﻿Ixxiii 
  

  

  of 
  the 
  Argentine 
  Republic 
  — 
  at 
  least, 
  I 
  have 
  never 
  seen 
  it 
  or 
  

   heard 
  of 
  it 
  from 
  other 
  parts. 
  It 
  is 
  not 
  found 
  south 
  of 
  Cordoba, 
  

   as 
  its 
  food-plant 
  does 
  not 
  grow 
  further 
  south, 
  and 
  I 
  believe 
  

   the 
  food-plant 
  is 
  not 
  found 
  much 
  further 
  north 
  than 
  Santiago 
  

   del 
  Estero. 
  It 
  has 
  taken 
  me 
  about 
  six 
  years 
  to 
  find 
  the 
  food- 
  

   plant 
  of 
  this 
  moth, 
  or 
  rather 
  caterpillar, 
  I 
  caught 
  a 
  bad 
  

   specimen 
  of 
  a 
  female 
  about 
  six' 
  years 
  ago, 
  and 
  got 
  it 
  to 
  lay 
  

   eggs. 
  The 
  eggs 
  came 
  out 
  in 
  due 
  time, 
  and 
  I 
  tried 
  all 
  the 
  food- 
  

   plants 
  I 
  could 
  find 
  in 
  the 
  neighbourhood 
  where 
  I 
  caught 
  the 
  

   female, 
  which 
  by 
  the 
  by 
  was 
  while 
  it 
  was 
  flying 
  round 
  an 
  arc 
  

   lamp. 
  All 
  the 
  caterpillars 
  died, 
  as 
  I 
  could 
  not 
  get 
  them 
  to 
  

   feed 
  on 
  anything. 
  Since 
  then 
  I 
  have 
  caught 
  males 
  around 
  

   the 
  arc 
  lamps 
  near 
  the 
  outskirts 
  of 
  the 
  city, 
  but 
  I 
  never 
  saw 
  

   another 
  female 
  till 
  this 
  year 
  (1918), 
  and 
  again 
  I 
  got 
  it 
  to 
  lay 
  

   eggs. 
  As 
  I 
  always 
  found 
  the 
  insect 
  in 
  the 
  outskirts 
  of 
  the 
  

   city, 
  I 
  thought 
  perhaps 
  the 
  food-plant 
  might 
  be 
  some 
  fruit 
  

   tree 
  not 
  generally 
  found 
  except 
  in 
  the 
  fruit 
  gardens. 
  The 
  tree 
  

   I 
  decided 
  on 
  was 
  apricot, 
  and 
  when 
  the 
  eggs 
  hatched 
  I 
  put 
  the 
  

   caterpillars 
  on 
  apricot 
  trees. 
  They 
  started 
  to 
  eat, 
  but 
  were 
  

   very 
  restless, 
  and 
  after 
  a 
  few 
  days 
  some 
  died. 
  Meanwhile 
  I 
  

   made 
  inquiries 
  from 
  the 
  gardeners, 
  if 
  they 
  had 
  ever 
  found 
  a 
  

   caterpillar 
  with 
  long 
  horns 
  ; 
  but 
  no 
  one 
  had, 
  so 
  I 
  came 
  to 
  the 
  

   conclusion 
  that 
  this 
  could 
  not 
  be 
  the 
  food-plant. 
  I 
  accordingly 
  

   went 
  out 
  into 
  the 
  country 
  and 
  collected 
  samples 
  of 
  the 
  various 
  

   shrubs 
  and 
  trees. 
  Meanwhile, 
  out 
  of 
  sixty 
  caterpillars 
  only 
  

   about 
  twenty 
  were 
  left. 
  The 
  one 
  plant 
  they 
  seemed 
  to 
  take 
  

   to 
  was 
  a 
  tree 
  known 
  as 
  ' 
  Quebracho 
  Blanco,' 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  

   Argentine 
  hard- 
  wood 
  trees 
  with 
  thick 
  leaves. 
  I 
  thought 
  I 
  had 
  

   now 
  discovered 
  the 
  right 
  food-plant, 
  and 
  so 
  one 
  Sunday 
  went 
  

   out 
  with 
  the 
  idea 
  of 
  trying 
  to 
  find 
  the 
  caterpillar. 
  I 
  did 
  not 
  

   find 
  any 
  on 
  this 
  particular 
  tree, 
  but 
  found 
  it 
  on 
  a 
  shrub 
  belong- 
  

   ing 
  to 
  the 
  same 
  class 
  known 
  as 
  ' 
  Quebracho 
  flojo,' 
  its 
  Latin 
  

   name 
  being 
  Todina 
  rhombifolia. 
  All 
  the 
  caterpillars 
  I 
  had 
  left 
  

   now 
  changed 
  over 
  to 
  this 
  food-plant 
  except 
  two, 
  which 
  kept 
  

   to 
  the 
  apricot, 
  became 
  full 
  grown 
  and 
  pupated. 
  I 
  have 
  alto- 
  

   gether 
  about 
  thirty 
  pupae 
  now 
  ; 
  one 
  so 
  far 
  has 
  emerged. 
  They 
  

   have 
  been 
  in 
  the 
  pupa 
  stage 
  about 
  a 
  month 
  now, 
  and 
  I 
  am 
  

   not 
  sure 
  that 
  they 
  wont 
  lie 
  over 
  till 
  spring. 
  The 
  caterpillar 
  

   is 
  a 
  typical 
  Citheronia, 
  with 
  four 
  long 
  horns 
  at 
  the 
  front 
  and 
  

  

  