146 VITIS LABRUSCA. 
within the fourth segment, which gives them a short and blunt appearance wnen 
at rest. As they attain a length of three inches or more, and are of a propor- 
tionable thickness, they devour great quantities of leaves, which is often evinced 
by the long, leafless branches of the grape-vine, as well as those of the Virgin- 
ian creeper (Ampelopsis quinquefolia.) They arrive at full growth in the 
month of August, enter the earth, where they undergo their transformations, and 
appear in the perfect or moth state, in June and July, of the following year. 
The vine suffers still more severely from another species of sphinx caterpillar, 
smaller in size than the preceding, and, like them, solitary in their habits. Ac- 
cording to Dr. Harris, they are not content with eating the leaves alone, in their 
progress from leaf to leaf down the stem, but stop at every cluster of fruit, and, 
either from stupidity or disappointment, nip off the stalks of the half-grown 
grapes, and allow them to fall, untasted, to the ground. These caterpillars are 
fleshy and naked, generally of a pale-green, but sometimes brown, with a row 
of orange-coloured spots on the top of the back, and six or seven oblique lines, 
of a brown or dark-green, on each side. The head and fore part of the body are 
somewhat retractile, but less so than those of the preceding species ; and on the 
hinder extremity of the body there is a short horn or spine. When fully grown, 
they conceal themselves, early in autumn, under the fallen leaves, which they 
draw together by a few threads, form themselves a cocoon, or cover themselves 
with grains of earth and rubbish, by a similar process, where they transform, 
and finally appear in a winged state in the month of July of the succeeding year. 
The larva? of the Procris americana are gregarious in their habits, and congre- 
gate side by side on the same leaf, and only disperse when they are about to 
form their cocoons. They are represented as being slightly hairy, of a greenish 
colour, with black bands ; their cocoons of an oblong-oval, very tough, and fas- 
tened by one side to the leaves or stems of the plants on which they feed. The 
winged insects make their appearance, in Massachusetts, towards the end of July. 
They are of a bluish-black, with a saffron-coloured collar, and a notched tuft on 
the extreme end of their bodies. Their wings are very narrow, and expand 
about an inch. The larvae of the Etidridas grata, when fully grown, are an 
inch and a half or more in length, of a blue colour, transversely banded with 
deep-orange across the middle of each ring, with the bands dotted with black. 
The head and feet are also of an orange, the top of the eleventh ring somewhat 
bulging, and the fore part of the body hunched up when the insect is at rest. 
They occur in the greatest abundance in the months of July and August, and 
none will be found on the vines after September. They devour all parts of the 
leaves of the grape-vines, as well as those of the Virginian creeper, even to the 
mid-rib and stalks. When at rest, they generally cling to the under sides of the 
leaves ; although many may be found on the same plant, they do not associate 
with each other. When they quit the vines, they bury themselves in the ground, 
to a depth of three or four inches, and change to dark-brown chrysalides with- 
out cocoons. The moths, which sometimes appear towards the last of June, are 
small in size, expanding from an inch and a half to an inch and three-fourths, 
and outvie all its congeners in delicacy of colouring and beauty of design.* 
Among the Hymenoptera, we recognize but one species which attacks the 
grape-vine, the Selandria vitis, or saw-fly, of Harris. The perfect insect is 
described by him as being of a jet-black colour, except the upper side of the 
thorax, which is red, and the fore legs and the under side of the other legs, 
which are whitish or pale-yellow. The wings are semi-transparent, of a smoky 
colour, with dark-brown veins. The body of the female measures one fourth of 
an inch in length, and that of the male somewhat less. These flies rise from 
* See Harris' Report, p. 310. 
