bined with the large size of the insect, makes it ;i conspicuous object 

 on infested trees. The complete life history by stages or periods of 

 growth is well illustrated by the accompanying figure" on page 3, 

 the drawing for which was made by the late Dr. George Marx, of 

 whose excellent and artistic work it is one of the best published 

 examples. 



The parent of this caterpillar is a large grayish-brown moth of 

 the family Sphingidse, marked as shown in figure 1, k. It has a large 

 heavy body and powerful wings with a total expanse of 3 inches. 

 It deposits its eggs in masses, and in this respect differs from other 

 sphingids. An egg mass is shown in the illustration at a and an in- 

 dividual egg at I. The young caterpillars are paler than the mature 

 ones, being pale yellow and having a stout black anal horn. Two 

 striking variations of the larva in the later stages are shown at / and 

 <\ while h represents the commonest dark form of caterpillar. 



ORIGINAL HOME AND PRESENT DISTRIBUTION. 



This insect is a strictly North American species, and its range is 

 given by Dr. J. B. Smith 5 as from " Virginia to Florida; westward 

 to the Mississippi; as far north as Indiana." It is an especially 

 common form in Virginia, Maryland, and Ohio, and of late years has 

 extended its range northward on the Atlantic coast, since it has been 

 received at this office from several localities in southeastern Pennsyl- 

 vania and New Jersey. 



In 1888 it was recorded from Delaware County, Pa., and Mr. Frank 

 M. Jones'' states that he received it in 1893 from Sussex County, Del., 

 while in 1894 a specimen was taken at electric light at Wilmington, 

 Del. In 189s the larvae appeared on the catalpa trees at Wilmington 

 in great numbers. The species has spread northward in Delaware, 

 and it has greatly increased in numbers where it was formerly very 

 rare. Its northward range seems so far to be limited by Illinois in 

 the West, in which State Professor Forbes recorded it in 1884/ 7 The 

 range of its food plant is as follows: From the Gulf of Mexico in 

 western Florida and on (lie rivers in Alabama and Georgia westward 

 and northward along the Mississippi and its southern tributaries in 

 the great delta formation to above the month of the Ohio; thence up 

 the Wabash and White rivers of Indiana to near Vincennes.. e This 

 has been taken by Riley to indicate also the range of the catalpa 

 sphinx. Published records, however, were lacking until recently to 



a Originally published as Plate XI II. Repoi-1 of U. S. Dept. Agr. for 1881-82. 



6 Monograph of the Sphingida? of America North of Mexico. ]>. 205, 1SS8. 

 c Entomological News. November, isms. p. 2G2; Feb., 1899, p. 43. ■ 

 •'Trans. 111. State Ilort. Soc, 1884, p. 125. 



' For particulars regarding the present range, see Circ. 82, Forest Service. 

 [Cir. 9G] 



