88 



diurnal in habit, flying swiftly in the heat of the day, when they might 

 easily be mistaken for wasps, an effect due to their slender form, 

 transparent hind-wings, and bright metallic colors. 



The female moth is shown in the figure at a. It has a wing expanse 

 of about seven-eightLte of an inch (18 to 22 mm.). The ground color 

 of the body and head is black with yellow stripes and bands. The 

 antennse are bluish black, and the legs are yellow ringed with black. 

 The fore-wings are broadly bordered with brown and black, with a 

 purple iridescence. Between the veins are thin stripes of yellow. 

 The outer border of both wings is fringed with brown, that portion 

 of the hind-wings nearest the base being fringed with yellow. The 

 abdomen is tufted at the tip with yellow and black. 



The male (b) is similar, but smaller and more slender, the anal tuft 

 being longer and wider and blue-black in color. 



A full description with bibliography and notes is given by Beuten- 

 muller (Bui. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., Vol. VIII, pp. 130, 131, 1896). 



The remarkable variability^ of this species is illustrated by tne 

 number of names that have been given to it by its original describer. 

 According to Beutenmiiller, the synonyms are JEgeria aureola, herni- 

 Bonice, kipini, 2^ er P^ exa j^ 7l P ro P r ^ c h washmgtonia and madarice $ , all 

 described in volume I of Papilio. 



The present known habitat includes Marin and Mendocino counties, 

 and Sierra Nevada, Santa Clara, and Sausalito, Cal. ; Virginia Cit} T and 

 elsewhere in Nevada, Washington, Colorado, and Texas. The species 

 is obviously native, and as the last-mentioned locality is based on a 

 single male collected many years ago, either there is some reasonable 

 doubt as to the authenticity of the capture or the species has a rather 

 unusual range for an indigenous insect. 



EARLIER STAGES DESCRIBED. 



In the accompanying illustration the immature stages were drawn 

 at the time of the receipt of the specimens; the adults were finished 

 more recently. 



The larva. — The larva, shown in the illustration at c at work within 

 a strawberry stem, is of the usual cylindrical form and white color of 

 the iEgerians and of nearly uniform diameter from the first thoracic 

 to the last two abdominal segments, where the body tapers strongly. 

 The second thoracic segment is just perceptibly widest, a little wider 

 than the middle abdominal, and the last joint is quite narrow. The 

 head is reddish brown and partially concealed beneath the first tho- 

 racic segment. The mandibles are black and the legs brownish with 

 small dark-brown or black claws. The body has a few small brownish 

 hairs scattered over each segment. In a general way this larva very 

 closely resembles congeneric species, such as pyri and acerni, being 

 of about the same size as the former. The length is about T V of an 



