﻿[117] 
  Locality 
  for 
  Brephos 
  infans. 
  229 
  

  

  found 
  at 
  rest 
  on 
  the 
  upper 
  edge 
  of 
  the 
  fence-boards 
  (very 
  

   singularly, 
  none 
  were 
  on 
  the 
  upper 
  board), 
  the 
  other 
  two 
  

   were 
  on 
  the 
  more 
  exposed 
  north 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  fence. 
  It 
  seemed 
  

   as 
  if 
  these 
  little 
  creatures 
  had 
  come 
  out 
  to 
  enjoy 
  the 
  cold 
  

   and 
  driving 
  snow 
  storm, 
  which 
  certainly 
  failed 
  to 
  add 
  to 
  my 
  

   comfort. 
  At 
  a 
  late 
  hour 
  in 
  the 
  afternoon 
  (5 
  p. 
  m.) 
  I 
  also 
  had 
  

   the 
  good 
  fortune 
  to 
  secure 
  a 
  Lobophora 
  geminata 
  (Grote). 
  

  

  Neither 
  of 
  the 
  above 
  three 
  species 
  had 
  before 
  been 
  found 
  

   in 
  this 
  locality. 
  

  

  Subsequent 
  trips 
  gave 
  me 
  no 
  additional 
  examples 
  of 
  B. 
  

   infans, 
  although 
  I 
  saw 
  it 
  in 
  flight 
  — 
  quite 
  wild 
  — 
  so 
  late 
  as 
  

   May 
  7th." 
  

  

  Guenee, 
  in 
  his 
  Noctuelites, 
  II, 
  makes 
  some 
  interesting 
  

   remarks 
  on 
  the 
  habits 
  of 
  the 
  European 
  species 
  of 
  Brephos, 
  

   which 
  is 
  here 
  transcribed 
  : 
  

  

  The 
  caterpillars 
  live 
  on 
  the 
  tall 
  trees, 
  from 
  which, 
  letting 
  

   themselves 
  fall, 
  they 
  hang 
  suspended 
  by 
  a 
  thread, 
  after 
  the 
  

   manner 
  of 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  Geometers. 
  They 
  are 
  found 
  in 
  

   autumn, 
  in 
  woods 
  of 
  considerable 
  extent, 
  and 
  their 
  moths 
  

   fly 
  in 
  the 
  first 
  days 
  of 
  spring, 
  or 
  as 
  might 
  better 
  be 
  said, 
  

   at 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  winter, 
  .about 
  the 
  leafless 
  birches. 
  Their 
  flight 
  

   is 
  lively, 
  jerky 
  (saccade) 
  and 
  rapid, 
  but 
  the 
  sun 
  is 
  indis- 
  

   pensable 
  to 
  draw 
  them 
  from 
  their 
  torpor. 
  Hardly 
  do 
  its 
  

   rays 
  veil 
  themselves, 
  even 
  for 
  an 
  instant, 
  when 
  the 
  Brephos 
  

   arrest 
  their 
  flight, 
  to 
  resume 
  it 
  as 
  soon 
  as 
  it 
  commences 
  to 
  

   shine. 
  In 
  these 
  habits, 
  they 
  bear 
  much 
  resemblance 
  to 
  the 
  

   PhaljBnidse 
  which 
  like 
  them 
  fly 
  in 
  the 
  early 
  spring; 
  and 
  

   there 
  is 
  also 
  a 
  resemblance 
  in 
  the 
  habits 
  and 
  forms 
  of 
  the 
  

   caterpillars. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  C. 
  P. 
  Whitney, 
  of 
  Milford, 
  N. 
  H., 
  writes 
  me 
  in 
  relation 
  

   to 
  the 
  habits 
  of 
  B. 
  infans: 
  ' 
  ' 
  I 
  take 
  it 
  very 
  early 
  in 
  the 
  spring 
  

   (this 
  year 
  [1877]) 
  about 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  April, 
  only 
  in 
  the 
  vicin- 
  

   ity 
  of 
  the 
  white 
  birch 
  (Betula 
  populifolia.) 
  Its 
  season 
  is 
  

   about 
  two 
  weeks. 
  Their 
  flight 
  is 
  rapid 
  and 
  irregular, 
  so 
  that 
  

   it 
  is 
  almost 
  impossible 
  to 
  capture 
  them 
  except 
  when 
  resting 
  

   on 
  the 
  ground, 
  when 
  almost 
  every 
  one 
  discovered 
  can 
  be 
  easily 
  

   taken. 
  Late 
  in 
  the 
  season 
  they 
  fly 
  high 
  and 
  alight 
  on 
  the 
  

   twigs 
  of 
  the 
  birches.' 
  ' 
  

  

  