4 BULLETIN 261, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



changes to a dirty white with the head of the larva plainly visible at 

 one end. The unfertilized egg remains white. After hatching the 

 shell is white and retains its shape. The eggs are deposited singly or 

 in small irregular groups, usually in cracks or crevices of the bark, or 

 in the absence of such places they are rather insecurely glued to 

 smooth surfaces (PI. II, e). They are easily broken away from the 

 surface to which they are attached. 



THE LARVA. 



In leaving the egg the larva (PL II, b) gnaws out an irregular 

 hole in one end and leaves the shell in two or three minutes. The 

 newly-hatched larva is very active; its color is white throughout 

 with the exception of the very large dark brown head, and the ali- 

 mentary tract which shows plainly from its reddish coloration. After 

 a few days of feeding the color of the body changes to a dingy white 

 and later to a brownish green, somewhat lighter on the ventral sur- 

 face. The full-grown larva averages about 25 mm. in length by 3 

 mm. in width. The head is dark brown; the cervical shield, pale 

 yellow, with black markings on either side. The anal plate is brown 

 and the thoracic legs are light brown with darker tips. There is great 

 variation in the color and size of individual specimens. 



THE PUPA. 



When first formed, the color of the pupa (PI. 11,/) is light olive 

 green, which changes in one or two days to light brown and 24 hours 

 before emergence to dark brown and then black. The size is variable, 

 but averages about 10 mm. by 3 mm. The wing sheaths are some- 

 what lighter brown and extend about two-thirds of the total length 

 of the body. The eyes are black, the spiracles well denned, and the 

 last abdominal segment has a variable number of stout hooked spines. 



THE ADULT. 



The adult female (PI. II, a) measures about 1 inch across the 

 expanded wings. The average measurements of 10 specimens were: 

 Spread of wings, 19.5 mm. ; length of body, 8.4 mm.; width of body, 

 1.4 mm. The head, thorax, legs, and abdomen are a light gray. 

 The fore wings are grayish brown with a broad, wavy band of black 

 and brown markings across the outer third. There is considerable 

 variation in the color pattern of the fore wings, however, and fre- 

 quently these markings are almost or entirely absent. The hind 

 wings are smoky with a distinct black marginal line. 



The insect was first described by Walker in 1863. The following 

 is his description: 



Nephopteryx sernifuneralis n. s. Female, blackish cinereous, dingy cinereous beneath. 

 Palpi smooth, slender, hardly curved, obliquely ascending, not rising higher than the 



