



PSYCHE. 



[September 1891. 



The cocoon and pupa do not differ from 

 those of all the other Cochlidiae. 



Food plants. Deciduous trees. 



I have bred from these larvae four moths 

 which are alike, and correspond with Her- 

 rich-Schaffer's figure. Under a glass there 

 can be distinguished a few brown scales rep- 

 resenting the usual lines. In the Elliot col- 

 lection, now in the American Museum of 

 Natural History, is a fine series of a Tor- 

 tricidia which represents both T. flavula and 

 T. pallida, with a number of examples that 

 appear to connect the two. In T. pallida the 

 lines are present very much as in Limacodes 

 Jlexuosa Grt.,* but the inner one is somewhat 

 curved as Herrich-Schaffer figures it. T. 

 pallida can be distinguished from L. Jlexuosa 

 by the pale, flesh-color shading that is seen 

 to overspread the basal half of primaries in 

 certain lights, while in L,. Jlexuosa the wings 

 are uniformly ochreous. The two species are 

 closely related however. 



Apatelodes torrefacta Abbot & Smith. 

 1797. A. & S., Lep. Ins. Ga., tab. 76. 



1889. Soule, Psyche, V, 148. 



1890. Packard, Proc. Bost, soc. nat. hist. 

 XXIV, 519. 



More observations are needed to determine 

 the number of larval stages of this species. 

 Miss Soule finds five stages, and Dr. Packard 

 has recorded six, but it is almost certain that 

 both have found too few, and, as no measure- 

 ments of the head are given, it is impossible 

 to tell where the error is. 



I obtained the larva on July 30, apparently 

 about half grown. It molted four times, and 

 the measurements of the head for the five 

 stages which/I observed were as follows : — 



1.3 mm,, 1.6 mm., 2.1 mm., 2.6 mm., 3.2 

 mm. 



These correspond very well with the series 

 derived with the ratio .80 by calculation from 

 the last stage. But, if there are only six 

 stages, the newly-hatched larva would have 



* I have elsewhere called attention to the probable 

 synonymy of this species. 



a head 1.05 mm. wide, which would be very 

 unusual for a larva as small as this. Of the 

 species which I have recorded in Psyche, 

 vol. 5, p. 420, et sea., the only larva hatch- 

 ing with a head this size is Platysamia cecro- 

 pia, which is, of course, a very much larger 

 insect. If we calculate the series further 

 back, say to ten terms, we have the following 

 result : — 



0.42, 0.53, 0.66,0.83, !-05> I-3 1 ' 1-64. 2 -05, 

 2.56, 3.20. 



In my opinion, 0.S3 mm. or 0.66 mm. would 

 be about right for this larva in the first stage, 

 and hence I conclude Apatelodes torrefacta 

 has as many as seven or eight stages.* 



I shall be much interested to have this 

 verified or disproved, which can be easily 

 done by any one who can determine the 

 width of the head of the newly-hatched larva 

 from a living or an alcoholic specimen. 



Gluphisia trilineata Packard. 



1S64. Pack., Proc. ent. soc. Phil.. Ill, 

 355- 



1S83. Edwards & Elliot, Papilio, III, 129. 



The larva of this species has been briefly 

 described in its last stage by Edwards & El- 

 liott. It is not uncommon on poplar in 

 Dutchess and Ulster counties, N. Y., often 

 associated with Rap/iiaf rater, which it much 

 resembles in general structure, though it is 

 more slender. It is unusually plainly marked 

 and inconspicuous for a Ptilodontid larva; 

 the anal feet are used for walking, and the 

 body is smooth, without tubercles or proces- 

 ses. The eggs are shaped like the upper 

 third of a sphere, flat on the under side. 

 Their color is pale yellowish green, very 

 minutely and densely punctured. Diameter 

 about 0.9 mm. They are probably laid singly. 



I believe there are five larval stages, though 

 I have not observed the first. The second, 

 third and fourth are so much like the fifth 



* If the width of the newly hatched larva is about one 

 half the width of the egg, as seems in general to be the 

 case, then 0.66 mm. would be right and the species 

 would have eight stages. 



