THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



from Prof. J. E. Willet, one of our observ- 

 ers who has particularly interested himself 

 in this subject. 



" I have received to-night " writes Prof. 

 Willet, "from Rev. Robert Harris of Cairo, 

 Thomas Co., Ga., a small tin bo.\ enclosing 

 25 chrysalides, which I forward you by 

 mail. Mr. Harris is an ardent believer in 

 the subterranean hibernation of the chrys- 

 alis of Akiia argillacea. I transcribe the 

 portion of his letter pertinent to the case. 



'Cairo, Ga., Feb. 22, 1879. 



Washington's birthday and victory. Perse- 

 veranlia vincit. The facts drive " analogy " to the 

 wall. Here they are : 25 Cotton Worm chrysa- 

 lides ploughed up out of the ground, in a field 

 that was riddled by the insects last fall. 



This is unimpeachable evidence and, in the 

 opinion of the court, is amply sufficient to convict 

 the prisoner.' " 



" The chrysalides," continues Prof. 

 Willet, "appear to my eye very like Aletia 

 chrysalides which I have in spirits and I 

 await your verdict with interest." 



The chrysalides referred to in this in- 

 stance resemble those of Aletia so thorough- 

 ly in form, size and general appearance, 

 that they might have been mistaken there- 

 for even by some entomologists ; yet from 

 certain minute structural differences, easily 

 observable with a good lens, I was able at 

 once to decide that they belonged to an- 

 other insect, the Aspila virescens of Fabri- 

 cius, a beautiful moth with olivaceous pri- 

 maries marked with three distinct pale 

 transverse lines relieved by coincident 

 deeper shades, the translucent green larva 

 of which, speckled with minute pale fleshy 

 elevations, I have found feeding on Sola- 

 rium sicgliitge in St. Louis.* 



There are many species of night-flying 

 moths which go through their transforma- 

 tions beneath the ground and there hiber- 

 nate in the chrysalis state. The leaves of 

 the cotton plant are palatable to a very 

 large number of such, while the Boll Worm, 



* I append a description of the larva. Smooth, soft, tran- 

 slucent, with the normal complement of 16 legs. Color either 

 green or lilaceous. Finely speckled with pale yellowish 'pots, 

 (appearing under the lens as fleshy elevations) arr.inged in a 

 somewhat longitudinal manner, and forming along the stig- 

 matal region a tolerably well-marked b;md, the stigmata, 

 which are in the upper portion of this band, being black with 

 a carneous centre and white annulation. Piliferous spots In 

 normal position, very small, dark, with a paler annulation ; 

 the hairs fine and translucent. The two posterior joints some- 

 what squarely cut off. Head, th<tracic legs and cervical 

 shield polished, slightlj; more yellow than body. Full grown 

 in July ; imago issuing in August of same year. 



[Heliothis armigera) and the " Grass Worm " 

 \Laphrygma frugiperda) which thus trans- 

 form are sometimes very abundant in a 

 cotton field. It is not at all surprising, 

 therefore, that chrysalides should be 

 plowed or dug up in land planted to cot- 

 ton. All of them, upon careful scrutiny, 

 will be found to differ from the chrysalis 

 of Aletia, which may be distinguished by 

 its slender form, and particularly by the 

 tip of the body with its armature, as shown 

 in the accompanying Fig. In short, the 

 nature of the Aletia chrysalis effectually 

 preventsit from workingbeneath the ground 

 e.xcept where, dropping out of its cocoon, it 

 happens to fall into some crack or crevice 

 and thus wriggle beneath the surface. It 

 is, also, contrary to all analogy that a 

 chrysalis normally formed above ground 

 in a cocoon should work beneath the soil ; 

 for all insects that pupate underground, 

 descend while in the larva state. 



[Fig. 4 



Pupa of Aletia. — a, cremaster from side ; ^, do. from be- 

 neath, still further enlarged. 



Experiments which I have repeatedly 

 made prove that the Aletia chrysalis, when 

 placed under ground, either rots and per- 

 ishes, or the moth — if in a sufficiently ad- 

 vanced state when the chrysalis is buried — 

 will vainly attempt to escape and push 

 through its unnatural surroundings. 



Regarding the ability of the moth to sur- 

 vive the winter, nearly one half of the more 

 intelligent correspondents state that they 

 have known it to be found flying 

 during warm days in the winter^and that it 

 consequently hibernates in that state. Mr. 

 Jno. T. Humphreys of Morgantown, N. C, 

 who was, for a while, employed by the 

 State of Georgia in entomological work, 

 says that he has absolute proof of the hi- 

 bernation of the moth. 



Page after page of testimony and expe- 

 rience from the most competent and reli- 

 able planters might be adduced in support 



