May, 1886.] 
Sphingidae of New England. 
VI. S. ASTYLUS.—Drury. 

General color, reddish-brown or cinnamon 
color. Thorax with a ferruginous dorsal stripe, 
Tegulae tinged with rosy white in the female. 
Abdomen with a faint brownish dorsal line, and 
a yellowish stripe on each side. 
Anterior wings, with a bluish stripe along the 
inner margin, above the middle of which the 
wing has a yellowish cast; there is a line of the 
same hue near the median nervule, joining it near 
the inner angle; in the subterminal space are two 
or three sub-terminal whitish bands, tinged with 
roseate ; a tawny yellow spot at the tip, and also 
one at the inner angle. There are also three pale 
cross lines near the outer part of the costa. 
Posterior wings tawny yellow, shading to a red- 
dish-brown at the outer margin. Above the in- 
ner angle isa black ocellus with a blue pupil, and 
on the costa are two pale lilac lines. 
Under side bright tawny yellow, with several 
whitish lines corresponding nearly to the mark- 
ings on the upper side. The yellow spots show 
very faintly. Expanse 24 inches. 
Larvee: Prof. C. H. Fernald says “the larvee is 
about two inches long, of a pale green color, 
variegated with dorsal and lateral yellow and red 
stripes and spots, somewhat like myops. The 
caudal horn is light brown at the base and tip, 
pale green in center.” 
Food plants: The rose family, swamp blueber- 
ry and perhaps the low huckleberry. 

Spring Notes. 
BY F. A. BATES, 80. BRAINTREE, MASS. 
March 26, 1886. I saw to-day, for the first 
time this year, Vanessa Antiopa flying about in 
the high oak woods. I also saw Brephos Infans, 
but was unable to capture the single specimen I 
saw, as he was apparently on a very urgent mis- 
sion. This moth was near a grove of birches, 
upon which the larvee of this species feeds. This 
is the earliest record of this insect, which I find 
in my field notes. In 1884, the first was seen 
April 18th. In 1885, the first was April 19th. 
The prospects for a good season for collecting 
does not now look very promisiug. Very few 
pupze are to be found, and many of them are ap- 
parently dead. 
I desire to call the attention of collectors to 
four members of the Lycesnidee, known to many 
under the name of Polyomattus or Cyaniris, viz : 
L. pseudargiolus, Bd.; LL. Violacea, Hdw.; L 
Neglecta, Hdw.; L. Lucia, Avrby, and to request 
AND OOLOGIST. 79 
them to send me notes of the dates and circum- 
stances of the capture of these four species. I ap- 
pend descriptions. 
1. L. pseupARGronus, Bd. Upper side of wings, 
deep azure blue. Fringes, black on the apical 
portion of the anteriors, and white, barred with 
black on the remainder of the wings. Under 
side, pale silvery-gray, marked with pale brown, 
as follows: A row of spots along the outer mar- 
gin, each preceded by a crescent; a curved row 
of elongated spots across the anteriors between 
the discal cell and the outer border; also a few 
small spots at the base of the hind wing. 
2. L. nucra, Airby. This form has the upper 
side the same as the last, but the terminal spots 
on the under side are so enlarged and run to- 
gether as to form a terminal band, and the spots 
on the basal portion of the posteriors are in- 
creased and so run together as to form a more or 
less complete discal patch ; the color of the under 
side is also darker than in the last mentioned. 
3. L. vioLAckA, Hdw. This form is like all of 
this little group, azure blue; it has on its under 
side the dark points on the disk of the posteriors, 
and pale dusky spots and crescents on the mar- 
gin, but they are not run together as in lucia. 
4, necLtEctA, Hdw. This form has the upper 
side of the posteriors paler than the anteriors ; 
the under side is also paler and the markings are 
not so distinct as in vdolacea, although very simi- 
lar. 
I find that there is still another form, called 
L. marginata, which I have never seen, which 
has the marginal band on the under side of the 
posteriors as in the form /ueta, but has the disk 
as in violacea. 
The larvee of this group live on the ground nut, 
spirea, red-root, cornel and holly. 
On May 2, 1883, I took L. lucia in a grove of 
hard wood trees. 
The next year, 1884, my first capture was April 
23d, in the same locality. 
May 3d was the first date in 1885. 
The form Zucia was in all cases the first taken, 
the others following after in a period of from 
three to six weeks, pseudargiolus appearing sec- 
ond and violacea third, but so nearly together 
were the last two that they may have reversed 
the order. 
I would be pleased to hear from collectors as 
to these forms. 
——>_—_— 
ERRATA. 
Page 14, second column, 1Sth line from the bottom, for 
grass read frass. 
Page 15, first column, 15th line from the bottom, for fine- 
ly read firmly. 
