234 BEUTENMULLER, MONOGRAPH OF THE SESIID^E. 



and three years later Harris redescribed it as Algeria cucurbitce. In 1848 West- 

 wood gave it the name Trochilium ceto, and wrongly recorded it from China ; 

 finally, in 1882, Hy. Edwards again redescribed the species as Melittia amcena. 

 The name Melittia satyriniformis has priority and must be used for the species. 

 Hubners figure is fairly good and cannot be mistaken for anything else. Harris 

 when redescribing it apparently was not aware of Hubners work, since Double- 

 day, in a letter dated Feb. 27, 1841, calls Harris's attention to Hubner's figure 

 and states that sE. cucurbitce was M. satyriniformis. For some reason the 

 names ^Egeria or Melittia cucurbitce or ceto were used in literature and collections 

 up to 1897 when attention was called by me to Hubner's name. 



The species is evidently of tropical origin, being found in Mexico, Guate- 

 mala, Panama, Argentina, and the lower Amazon. It is widely distributed and 

 injurious in the United States, practically wherever squashes are cultivated. 

 Available records and examination of material show that it has a range extending 

 from Canada and the New England States, southward to the Gulf States, and 

 westward to the region beyond the Missouri River. As far as we are aware, it 

 has not as yet made its appearance on the Pacific coast. The injury the species 

 inflicts has been observed to be particularly severe in recent years in New York, 

 New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, Kansas, and Nebraska. 

 Other States in which its destructiveness has been noted include Maine, Massa- 

 chusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, 

 Louisiana, Iowa, and Michigan. 



The moths make their appearance in the northern States from the begin- 

 ning of June until early in August. In the southern States they appear in April 

 and May, and are said to be double brooded. In the north they are single 

 brooded ; although, according to Kellicott, they are double brooded in Ohio. 

 The eggs are laid upon all parts of a plant, from the roots to the buds and 

 petioles, but chiefly along the stems. The eggs are nearly round, very slightly 

 ovate, disc-shaped, the bottom flat with sharp margin, the top somewhat convex 

 with round edges. In color they are a light chestnut brown. Under the micro- 

 scope they show a very finely shagreened surface, with feebly raised lines forming 

 hexagonal figures. The shell is thick, chitinous, and very brittle. They hatch in 

 from six to fifteen days after they are deposited. After attaining maturity the 

 larvae desert the stems and enter the earth, burying themselves to the depth of 

 one or two inches, and form their cocoons in which they transform to pupae the 

 following spring, in the latitude where they are single brooded. 



Melittia snowii Hy, Edw. 



Plate XXIX, Fig. 2, Male. 



Melittia snowii Hy. Edwards, Papilio, Vol. II, 1882, p. 53; Grote, New Check List N. Am. 

 Moths, 1882, p. 11 ; Beutenmuller, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. Vol. IV, 1892, p. 171 ; 

 ibid. Vol. VIII, 1896, p. 114; ibid. Vol. XII, 1899, p. 150. 



