No. 4.] GYPSY MOTH — APPENDIX. 405 



description was prepared were taken in Massachusetts, New 

 Jersey, Maryland and Colorado, and from its wide distribu- 

 tion and occurrence on many plants the opinion was ex- 

 pressed that the species was predaceous in habits. That 

 such is the case our observations of the past two years 

 afford ample evidence. We have repeatedly found this 

 diminutive Hemipteron engaged in destroying tent caterpil- 

 lars, and on several occasions have taken it in the act of 

 feeding upon gypsy moth larvae. 



While as yet we have been unable to rear this species 

 through its transformations, the dates of our captures of 

 nymphs and imagoes lead us to the opinion that the insect 

 is double-brooded, and doubtless hibernates in the imago 

 state. 



Description of Full-grown JSTijm^ih. — (Plate 2, Fig. 7.) 

 Length, 5 to 6 mm. Body broad, very compact. Head 

 somewhat sunken in prothorax, deeply cleft in front, thickly 

 dotted with reddish brown and margined with black. A 

 very short and very blunt spine projects laterally in front 

 of either eye. Eyes dark brown, Iwrdered posteriorly with 

 sordid yellow. Prothorax thickly punctured with dark 

 brown except at lateral margins, which are of a pale yellow 

 color. At the humeral angles the dots are aggregated into 

 a dark brown or black spot. Scutellum and wing-pads of 

 the same color as prothorax, except that the outer anterior 

 part of each wing-pad is marked with reddish yellow. 

 Abdomen pale yellow, heavily dotted with vermilion. 

 On the lateral margins of each abdominal segment there is 

 a semi-elliptical black spot, which is divided by a narrow 

 yellow band extending parallel to the margin. On the dor- 

 sum are five transverse black spots, each of the three ante- 

 rior being divided transversely by a ^^ellow line. The spot 

 immediately behind the scutellum is quite narrow ; the sec- 

 ond and third spots are large and prominent ; the fourth and 

 fifth scarcely more than short transverse l)lack lines. 



Under surfoce of head and thorax amber yellow, heavily 

 bordered with black. There is a small white spot at the 

 base of each antenna. Abdomen of the same general color 

 as upper surface. Antenna? dark brown throughout ; first 



