30 _ ORNITHOLOGIST 
worm, which feeds on the leaves of the Ailantus 
glandulosa, was introduced into Europe in 1856, 
by M. Guerin de Méneville, and thence to the 
United States in 1860 by Dr. Thos. Stewardson of 
Philadelphia. It is a native of the north of China, 
lat. 35-40°. The plant upon which it feeds is 
known as the “Chinese Tree of Heaven,” known 
in its native country as ‘‘Adanto.” It is a tree of 
large dimensions with straight trunk, smooth 
brown bark and luxuriant foliage, the leaves are 2-5 
feet in length with 10-20 pairs of leaflets and an 
odd one. The flowers are green, very ill scented, 
as is also the freshly broken wood and foliage ; 
blooms in May and June. It has been introduced 
into this country and has been found to be exceed- 
ingly hardy, surviving and even flourishing in 
some of our severest winters and droughts. 
Of one lot of these worms raised in the summer 
of 1885, the parents left the cocoons on July 17th, 
mated at night of July 18th, and on July 19th 274 
eggs were deposited. (Dr. Stewardson writes that 
his moths attached at 10 p. m., and remained ¢ 
coitu till 6 a. m., depositing 280 eggs.) Of those 
raised in 1885 the sexes invariably attached at 
night and remained so for from 8-20 hours ; for 
some hours before, the male was very restless, 
fluttering about and breaking his wings against 
the sides of the glass case in which they were 
confined. The female laid eggs in single and 
double lines, and in clusters of from 1-30; these 
eggs were hatched on July 28th. 
At first the worms were of a yellowish color 
with black tubercles, and black spots on the un- 
derside of the abdomen. They apparently had 
five stages of existence, but the dates of moulting 
were not accurately observed, owing to absence, 
In the third stage it becomes almost white. In 
the fourth stage it is from one to two inches in 
length, turning gradually green with green tuber- 
cles, and head and feet yellow. In the last stage 
the color is a beautiful emerald green with tuber- 
cles of marine blue, until it ceases to eat, when it 
turns to a yellowish green, and is about three 
inches in length. 
On Aug. 21st the worms commenced spinning. 
One attached itself to the glass door of the vivari- 
ium and one to the corner, but the most of them 
attached to the leaves. Their method was as fol- 
lows: The caterpillar crawls in between two 
leaves which hang closely together, (sometimes 
rolling a single leaf about it) draws the edges to- 
vether with a few threads and then carries the 
thread along the pedicel of the leaf to the pedun- 
cle, around which it is firmly wrapped, (probably 
a provision of safety,) and continues until the 
pedicel and interior of leaf are entirely coated, it 
[Vol. 11-No. 2 
then weaves its cocoon, drawing the leaf more 
tightly around it as it nears completion. 
The eggs are equally large at both ends, of a 
white color with a black spot, turning gray as 
they near the hatching period. 
The cocoon is elongated, of a pale gray color, 
very close tissue, one and one half to one and three 
quarters of an inch long and about three fourths 
of an inch thick. The silk appears to be very 
strong. It is said the silk is wound in a zig- 
zag course, making it difficult to reel in a con- 
tinuous thread. 
The perfect moth expands from 5-54 inches; 
head and antenne greyish brown; antennee strong- 
ly pectinate; thorax and abdomen lighter grey or 
buff-colored; wings with a broad transverse light- 
colored band, edged interiorly with white, near 
the middle, the space within which (forming 
nearly an equilateral triangle) is brownish-gray, 
and that without ash-color running into brownish 
gray at the margin of the wings. Just within the 
margins there are two narrow brown streaks run- 
ning parallel with them, somewhat interrupted 
before reaching a dark purple spot near the apex 
of the anterior wings, this spot is surmounted by a 
white crescent, and a zig-zag white line runs from 
it to the tip. The basal portion of the anterior 
wings is traversed by an ash-colored bar com- 
mencing on the posterior edges next the shoulder, 
and after continuing in a nearly straight line for 
about an inch is suddenly deflected and termi- 
nates on the anterior margin; at the apex of the 
angle formed by this line is a translucent spot, in 
nearly the shape of a crescent, surmounted with 
black. The posterior wings likewise bear a simi- 
lar spot, but more crescent shaped, and toward 
their base is an ash-colored arched bar bounded 
on the outer side with black. The under side 
differs principally in being paler, and is destitute 
of the bars at the base, except that the base of the 
angular bar of the anterior wings shows slightly. 
According to Morris the male differs in being 
usually smaller, abdomen much shorter and 
smaller and conical toward the end; antenne 
shorter and wider and do not taper to such an 
acute point as those of the female; the amount of 
white in the posterior portion of the tergum is 
much more considerable ; the front between the 
eyes is much broader and shorter ; posterior wings 
a little longer, and the anal extremity is furnished 
each side inferiorly with a broad articulated lap, 
which covers the genital organs and is furnished 
at the lower posterior edge, with two hooks, 
which, together with other hooks around the 
genital pieces, serve to secure him tightly to the 
female during the long process of fecundation, 
