50 



PAPERS ON INSECTS AFFECTING VEGETABLES. 



DESCRIPTION. 



The moth. — The moth of this species is quite unlike any common 

 form which inhabits the North Atlantic region, being much paler in 

 color. The forewings are gray, with a pinkish tinge in fresh speci- 

 mens. There is a submedian dark spot and a row of spots in the 

 form of a curve in the outer third of the wing. The markings are 

 well illustrated in figure 8 (above). It will be noted that the hind- 

 wings, which are silvery whitish and are more or less tinged on the 

 outer edges with gray, are considerably shorter. The thorax is of 

 about the same color as the fore wings and nearly uniform through- 

 out. The anterior portion of the abdomen is white and the posterior 

 portion, sometimes a little more than half, is gray. The lower sur- 

 face is pale, with the fore wings more or less suffused anteriorly 

 with fuscous. The posterior legs are distinctly tessellated. The 

 abdomen is rather more robust than in many related forms, being- 

 narrower in the male. 

 The wing expanse is 

 1J inches and the 

 length of the body is 

 about five-eighths of 

 an inch. 



The eggs and ear- 

 lier stages of the 

 larva have not been 

 studied to the writer's 

 knowledge. 



The larva. — The 

 larva is subject to 

 considerable variation, which may be dependent on the soil. Speci- 

 mens received from North Carolina, in a very sandy soil, are pale, 

 with a decidedly pinkish tinge. The arrangement of the tubercles 

 is shown in figure 8, as is also the form of the thoracic plate. The 

 larva, when alive and when fully matured, measures about 1J inches, 

 but the inflated specimens run as high as 2 inches in length. 



No specimens of the pupa have been preserved for description. 



Fig. 8. — Porosagrotis vetusta: Moth and larva. 



DISTRIBUTION. 



All of the specimens of this species in the United States National 

 Museum are from New York State, and are labeled as follows: 



Albany, Long Island, Carver, Rochester, and Franklin Countv, 

 N. Y. 



There are also specimens of what appear to be races of this species, 

 one of them being labeled Porosagrotis satiens, from Coleville, 

 Wash., Glenwood Springs, Colo., and from Arizona, and a second 



