202 The American Naturalist. [February, 
entire ; conjecturally the marking differed with the age of the cater- 
pillar. On the preceding, that is, the eleventh segment, there were 
two clearly defined brownish spots, and along each side of the cater- 
pillar was a row of dark dots, one on each segment. 
‘¢ The caterpillar was slightly sprinkled with pale hairs or fine bristles, 
and had such a capacity for catching and 
ees retaining a covering of flour that I was 
Cini ices ln size, obliged perpetually to remove it with the 
but stripped from the film moistened tip of a finger to obtain a clear 
of flour surrounding it. A é 
view of the markings. _ 
“‘The chrysalis, which was lying in a 
Cocoon as it appears inmost silken cocoon of spun-up flour, showed the 
mE: chief points of the form of the coming insect 
plainly—the color bees-wax below, shading to reddish-brown on the 
back, and reddish-brown also at the end of the somewhat prolonged, 
slightly-curved tail, which ended bluntly or cylindrically ; the eyes of 
a darker shade of red. There were remains of dead, partly developed 
moths or chrysalids in the box, but I could not make sure whether, as 
thought not unlikely by Professor Zeller, these had been destroyed by 
their caterpillar brethren—the size and power of their jaws make the 
cannibal habit appear very probable. I had not opportunity of ob- 
serving how long the chrysalis state lasts before the moth appears from 
the chrysalis condition, but this time is given by Professor Zeller as 
three weeks.” 
From all that can be learned of the habits of this insect it would 
appear that it is unceasing in its ravages where the temperature is suit- 
able, in fact that it is an all-the-year-round pest. The pupa stage 
being short, its multiplication is very rapid. How rapid is shown 
by the fact that a large warehouse, 75 feet long, 25 feet wide, and four 
Stories high, became literally alive with moths in the short space of 
six months, while thousands of cocoons were found adhering to the 
- walls, ceilings, and joists, and in every crack, crevice, and ‘nail- 
hole, necessitating a thorough cleansing of the entire building and 
its contents, the burning of a great deal of the wood-work, and the 
disinfecting of the whole place to destroy any germs that might pos- 
sibly have escaped. 
The first appearance of the flour moth in Canada that I can learn of 
was in March, 1889, when it was observed in a mill in Ontario. Little 
attention was paid to it, as its dangerous character was not known ; 
but by and by the moths began to appear in greater numbers, and soon 
small worms were observed in the flour. Alarm began to be felt, and 

