60 



It seems to be abundant throughout the Southern States, but I do 

 not know of its occurrence north of the latitude of Central Illinois. 

 The destructive outbreaks which I have encountered in my reading 

 on this species, occurred as follows : In 1845 and 1854, in Georgia ; 

 1868, in Central Illinois and Northeastern Missouri ; 1870, Kansas, 

 Illinois and Missouri ; 1872, Central Georgia ; 1873, Washington 

 county, Illinois ; and 1881, in Georgia. 



In Illinois, this autumn, we found it generally distributed in de- 

 structive numbers throughout the eastern two-thirds of Tazewell 

 county and all of Mason county. From D, S. Harris, of Cuba, in 

 Fulton county, and from Dr. R. Boyer, at Lewiston, I heard that it 

 had generally prevailed in that county. Letters from Menard, Mason, 

 Macon and Madison counties to the east and south, and from Stark 

 on the north, reported no occurrence of the worm in those regions, 

 and fixed the limit of the outbreak in those directions ; but to the 

 west it extended to the Mississippi river, having been reported by 

 correspondents in both Pike and Hancock counties. The area 

 infested was therefore a triangular one, the apex of the triangle 

 being near eastern McLean county, and the base extending along the 

 Mississippi from Pike to Hancock. 



LIFE HISTORY. 



In 1854, the caterpillars were abvmdant in Georgia during the 

 last days of September and the beginning of October. "When about 

 to change," says Glover, "they formed cocoons of silk under stones 

 or in the ground near the surface, interwoven with particles of 

 earth, and came out perfect moths from the 24th to the 30th of 

 October; and, as these specimens were kept in a room without arti- 

 ficial heat, I conjectured that those in the open field would appear 

 about the same time." They were also believed to have injured the 

 rice in that State in June of the same year. 



In Missouri, in 1868, the larvae were received by Riley on the 10th 

 of October. They came to their growth the latter part of October 

 and entered the earth, where Riley believed that they would pass 

 the winter in the chrysalis state. 



In 1869, Walsh and Riley received specimens from Central Illinois 

 in July, and the moths made their appearance towards the end of 

 the same month. 



In 1870, Riley expressed the opinion that there are at least two 

 broods, and probably three or four in a year. "Those worms which 

 appeared," he says, "in such multitudes in August and the fore part 

 of September, in due time produced moths, and these gave birth to 

 a new generation of worms, which began to make their presence 

 manifest towards the end of October. And it will be remembered 

 that, as stated in our last number, we bred the moth as early as 

 July, in 1868, from worms received from Mr. Daggy." 



In the above year they were noted in Central Missouri on the 

 26th of August. In 1881 they occurred on the rice in Georgia, in 

 May, going into the ground for their transformation in the first and 

 second weeks in June ; and a later brood occurred in August. 



During the present autumn they were first noticed by our corres- 

 pondents during the third or fourth week of September, at which time 



