430 [November, 



at once to the faot that Boisduval in the Annales de la Societe Entomologique do 

 France, 2d Series, vol. x, p. 294, 1852, has already used that name for a thoroughly 

 good and well-known species found in the United States from Florida to California. — 

 E. M. Aaron, Philadelphia : September llth, 1889. 



Description of the larva of Sericoris fuligana, Saw., Stn., abscisana, Dbld. — 

 I met with this larva quite accidentally last autumn. Eupoecilia dubitana had 

 appeared plentifully on some rough ground near the river, and it appeared to frequent 

 (probably for shelter) the common creeping-rooted thistle, which, of course, abounded 

 there. As no known food-plant of dubitana grew upon the ground, I searched the 

 thistle-heads for its larva, but without success. I found, however, that a very 

 different larva was mining and drawing together the young shoots, and this proved 

 to be the long looked for larva of Sericoris fuligana. 



This larva was, at that time — the end of September — rather sluggish, living in 

 the side shoots of this thistle (Carduus arvensis), drawing together the young leaves, 

 eating oat the pith and the heart of the shoot, and passing readily to a fresh shoot 

 at will. It is cylindrical, slender, wrinkled, especially towards the head, dull bluish- 

 green, with slightly shining raised clots, and very minute hairs, head shining olive- 

 brown, plates and feet similar, but paler, prolegs bluish-green. When full-fed they 

 left the shoots to spin up among dry rubbish, gauze and paper being willingly used. 

 Probably, they did not assume the pupa state until the spring, as very few emerged ; 

 these came out in May. 



In June, larva? were again feeding in the thistle shoots, but were very much 

 more active, and moved constantly from shoot to shoot. There seemed to be a suc- 

 cession of larva? through the month, and the moths emerged from time to time 

 througli July. The pupa is pretty ; pale brown, with green wing cases, in a neat 

 tight cocoon. 



At liberty the moth seems very sluggish. I could only find it on the wing on 

 one evening after sunset, and very sparingly. It appears to be extremely local. — 

 Chas. Gr. Barrett, Norfolk Street, King's Lynn : September 13th, 1889. 



New food-plant for Etipwcilia dubitana, Mb. — A renewed search for the larva 

 of this species was more successful. It was found feeding in the flower heads of 

 Crepis tectorum. The fat larva nearly filled the head, but the only external indi- 

 cation of its presence was a very slight starting of the pappus. It is not active, 

 very plump, glossy, with delicate hairs ; whitish until full-fed, then tinged with 

 pink. Head pale chestnut, plates both honey-yellow, the dorsal being divided and 

 edged behind with black ; spots, legs, and prolegs of the colour of the body. When 

 quite young its whitish colour is tinged with grey, the dorsal vessel is darker, and 

 dorsal plate blacker. It eats out the seeds, doubtless emptying several heads, and 

 leaves them when full-fed to pupate among rubbish. The pupa is light brown. 

 There are two broods in the year : moths in June and August, larva? in July and 

 September. 



The present is the seventh species of plant upon which this larva has been 

 found, and, like several others, is extremely abundant ; yet the insect is excessively 

 local in its distribution, abounding in certain restricted localities. — Id. 



