148 



PSYCHE. 



[January 1889. 



sum against the light of the sky as a 

 background might aHord it a protection 

 from enemies below ; and the dark of 

 the venter against the dark background 

 of the earth, a protection from those 



above it. 



Many such cases can be regarded more 

 clearly as protecti\'e since we now know 

 that insects probably do not see forfn., 

 but color and fnovetneni. 



DESCRIPTION OF EGGS AND LARVA OF APATELODES 



TORREFACTA. 



BY CAROLINE G. SOULE, BKOOKLINE, MASS. 



A female found at Nonquitt, Mass., 

 on 13 July 1 888, laid a mass of pale 

 green eggs, circular, flat on both top 

 and bottom, translucent, and looking 

 like tiny gelatine lozenges, 1.5 mm. in 

 diameter. 20 July, the embryo could be 

 seen — with a lens. Five da3'S later the 

 eggs had become opaque and of a sordid 

 yellowish white color. 26 July, the 

 young larvae hatched, being a trifle less 

 than 6 mm. long, covered with long 

 white hairs, and having a few dark ones 

 near the head and the anal shield. 



The head, body, feet, and props were 

 pale yellow, without marks. 



The hair was dense, long over the 

 anal end, shorter over the middle, and 

 still longer on first three segments. The 

 body became green with food. The lar- 

 vae rested on both sides of the sassafras 

 {^Sassafras officinale^ and ash {Eraxi- 

 mis) leaves, and moved very fast. A 

 slight jar sufliced to make them fall from 

 the leaf and drop by a silken thread. 



When touched they curled up like the 

 arctians. They drank greedily, and ate 

 their cast skins. 



Those Miss Ida M. Eliot had ate 

 beach-plum (^Pruiuis luarithna) and 

 oak {^uerciis). 



Some sent to Miss Emily M. Norton 

 ate wild-cherry {Pnnuis) . 



2 Aug. The lai'vae molted, becoming 

 even whiter and "flufiier" than before, 

 with a dorsal line of black dashes, and 

 a dark pencil on the tenth segment. A 

 few had gray hairs over the head. 



5 Aug. They molted for the second 

 time ; — as before with the addition of a 

 gray pencil on the second and third seg- 

 ments. 



Feet and props were conspicuously 

 white. 



10 Aug. Third molt. 25 mm. long, 

 body green ; feet and props white ; head 

 sordid white ; hair very long and silky, 

 and from each dorsal dash sprung a short 

 black pencil. 



A lateral and subventral line of black 

 arrow-heads appeared. 



One larva became bright yellow with 

 the pencils tan-colored with black tips, 

 and one was of a soft gray with black 

 pencils. 



