﻿NOTES, CAPTURES, ETC. 205 



have, before, occasionally seen small forms at this season of the year. That 

 this moth is certainly affected by locality, as stated duriDg the Tephrosia 

 controversy, is very evident the more one observes it, and that even in 

 southern forms themselves. — T. B. Jefferts ; Clevedon. 



IS EUPITHECIA ABIETARIA, GoZe, IDENTICAL WITH E. TOGATA, HUbnJ 



— Some of the specimens comprised in my series of E. togata agree very 

 well with E. abietaria, Goze, whilst other examples connect these with 

 typical E. togata. All the specimens are from Scotch localities, and the 

 majority were bred from pupae. The variation in size is considerable ; some 

 examples hardly expand three-quarters of an inch, others measure one inch 

 and a quarter. In the large specimens the tips of the wings appear rather 

 more pointed than they do in the small specimens. Some had very bright 

 red bands when they were fresh, but these have now lost their brilliancy. 

 The central black spot of fore wings is always present, but varies in size; 

 in some specimens it unites with one on the costa, and forms a short black 

 fascia. The first and second lines are much nearer together in some speci- 

 mens than in others, and in a few examples these lines exhibit a tendency 

 to unite below the middle. From all I can ascertain of the appearance and 

 habits of the larva of E. abietaria, there is nothing to separate it from that of 

 E. togata, and I certainly fail to find that the two insects are specifically 

 distinct in the perfect state. Compared with abietaria, togata is said to be 

 larger, with bright red bands and larger central black spots, but none of 

 these differences appear to hold good, as there are gradations in expanse 

 and modification of markings. On the Continent, togata is much less 

 frequently met with than abietaria. — Richard South. 



Vitality of thf. Larva of Sptlosoma fdliginosa. — In the January 

 and February numbers of ' Insect Life,' — a periodical edited by Professor 

 Riley, and published by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, — is an 

 interesting account of the life- history of S.fuliginosa, Linn. The writer, 

 Mr. 0. Lugger, says that in the district of St. Anthony, Minn., the species 

 occurs commonly. Late in the autumn, " when the side-walks are covered 

 every morning with a thick layer of frost, the larvae are rather abundant. 

 They leave their hiding-places and crawl over the side-walks ; at this time 

 they are frequently themselves incrusted with crystals of ice. Some few 

 days ago, with the thermometer ranging from 5° to 3° below zero, I found 

 several of them crawling slowly through the snow. When the side-walks, 

 made of boards, become warmed up by the rays of the sun, the caterpillars 

 crawl away to the shady and cooler part." As an instance of the remarkable 

 vitality of the larva, Mr. Lugger observes that on December 3rd, 1889, he 

 found " in a little depression of the soil a clear cake of ice, and embedded in 

 it the larva of the above species. By means of a hot iron I separated a 

 cube of ice with the enclosed larva, and took it to my office. The cater- 

 pillar was entirely and solidly enclosed by the ice; no air-spaces could be 

 detected among the hair. How long the caterpillar had been enclosed I 

 could not say. Left the cube of ice in front of my window, where the tem- 

 perature sunk for two days to 11° below zero. Later the weather moderated, 

 and during the day a little ice would melt near the caterpillar, but never 

 exposing it to the air. After being enclosed for fourteen days, I carefully 

 melted the ice, and removed the caterpillar to a piece of blotting-paper. Tn 

 less than thirty minutes the larva was crawling about, not injured in the 

 least. Yet, to escape further experimentation, it has shown good sense and 



