1898.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 189 



anterior tarsi with rather short spines; tibial spurs black; extreme apex 

 of second abdominal segment testaceous; wings dusky at apex. 



Hab. — Alameda Co., Cal. Taken in Sept. by A. Koebele. 

 Type No. 5019, U. S. Nat. Mus. 



(3) Miscopbinus texanus n. sp. 9 • — Length 5 mm. In general appearance 

 this species closely resembles M. californicus, but the collar is brownish 

 ferruginous, the clypeus, mandibles, scape, pedicel and legs ferruginous, 

 the middle and hind coxae at base behind, dusky or blackish; abdomen 

 mostly dark rufous, the two or three apical segments blackish, the ventral 

 segments blackish toward their base; the venation is similar to the two 

 previous species, except that the submedian cell is somewhat shorter and 

 the petiole of the second submarginal cell is much shorter, being scarcely 

 one-third the length of the side of the cell. 



Hab. — Bosque County, Texas. Coll. G. W. Belfrage. 



Type No. 5020, U. S. Nat. Mus. 



It may be well to state here that the type of Nysson ? inerme 

 Cr. is in the National Museum. Type No. 17 14. As indicated 

 by Cresson, it is not a true Nysson, but belongs to this group in 

 the genus Nitelopsis Saunders. I cannot agree with Herr Kohl 

 in suppressing this genus and merging it with Solierella Spinola. 

 It forms a natural group between Scaphentes Handl. and Sylaon 

 Piccioli. 



NOTES ON MISSOURI SPHINGES. 



By R. R. Rowley, Louisiana, Mo. 



Of all our hawk-moths the larva of Paonias exccecatus is the 

 most general feeder. In the Autumn of 1887 I experienced little 

 difficulty in gathering together a great number of the caterpillars 

 of this species, and while most of them came from apple and 

 plum, others were found feeding on tame cherry, apricot, elm, 

 sugar-maple, willow, sycamore and oak. The species is double 

 brooded here and the larvae may be found from June to mid- 

 October, surviving severe frosts. It is a hardy ' ' worm' ' and 

 easily reared in bags or glass-jars, but suffers severely from the 

 attacks of a small parasitic hymenopter whose cocoons we often 

 see covering the whole body of the larva. There is some varia- 

 tion in the color of the imagoes, but the handsomest form and 

 one of our prettiest hawks is a large female, the red of the hind 

 wing beautifully blending with a rose-colored forewing. 



