50 Tue Ottawa NarTuraList. [May 
The caterpillar of the Checkered Halisidota, when full grown, 
is over an inch in length, with a black head, the body covered 
with hairs of a delicate buff-yellow color. In front are four dorsal 
blackish pencils, or conspicuous tufts, besides which are two pairs 
of shorter lateral white tufts, and, near the end of the body, a 
pair of whitish tufts. At Ottawa the basswood seems to bea 
favorite food plant of the larve, although they are often found on 
a number of other trees, such as hickory, walnut, beech, and fre- 
quently on fruit trees, to which, however, they do no serious harm. 
These caterpillars have, also, been recorded asa nuisance on shade 
trees in cities in New Jersey, but in Canada no complaint of this 
nature has, I think, been made. 
The Spotted Halisidota, 4. 
maculata, Harr., is a more con- 
spicuous moth than Zessellaris. The 
forewings are ochre-yellow, spotted 
with blotches of dark brown, the 
outer of which form a distinct band 
Pahstoie maculae, aris: across the wing. The other blotches 
(Original.) form four partial transverse bands, 
the 2nd, 3rd and 4th of which join, in most specimens, in the 
centre of the wing, forming one large blotch. The body is of 
much the same color as the forewings, and just behind the collar 
are two oblique stripes, which converge and almost form a 
V-shaped mark. The hindwings are paler than the forewings, 
translucent, and without spots. 
The larva of this species is larger and quite different from the 
preceding. The body is black, covered with tufts of bright-yellow 
and black hairs, the black tufts being on the four anterior and 
three posterior segments, and the yellow tufts on the remaining 
segments. The latter are centered down the middle of the back 
with a row of black tufts. We have not found this caterpillar as 
commonly, at Ottawa, as the other two species. The oak is prob- 
ably the favorite food plant, and some writers speak of the species 
as ‘* The Oak Tussock Moth.” 
