April 1S93.J 



PSTCHE. 



437 



lently away, the maker at once began a 

 new cocoon, constructing one-half at a 

 time, namely the half opposed to its 

 own ventral surface, and when this was 

 completed, it turned about and made 

 the other half. When all were made, 

 the cocoons were seen to lie in clusters, 

 some horizontal but most perpendicular 

 to the back of the caterpillar; they 

 were made of a very fine glistening 

 silk, and when completed were about 

 4.8 mm. long by half as broad. It 

 took one of them a little more than half 

 an hour to completely envelope itself 

 with silk, though much longer to com- 

 plete the cocoon. These when fin- 

 ished much resemble the buds of 

 Comptonia, being of a light chocolate 

 brown color, roughly ribbed longitudi- 

 nally about a dozen times, the ends 

 smooth ; they are loosely attached to 

 the caterpillar. In escaping from their 

 cocoon, the enclosed Hymenopteron 

 bites oft the top of the cocoon in an 

 irregular manner. All that I had es- 

 caped me, and some came out at a time 

 when others of the same lot still re- 

 mained as larvae inside their cocoons. 

 The caterpillars may be found in 

 nearly every stage throughout the 

 month of August in eastern Massachu- 

 setts. 



Chrysalis. Uniform shining mahogany 

 in color, with the wings lacking polish. 



The whole of the thorax and appendages ar e 

 minutely wrinkled and all the abdominal 

 segments are rather minutely punctured and 

 also wrinkled; the wings cover the fourth 

 abdominal segment ; the tongue case is very 

 short; the cremaster is long, slender, coni- 

 cal, straight, pointed, very rough at the 

 base, smooth toward the tip. Length 38 

 mm.; breadth ro mm.; length of tongue 

 4.25 mm. 



HYLOICUS PLEBEIUS. 



Chrysalis. Black, the posterior margin of 

 the 4th-6th abdominal segments light brown 

 and minutely striate transversely. Bodv 

 shaped much as in Sphinx citterea, with 

 the same structure before the spiracles but 

 less prominent; the shoulders prominent. 

 Tongue short, free, regularly curved, rather 

 thickened at the tip and one-third the length 

 of the distance from the tip of the head to 

 the tip of the wings. Metathoracic wings 

 reaching the spiracles of the third abdomi- 

 nal segment. Antennae with a raised point 

 in the centre of each joint. First joint of 

 second pair of legs prominent. Head, tho- 

 rax, and appendages wrinkled ; abdominal 

 segments coarsely wrinkled and deeply 

 punctate. Cremaster like that of Sphinx 

 citterea, excepting that the tip is armed with 

 a bifid prong which is down-curved. Length 

 44 mm.; breadth 10.5 mm. 



One larva went into the ground on 

 September 19, afterwards worked him- 

 self halfway and finally wholly out, 

 and changed upon the surface Septem- 

 ber 25. 



