﻿REPORT 
  OF 
  THE 
  STATE 
  ENTOMOLOGIST 
  203 
  

  

  or 
  abrading 
  them, 
  as 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  berries 
  were 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  bruised, 
  and 
  

   but 
  few 
  other 
  insects 
  were 
  seen 
  around 
  them. 
  It 
  is 
  quite 
  probable 
  that 
  

   they 
  are 
  drawn 
  to 
  the 
  nectar 
  of 
  flowers 
  and 
  the 
  juices 
  of 
  various 
  fruits. 
  

   They 
  are 
  also 
  attracted 
  by 
  plant-lice, 
  probably 
  for 
  the 
  purpose 
  of 
  imbib- 
  

   ing 
  the 
  honey-dew 
  excreted 
  by 
  these 
  insects. 
  Mr. 
  Van 
  Duzee 
  records 
  

   an 
  instance 
  {Joe. 
  cit.) 
  of 
  the 
  moths 
  swarming 
  around 
  an 
  apple-tree 
  badly 
  

   infested 
  with 
  Aphis 
  mali. 
  Dr. 
  Smith, 
  in 
  his 
  Report 
  for 
  1896, 
  p. 
  450, 
  

   mentions 
  their 
  occurrence 
  in 
  large 
  numbers 
  among 
  the 
  plant-lice 
  on 
  

   melon-vines. 
  The 
  moths 
  seem 
  to 
  require 
  an 
  unusual 
  amount 
  of 
  food, 
  

   the 
  reason 
  of 
  which 
  may 
  be 
  that 
  the 
  eggs 
  are 
  not 
  developed 
  in 
  recently 
  

   issued 
  females 
  : 
  no 
  traces 
  of 
  them 
  were 
  found 
  in 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  females 
  

   dissected 
  during 
  this 
  year. 
  

  

  Oviposition 
  is 
  said 
  not 
  to 
  begin 
  until 
  a 
  week 
  or 
  more 
  after 
  the 
  moth 
  

   has 
  emerged, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  believed 
  to 
  continue 
  for 
  the 
  remainder 
  of 
  the 
  adult 
  

   existence, 
  which 
  may 
  amount 
  to 
  several 
  weeks. 
  No 
  eggs 
  were 
  obtained 
  

   the 
  past 
  season 
  from 
  females 
  which 
  were 
  either 
  reared 
  from 
  caterpillars 
  

   or 
  from 
  pupae 
  collected 
  in 
  the 
  field, 
  although 
  moths 
  taken 
  at 
  the 
  Tar- 
  

   tarian 
  honeysuckle 
  berries 
  oviposited 
  within 
  a 
  few 
  days. 
  The 
  eggs 
  are 
  

   ordinarily 
  deposited 
  by 
  preference 
  in 
  thick 
  tufts 
  of 
  grass, 
  especially 
  such 
  

   as 
  have 
  been 
  stimulated 
  in 
  growth 
  by 
  the 
  droppings 
  of 
  cattle 
  in 
  pastures, 
  

   and 
  in 
  other 
  similar 
  locahties. 
  The 
  oldest 
  and 
  toughest 
  stalks 
  are 
  selected, 
  

   and 
  on 
  these 
  the 
  eggs 
  are 
  thrust 
  down 
  between 
  the 
  sheath 
  and 
  the 
  stalk 
  

   and 
  usually 
  secured 
  in 
  place 
  by 
  a 
  gummy 
  secretion. 
  Early 
  in 
  the 
  season 
  

   the 
  moth 
  is 
  known 
  to 
  deposit 
  apparently 
  by 
  preference 
  in 
  cut 
  straw 
  of 
  

   old 
  stacks, 
  in 
  hay 
  ricks, 
  and 
  even 
  in 
  old 
  fodder 
  stacks 
  of 
  corn 
  stalks. 
  

   Its 
  eggs 
  may 
  also 
  be 
  found 
  in 
  bits 
  of 
  corn 
  stalks 
  on 
  the 
  surface 
  of 
  the 
  

   ground, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  preceding 
  year's 
  stalks 
  of 
  grasses; 
  or, 
  the 
  moth 
  may 
  

   oviposit 
  in 
  the 
  spring 
  in 
  young 
  grain, 
  and 
  at 
  times, 
  on 
  the 
  leaves 
  of 
  plants 
  

   upon 
  which 
  the 
  larvae 
  rarely 
  feed, 
  as 
  on 
  clover. 
  The 
  eggs 
  are 
  most 
  

   frequently 
  deposited 
  late 
  in 
  the 
  afternoon 
  and 
  during 
  the 
  earlier 
  hours 
  of 
  

   the 
  night, 
  in 
  strings 
  of 
  fifteen 
  to 
  twenty 
  ordinarily, 
  although 
  batches 
  of 
  

   nearly 
  a 
  hundred, 
  in 
  from 
  three 
  to 
  eight 
  rows 
  on 
  a 
  single 
  stalk 
  have 
  been 
  

   found. 
  In 
  breeding 
  cages 
  the 
  eggs 
  have 
  been 
  placed 
  in 
  masses 
  of 
  over 
  

   a 
  hundred, 
  arranged 
  in 
  several 
  rows 
  between 
  two 
  sticks. 
  The 
  first 
  moth 
  

   dissected 
  by 
  Dr. 
  Riley 
  was 
  found 
  to 
  contain 
  upwards 
  of 
  200 
  eggs, 
  but 
  

   later 
  dissections 
  resulted 
  in 
  finding 
  562 
  and 
  737 
  eggs 
  respectively, 
  which 
  

   is 
  probably 
  nearer 
  the 
  average 
  number. 
  

  

  Habits 
  of 
  the 
  larvce. 
  — 
  The 
  eggs 
  hatch 
  in 
  from 
  eight 
  to 
  ten 
  days. 
  The 
  

   young 
  larvae 
  remain 
  in 
  hiding 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  time, 
  feeding 
  only 
  during 
  cloudy 
  

   weather 
  and 
  at 
  night. 
  They 
  shelter 
  themselves 
  in 
  the 
  folds 
  of 
  leaves, 
  in 
  

  

  