148 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [May, 



for the purpose of protective mimicry, led me to write up this 

 very interesting subject. On May 30, 1894, I removed two 

 small silk flags standing with a number of others in the corner 

 of a room kept for plants and pupae during Winter, with a view 

 of placing there in a window in commemoration of Decoration 

 Day. One of the flags would not unfurl, and to my surprise 

 found a white cocoon of the hybrid ex Attacus ceanothi et A. 

 ceoropia, spun up between the white bars of the silk — a perfect 

 albino of the fleeciest white silk. This cocoon contained a larva, 

 which perished during the transformatory period nearly a year 

 ago. This larva escaped from one of several apple barrels in 

 which full-grown larvae of my hybrids had been placed with a 

 quantity of food-plant there to transform. Barrels were covered 

 with cheese-cloth and fastened with cotton twine. 



All the other cocoons of both of my hybrids ex ceanothi et 

 cecropia and ex Columbia cecropia,^ which were spun up on 

 branches of choke cherry {Prunus serotind), very nearly resem- 

 bled the color of those twigs, or a little darker than a light um- 

 ber-brown. A few cocoons were spun up to the cheese-cloth and 

 others to the side of the barrel near the top of each barrel. 



These cocoons were ever so much lighter in color, and that 

 portion of cocoon adhering to barrel was the counterpart of color 

 of the maple staves, while the part fastened to the cheese-cloth 

 agreed in tint with unbleached muslin. It will be seen that some 

 of the cocoons were of two different tints, according to position 

 where attached. Cocoons spun up against the cloth were .of 

 quite the same color, and of these I had altogether about ten in 

 number. Cocoons found attached to barrel staves were of the 

 color of the wood, and of such I had from fifteen to twenty in 

 all. When found adhering both to cloth and wood, two tints 

 protective in every way were the result. 



The cheese-cloth was a little soiled from frequent use over the 

 barrels in which the larvae were raised in my cellar. When 

 larvae were full grown they were transferred to other barrels 

 on top floor of house, and each of the barrels contained from 

 ninety to one hundred larvae. Of ceanothi et cecropia there were 

 three hundred and eighteen cocoons, and of Columbia et cecropia 



♦Cocoons of Columbia et cecropia were all, when attached to stem of food-plant, a 

 shade or two darker than similar ones of ceanothi et cecropia. But when former were 

 attached to barrel these cocoons were of a protective color. 



