Ghe 
FLORIDA BUGGIST 
Official Organ of The Florida Entomological Society, Gainesville, 
Florida. 
PROFS Je itz WATSON aE Sos patie ae eR On aie ae Seats ; ce Editor 
PRO. WilMONGCNEWHE LESS ee ee Associate Editor 
DRS Ee W. BERGER 5 30 eee eee Business Manager 
Issued once every three months. Free to all members of the 
Society. 
Subscription price to non-members is $1.00 per year in ad- 
vance; 25 cents per copy. 
THE CHASE OF CATOCALA 
What the trout or the tarpon is to the fisherman, or the tiger- 
beetles to the coleopterist, the Catocalas are to the lepidopterist— 
the most “game” of all his prey. The hind wings of many species 
are very showy with wide, curved bands of red or orange. For 
these the moths are called ‘“Underwings”. Their attractive 
colors and goodly size make a desirable showing in the cabinet. 
But in the woods, as the moths squat in their favorite day quar- 
ters on the bark of some tree, these gaudy colors are safely hid- 
den under the somber grays and browns of the fore pair which 
are laid back at an angle of 45 degrees so that the moth forms a 
triangle. The camouflage is perfect and could the moths but sit 
pat, they could rest in peace as far as humans are concerned. 
But if one passes within a yard or two of the tree they invariably 
have an attack of “nerves” and dart away with a quick jerky 
flight and I can no more resist the impulse to give chase than 
can a puppy resist the impulse to pursue any rapidly moving 
thing, be it mouse or railway train. The lepidopterist may 
know full well that he already has a case full of that particular 
species and has no more need of another than has the puppy 
for the train, but the pursuit is the rarest of sports. The primi- 
tive instinct of the chase asserts itself and after the moth he 
goes. But the method of the chase must be that of the cat 
rather than the dog. We will watch the moth as it darts away 
to seek another hiding place, trying first one tree trunk and then 
another until it finds one dark enough to satisfy its negative 
heliotropism. It will always be in dense shade and usually on 
the side away from the sun. Towards dusk the moth may fly 
into the tree tops but very seldom during the middle of the day. 
Still more seldom does one alight on the level ground but often 
(8) 
