38 PACKARD, NOTES ON THE 



extremity. The hairs were sparse, long and rather uneven, much 

 resembling young Orgyiae. Owing to my absence the larvae 

 could not be raised. It will be seen that the larva lives twelve 

 days in the egg, about ten months as a larva, since there is but 

 a single brood in the year, and they must hybernate when two- 

 thirds grown ; it spends about twenty days in the pupa state, 

 and but a few days as a moth. 



I have taken the moth late in July at Perry, Me., and early 

 in August at Brunswick. It flies in the hot sun, hovering over 

 flowers, and is not difficult to capture, since its flight is not 

 strong or rapid. In cloudy days it clings to the stems of 

 plants, and can be easily taken with the hand. 



A good illustration of the larval characters of the family 

 compared with those of the Bombycidae, is seen in the growth 

 of the young Ctenucha, which at first has a very large head and 

 long unequal hairs, like the larvae of Orgyia and in a less de- 

 gree like the Ceratocampadas in their first stage. Afterwards 

 in the third and fourth stage of growth they resemble the 

 Bombycidae in having tufts of longer hairs than those around 

 and differing from them in color. This act of throwing off the 

 characters of a lower family in the course of its growth, is an 

 index of the relative rank of the two groups. The young 

 Ctenucha thus resembles a mature Arctian perhaps as much 

 as any Bombycid, but no particular genus, since the resem- 

 blance is only very general. Stoll's figure, before referred to, 

 shows us a perfect Zygaenid, evidently higher than Ctenucha 

 which resembles strikingly Halesidota which is one of the 

 lowest Arctian genera. If we follow the general law of em- 

 bryology too rigidly in classification we shall be led into occa- 

 sional errors. 



PUPA, female. The pupa is short and thick, approaching rather 

 closely in form that of the Arctians, being shorter than that of 

 Eudryas. Seen from above the body is of nearly equal thick- 

 ness from the thorax to the fourth abdominal ring, thence it 

 diminishes a little in size, until at the eighth ring it suddenly 

 terminates in a mucronate point. At the third abdominal ring 

 however the body is somewhat swollen. 



The head is of good size but not at all prominent, Very 

 slightly projecting beyond the pro-thorax, with which it is very 

 continuous since there is no clypeal tubercle. The vertex 

 (epicranium and occiput) forms a continuous piece with the 

 clypeus ; next to the pro-thorax it spreads out, and has a slight 



