8 THE FLORIDA FERN CATERPILLAR. 
THE PUPA, eee? S 
The pupa is robust, of the usual shining mahogany-brown color, — 
the posterior apex ending in two minute outcurved spines. The 
wing-pads are prominent. 
The length is five-eighths inch, and the width about half that. 
The eggs and immature stages of the larva have not come under 
observation. 
DISTRIBUTION. 
The type locality is Florida. Hampson records also Mexico, 
Guatemala, Costa Rica, Bahamas, Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti, Santa 
Lucia, St. Vincent, Venezuela, British Guiana, Brazil, and Trini- 
dad. The species is also recorded from Santo Domingo. It is obvi- 
ously a neotropical form and the only species of its genus occurring 
in the United States. 
INJURIES AND HABITS. 
July 10, 1907, this species was reported as a pest by Mr. H. M. 
Russell (at that time working under the writer’s direction), who 
_ observed it at Orlando, Fla., attacking the fronds of potted maiden- 
hair fern in that vicinity. It was noticed that the larve usually 
fed at night, although sometimes found feeding during the day. 
They concealed themselves in the daytime at the base of the ferns 
or were found resting low down on the stems, and they appeared to 
have a habit of crawling up the stems and eating off several leaflets. 
on one side, thus spoiling the beauty of the plants. The larve 
observed began to transform to pupe August 1. 
During September of the same year Mr. Bartos, Mr. J. E. Watson, 
and Mr. F. H. Kramer, of Anacostia, D. C., made complaint that this 
caterpillar was injurious to several species of ferns in greenhouses. 
On September 24 Mr. C. H. Popenoe, an entomological assistant in 
this bureau, was detailed to obtain additional specimens and make 
observations on the habits of the insect and the conditions of the 
greenhouses. Larvee were obtained in different stages, chiefly between 
half-grown and nearly grown specimens. They were feeding in the 
afternoon on the upper surface of the leaves. The usual method of 
attack, as observed, consisted in biting off the midrib leaf one-half 
to one-third the way up. Maidenhair or Adiantum ferns were at- 
tacked either by biting off the leaflets at the tips of the fronds or 
by biting off the entire frond about 1 inch above the ground. The 
majority of the larve observed were resting either near the tip of 
ithe frond of the midrib or else concealed in the stems at the base 
of the plant. An entire house of Adiantum had been completely 
stripped of the leaves by the larve, and one grower stated that his 
