49 



afU'i-ward. AV'itli the cutworms which are the larger caterpillars 

 and are slower to reach full-growth, the maggots of the parasite 

 liecome full-grown usually before their host does, and kill and 

 emerge from it before pupation takes place. On the other hand, 

 the smaller species of caterpillars, or those which are of more 

 rapid growth, pupate l:)efore the parasitic maggots emerge from 

 them. This is the case w'lih Pteris rapae and Vanessa cardiii. 

 Another explanntion may l)e, that in the case of these latter 

 species, the eggs of the parasite are deposited upon the caterpillars 

 when they are more nearly full-grown, and hence the young 

 maggot has not yet reached a large enough size to interfere with 

 the development of its host when the latter is ready to pupate; 

 so it pupates, but soon thereafter the parasite becomes full-grown, 

 consuming the juices of the pupa in doing so, and l)reaking an 

 opening in the pupa-case, wriggles out and lets itself slowly down 

 to tlie ground l)y a strand of slimy material which it excretes and 

 sloughs off at the posterior end of Ixxly by its constant wriggling. 

 One or two is the usual number of maggots per caterpillar; but 

 there are sometimes more. I have ol)tained as many as five. 

 \\'hen there are so many they do not have food enough, and 

 produce stunted, undersized adult specimens. 



Chaeto^^aedia nionticola (Bigot). 



Grinisliaw, Fauna Hawaiiensis, III, Pt. 1, p. 20, 1901. 

 This is a larger Tachinid, occurring thruout the group, usually 

 from the lowlands up to 4,000 feet. It is also reported from 

 California. I have l)red it from several species of caterpillars, 

 mostly cut worms, army worms, etc. : Lejicaiiia unipimcta, Leti- 

 cania pyrrhias, Agrotis dislocata, A. chicHpe?i7iis, Plusia chalcites, 

 Scotorythra vara, cane leaf -roller {Ontiodes accepa) , Omiodes con- 

 tinuatalis, Phlyctaeniavwnticolans 'a\\^ Hyvienia reairvalis. Dr. 

 Perkins has l>red it also from tlie " Peelua " {Spodoptera mauri- 

 /m) and the Hau moth {Cosmophila sabulUera) . It lias l)een 

 ))red by Mr. Giffard from a ))lack army worm, wliich has lately 

 appeared in quite large numlx-rs on Tantalus and whose identity 

 is at present unknown. Mr. Kirkaldy reports a pupa of the 

 butterfly Vanessa cardui parasitized by this fly. It is thus seen 



