ENTOMOLOGICAL CONTRIBUTIONS. 153 



At about the commencement of his entomological studies, in 1864 

 or 1865, and not long; after his arrival in this country, a fine specimen 

 of the above moth was brought to him by a friend who had captured 

 it at Sharon Springs, N. Y., where any desired number of the same, 

 it was stated, could be collected. Charmed with the beauty of the 

 &quot;fair empress of the night,&quot; now for the first time seen by him, and 

 desirous of procuring other examples for himself and for his European 

 friends, as soon thereafter as his engagements permitted, he hastened to 

 Sharon Springs. The day following his arrival there, he visited the 

 hickory groves in the vicinity where the moth was represented as 

 occurring. The season had too far advanced, by several weeks, 

 (August) for the moth ; but on almost every tree, pendant, fruit-like, 

 from the lower branches, on leaves drawn downward by their heavy 

 burden, were found one or more of the caterpillars in their matured 

 garb of transparent green enameled in dots of silver and pearl, so 

 beautiful to the lepidopterist, and not unattractive to the unscientific 

 eye. Sixty-four of the larvae the utmost capacity of his collecting 

 case were carried to his hotel, as a portion of the trophies of the 

 morning ramble. 



Cocoons were obtained from the entire number; for a readines to 

 spin themselves up at any time, after their fourth molting, under the 

 slightest provocation of a temporary withdrawal or an inferior supply 

 of food, is a characteristic of the species (as has also been observed by 

 European entomologists of Aylia tau) ; from this habit undoubtedly 

 results the frequency with which crippled specimens of the moth are 

 met with when artificially reared. 



The following spring when the moths emerged, while they were 

 hanging in profusion from curtains and from the walls about him, 

 Mr. Meske proposed to Dr. Speyer, of Germany, with whom he was 

 in correspondence, to send to him such a number of the cocoons as 

 would serve to test the practicability of the acclimatization of the 

 species in Germany ; not doubting but that the ensuing season would 

 be equally prolific with the preceding. Dr. Speyer was delighted in 

 the prospect of so beautiful an addition to the insect fauna of Europe, 

 and expressed himself as impatient to undertake the experiment. 

 From that period to the present, although Mr. Meske has passed 

 each intervening summer at Sharon, and brought from that superior 

 collecting ground most valuable entomological contributions, not 

 over a half dozen of the cocoons have been sent to Germany, toward 

 the fulfillment of his promise; and in a letter lately received from 



