THE QUESTION OF HIBERNATION, 
19 
of undulating darker lines across the front wings, somewhat similar to 
those on the latter. I s palpi are longer and snout-like, and its front 
wings invariably lack the dark discal spot and the white specks char- 
acteristic of Aletia. 
Phoberia <tt<>,n>trix Bflbn., 11 and many other similar moths, have been 
forwarded witli the remark that they were the Cotton Moth; while Leu* 
ennia uniptnirtu Haw., the pa- ^± 
rent of the Northern Army £ ..--*"'|pFe Jy£ 
blance, is more often mi taken therefor than any other. It is more 
robust than AJetfa, and a comparison of the accompanying illustration 
(Fig. S) with Fig. 7, p. 11, will show the other differences. Seeing how 
easi y nou entomologists are misled by general resemblances, we would 
again lay stress on the readily observed characters underlined on page 
9, by which Aletia m:iy always be recognized. Where they are absent 
it may be safely taken tor granted that other species are in question. 
From this danger of confounding species it is evident that ordinary 
reports lose, when unaccompanied by Specimens, much of their value, 
and must always be taken cum grano salis. 
Vet, after making due allowance for possible error, the number of in- 
telligent planters with whom we have conversed, and who, having long 
and thorough acquaintance with the moth, feel positive of their ability 
to distinguish it and of having seen it during the winter, is so great as 
to leave little doubt of the fact ; while the added testimony of Mr. Grote, 
who is such an authority on moths that he could not thus confound 
species, and who states that he has found the Aletia in Alabama during 
mild winter weather, should dispel even that little doubt; and we may 
safely consider as proven that the moth does survive the winter up to 
the (Mid of March. The general experience of correspondents is, how- 
ever, that after March these hibernating moths are no longer to be seen, 
and no one knows what becomes of them between this time and the ap- 
pearance of the first worms. 
The difficulty felt in bridging this gap, together with the progress of 
injury from the south northward, has given rise to the theory that the 
species cannot survive the winter in this country, and must necessarily 
come each year on the wing from some foreign country where cotton is 
perennial. The history of the repeated suggestions of this so-called 
migration theory, from Dr. Gorham's first article in 1847, down to 
