272 



THE AMERICAN 



only, show mostly tlie yellow, and are not annulated. 

 Oirthe posterior legs are two pairs of short spurs, the 

 lower e.iiial. the niiprr ilirtrrinir in IrnL'tli h\ nne-fourth. 

 ^Vliite encii-.-lf^ llir rvs, ol,-.,-urrlv -.. :il".vc. 

 'J'jie V' .lillri-^ IVniii thr Ir ill :i hii-rr |,)-,. portion of 



i-hl 



lioth. 



on tlie inlerior >url:irr, Uiu lju^;il li:iil "I tlir Iringe is 

 ashy white, then nearly blaek, and barely tii>ped with 

 yellowish white. The $ antenna; show anuulations. 



This Hesperian agrees in some striliing points 

 with //. alternata, Gr. and Rob. (Georgia) 

 Trans. Am. Eiit. Soc, Vol. I, page 3, but has 

 marlicd difl'orcnccs. TI. W. Parker. 



Gkinnell, Iowa, .Jnne'23. iJSTll, 



INSECTS IN.IURIOUS TO THE GRAPE- VINE.-No. 10. 

 Tlie Common Yellow 



{Spi'losoma virginica, Fabr.) 

 [Fig. 170.1 



Colo 



-(a) 1 ollo' 



)\\lHtC, 



l)hi(k and oiange 



This is one of ovir most common North Ameri- 

 can iusoets. The moth (Fig. 170, c) which is 

 vny ucneially dnbbcd " the Miller," frequently 

 liics into our rooms at nijiht; and there are quite 

 a nniiibor of our AVrstcrn ranucrs who. souicIkiw 

 or other, liavc got (lir idea tliiil llii- ■■Miller" is 

 the in.sect that inl'csis (heir bcc-hivcs— tliat it is. 

 in short, the Bee-moth. Of course no such ridi- 

 culous idea could for a moment prevail among 

 tlie readers of the Entomologist; but, unfor- 

 tunately, there are yet many good souls in the 

 country who think they know all about Bugs, 

 and who would scout the idea of taking a journal 

 devoted primarily to the history and habits of 

 these little beings. 



Though the moth is so common, how low 

 persons ever think of it as the parent of that most 

 troublesome of caterpillars, which Harris has so 

 aptly termed the Yellow Bear (Fig. 170,a). Tliese 

 caterpillars arc quite frequently found on the 

 Grape-vine, and when about one-fourth grown 

 bear a considerable resemblance to the mature 

 larva of the Grape-vine Plume figured in our last 

 number. They seldom appear, however, till that 

 species has disappeared, and may always be 



distinguished from it by their semi-gregarious 

 habit at this time of their life, and by living 

 cxiiosed on the leaf (generally the under side) 

 instead of forming a retreat within which to hide 

 themselves, as does the Plume. 



The Yellow Bear is found of all sizes from 

 June to October ; and though quite fond of the 

 Vine, is by no means confined to that plant. It 

 is, in fact, a very general feeder, being found on 

 a great variety of herbaceous plants, both wild 

 and cultivated, as butternut, lilac, beans, peas, 

 convolvulus, corn, currant, gooseberry, cotton, 

 sunflower, plantain, smart -weed, verbenas, 

 geraniums, and almost any plant with soft, 

 tender leaves. These caterpillars are indeed so 

 inditfercnt as to their diet, that we have actually 

 known one (o subsisi ciilirclx-. IVoiii the time it 

 cast iN liiM -kill (ill it >|.iiii ii|,. ,11, ,l,.;,il bodies 

 of the Caiiirl Crii-kcl (M.ndls ran,/ii,a). 



"When >ouiig they are invariably bluish- white, 

 but when full-grown they may be found cither of 

 a pale cream-color, yellow, light brown, or very 

 dark brown, the diflcrent colors often appearing 

 in the same brood of worms, as we have proved 

 by experiment. Yellow is the most common 

 ( olor, and in all the varieties the venter is dark, 

 .111(1 there is a characteristic longitudinal black 

 line, more or less interrupted, along each side of 

 (111' body, and a transverse line of the same color 

 (-ometimes faint) between each of the joints: 

 the head and feet are ochre-yellow, and the hairs 

 spring from dark yellow warts, of wliich there 

 are 10 on each joint, those on joint 1 being 

 scarcely distinguishable, and those on joint 12 

 coalescing. There are two broods of those 

 worms each year, the broods intermixing, and 

 (he liisi ]iassiiig the winter in the chrysalis state. 

 The rlir\ >alis (Fig. 170, b) is formed in a trivial 

 cocoon, constructed almost entirely of the cater- 

 pillar's hairs, which, though held in position by 

 a few very fine silken threads, are fastened to- 

 gether mainly by the interlocking of their minute 

 barbs, and the manner in which the caterpillar 

 interweaves them. 



The moth makes its apijearance as early as the 

 first of May in the latitude of St. Louis, but may 

 often be found much earlier in stove-waraied 

 rooms. It is easily recognized by its pure white 

 color, by its abdomen being orange above, with 

 three rows of black spots, and by the black dots 

 on its wings. These dots vary in number, there 

 being usually two on each of the front and tlirce 

 on each of the hind wings, though sometimes 

 they are all more or less obsolete, except that on 

 the disk of the front wings. 



It is fortunate for us that this caterpillar is 

 attacked by a large number of insect parasites; 



