EEPORT OP TTJE ENTOMOLOGIST. 235 



of the moth, and append descriptions of tiie larva and pupa so that the 

 insect may be recognized in whatever stage it is foiiiKl. 



Retinia? Comstockiana Feruald. 



Head in front, basal joints of antennae, and pa]}ii white; last joint of ]»alpi and a 

 few scales npon the outside of the middle joint darJi gray. Eyes black, vertex light 

 snlphur-yellow to straw-yellow, antennae dark brown, annnlated with whitish. 

 Thorax above white, with a few scattered gray scales ; beneath silvery wliite. Ab- 

 domen above light brown, with a silvery luster; lighter at the end of each segment; 

 beneath lighter ; last segment in the females darker brown above and beneath, and 

 without the silvery luster. Anal tuft in the males light straw-color. Fore and middle 

 legs light brown, femora and tibiae of hind legs white, tarsi of all the legs brown, 

 ringed with white. Fore wings ferruginous brown, the extreme costal edge from base 

 to near the apes dark brown. A number of small white spots rest upon the costa, 

 four hairs beyond the middle, from all of which stripes composed of white and leaden 

 hued scales extend more or less irregularly across the wing at nearly right angles with 

 the costa, and having something of a wavy appearance in some specimens, with some 

 indication of a basal patch, a central and subterminal band composed of the leaden 

 and white scalea. Fringes light brown above and beneath ; fore wings light brown 

 beneath, ferruginous apically, with the white spots of the costa well indicated. Hind 

 wings above and beneath grayish brown, with a tinge of ferruginous in some speci- 

 mens, and with darker irrorations on the costa and outwardly ; tYtngos long at th« 

 anal angle, somewhat lighter and with a d;irker line near the base. 



Expanse.—Female, IS-aO"""'; male, 18-20«w\ 



MabUat.—lihaca,, N. Y. 



Described from two males and three females. 



I have provisionally referred this species to the genus Hcihiia, for although !; agrees 

 with the definition of the genus as given by Heiuemanu in other respects, the vena- 

 tion of the fore wing differs in the origin of veins four and five, which are not from 

 the same point, but a little remote from each other ; the distance between veins five 

 and six at their origin is aboiit twice the distance between veins four and five. 



The moth has also been taken by Mr. Otto Lugger at Baltimore, JId. 



Larva. — Length, when full-grown, 12'"'", cylindrical, tapering very slightly at the 

 ends. General color yellowish ; head, thoracic jdate, and piliferous spots brovni and 

 highly polished ; anal plate dusky and somewhat polished, under a high power cov- 

 ered with shallow pits. The piliferous warts are large and quite prominent, each 

 bearing a stiff hair. Their arrangement is normal. The anal shield is furnished -with 

 two transverse rows of four hairs each, the posterior row, from a dorsal view, appear- 

 ing to fringe the end of the body. The stigmata are light colored, surrounded by a 

 dark-brown chitinous ring. Thoracic legs and bases of prolegs brownish. 



The youn^ larvae differ in being darker colored. The head and thoracic shield are 

 lighter; the piliferous spots are hardly discernible ; the stigmata are much larger in 

 proportion to the size of the larva, and their dark circumference is very strongly 

 marked. 



Fupa. — Length 7™". General color dark shining brown, darkest on dorsum of 

 thorax and head; wing-sheaths broad, extending to third abdominal segment. The 

 posterior border of each alidominal segment dorsally elevated to a spiny ridge, bear- 

 ing many strong backward-directed spines. Anal segment somewhat truncate, with 

 a number of slender hooked filaments. Eyes very black and prominent. Between 

 the eyes two pairs of the hooked filaments', having their origiua close together and 

 spreading. 



Two species of Ichneumonid parasites have been bred from the hirvae, 

 both furnished with long ovipositors to pierce the resinous mass. They 

 belong to the genera EpMaltes and Agatlds. Mr. E. T. Cresson has fa- 

 vored me with the following description of the former. 



Ephialtes Comstockii Cresson (n. 8p.). 



jFeMflZe.— Black, shining ; thorax smooth, very feebly punctured ; metathorax smooth, 

 rounded, with two abbreviated, longitudinal, feebly developed, elevated lines on disk, 

 slightly divergent posteriorly ; tegulao white ; wings hyaline, eubiridescent, nerv- 

 nres and stigma fuscous, the latter with a pale spot at base, areolet as usual ; legs, 

 including coxae, bright fulvous, posterior tibiae and tarsi black ; abdomen about 

 twice the length of the thorax, distinctly punctured, sides of the second and Ibllow- 

 ing segments tuberculated ; first segment a little longer than broad, broadly exca- 

 vated at base and slightly grooved on disk above; second segment longer thaii broad, 

 widened posteriorly; third and fo^^rth segments quadrate, remainder transverse; 

 ovipositor as long as the body. Length of body .35 inch, 



£^«&.— Ithaca, N. Y. Parasitic upon Eetinia Comstockio,na Fernald. 



