THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST. 137 



* 



made may prove to be E. grata, for it had no such white spots and 

 was humped; but it differs essentially from the most excellent de- 

 scription of this last larva which A. S. Packard, Jr., has given in his 

 "notes on the family Zyggenidae, pp. 27-29, and sufficiently resembles 

 those from which I actually bred the 8-spotted Forester. 



THE GRAPE-VINE PLUME, PteropJiorus periscelidactylus, Fitch. 

 Plate 2, Figs. 15 and 16. 



(Lepidciptera, Alucitidaj.) 



Daring the latter part of May and beginning of June, the leaves 

 of the grape-vine may often be seen drawn together by silken threads 

 and in the retreat thus made will be found a small hairy caterpillar 

 which feeds on the tender leaves of the vine. This caterpillar grows 

 to the length of about half an inch; the color of the body is very 

 pale green and has four elevated white spots and two still smaller 

 dots on every segment, from which spring stiff white hairs in all 

 directions. 



This caterpillar was quite common last summer in many sections 

 of the State. It was first named by Dr. Fitch, who found it on the 

 vine in the State of New York. A number which I brought home 

 changed to chrysalids during the first days of June, and the moths 

 were produced from them in about 8 days afterwards. The worm first 

 spins a few threads of silk to the underside of a leaf, or other object, 

 and the chrysalis attaches the lower part of the terminal segments 

 to them, and hangs with the tail somewhat curved, at a slant of 40° 

 from the object, as represented at Plate 2, Figure 1(5. This chrysalis 

 measures 0.35—0.40 in length, is of a light-green color and of peculiar 

 form. It is ridged, with remnants of the tubercles of the caterpillar. 

 It is angular and cut off slantingly and bluntly at the head, but is 

 characterised principally by two sharp and angulated projections 

 from the middle of the back, and which are enlarged under the figure 

 16, in Plate 2.* 



The moth (PI. 2, Fig. 15) is of a tawny yellow color, the wings 

 marked with white and with a darker shade. The caterpillars disap- 

 pear very suddenly, for the chrysalis is so small and so nearly the 

 color of the leaf, that it would be seldom noticed, even it were not so 

 well hidden. There are probably two broods in the year, though I 

 failed to find any trace of them after the first had disappeared. 



All the moths of the family (Alucitid.e) to which this belongs 

 have very appopriately received the name of Plumes. In the genus 

 PteropJiorus the fore wings are divided into two and the hind 



*Dr. Fitch has given a most excellent and lull description of this chrysalis in his 1st Report 

 pp. 110-141. 



