THE LIFE-HISTORY OF A COCHLIDIAN MOTH— .IDO- 

 NETA BICAUDATA DYAR* 



Harrison G. Dyar, 



Custodian of Lepidoptera, U. S. National Museum, Washington, D. C. 



The larvae of the Cochlididas, or slug caterpillars, are especi- 

 ally interesting to the entomologist on account of their peculiar 

 forms and considerable diversity of structure. The author has 

 been interested in this family for twenty years, and has been so 

 fortunate as to work out the life-histories of many of the species 

 inhabiting the Atlantic coast region of North America, as well as 

 a few foreign ones. The results have been pubHshed in a number 

 of articles ;'"^^ so it is not necessary to repeat here the general struc- 

 tural characters of these larvae. They are highly specialized forms 

 of Tineoidea or Microlepidoptera; that is, the larvae are highly 

 specialized. The moths have not shared in the complication of 

 structure exhibited in their early stages. The family is spread 

 throughout the world, and is doubtless of early origin in geologic 

 time. 



North of Florida and Texas, where peculiar forms occur, 26 

 species are at present known. Of these I have found the larvae 

 of 20, and have been especially interested to secure the remain- 

 ing six, if possible. It was the search for one of these, Monoleuca 

 semijascia Walker, which resulted in the knowledge of the life- 

 history of Adoneta hicaudata, though not successful in its immediate 

 object. In 1898 and 1899 I made collections of larvae at Morris 

 Plains, N. J., where it was said that Monoleuca had been taken 

 many years ago, hoping that it might still be there. The larv£e 

 were very small; but as nothing that looked to be the one sought 

 appeared, they were turned over to Mr. L. H. Joutel, of New York. 

 Later in the season Mr. Joutel called my attention to two larvae 

 which were new to him that he had noticed among his stock, and 

 which he thought were from among those I had given him, or else 

 came from Long Island. The new larva was allied to Adoneta 

 spinuloides Herrich-Schaeffer, and we thought it might be the Mono- 



♦Received for publication October 5, 1905. 



II 



