OF EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA, *>;, 



mestica, Asilussericeus, and others, among diptera ; CKdip- 

 -)Ja sulpkurea and (I, uebuhsa* among orthoptera ; and 

 Argyunis aphrodite* I'tetheisa bctta* Pyratnc/'s cardie i\ 

 Chrysophanus cimcricana* Spilosoma, I'irginica, Zereuc 

 catenaria, and many of the Satyr/dee, Lyacnidce, besides a 

 few of the Nociuidce. 



Oviposition takes place about the middle of May. often as 

 late as the last of the month, or the beginning of June. 

 There is not the slightest indication of a nest. The eggs are 

 deposited upon an open rock, an uncultivated field, or an ex- 

 posed hillside. Not unfrequentlv have \ve found them care- 

 lessly dropped in an old stubble field, in a slight concavity of 

 the soil, the dark, weather-beaten stubble harmonizing so 

 accurately with the natural colors of the female and eggs, as 

 to screen them from observation. The eggs are occasionally 

 deposited in a slight hollow of an exposed rock, whose 

 weather-beaten surfaces. combined with the slate-colored lich- 

 ens and mosses with which they are lined, are well adapted 

 to insure protection. In open grounds, the female has been 

 observed upon the nest, with the hot. scorching rays of the 

 sun pouring down upon her. seemingly unmindful of its in- 

 tense brilliancy. 



In Boston, the modern style of house with the fiat Mansard 

 roof, according to Dr. Brewer, affords a safe and suitable 

 shelter at night, as well as a place of deposit for its eggs. 

 In 1870 and 1871, a number of instances fell under the ob- 

 servation of the same distinguished writer. Dr. Turnbull 

 affirms that the flat roofs of extensive warehouses in Phila- 

 delphia, near the river, were employed for similar purposes. 

 However true in Dr. Turnbull's day. we have no knowledge 

 of such places being chosen, latterly. 



The usual complement of eggs is always two. which are 

 deposited on consecutive days. Incubation instantly succeeds 

 oviposition, and is the exclusive labor of the female, who 

 plies her arduous task with unwearied patience and /eal. for 

 at least fourteen or fifteen days, when her willing labors are 



