REPORT OF H. G. HUBBARD. 
matured leaves; they are covered with caterpillars, and even more badly ragged than 
those outside in the sun. 
(as<s of apparently whimsical exemption from attack are sometimes met with. As 
for example two fields, separated only by the turn of a furrow, one of which is eaten 
up to the last row and the other left untouched. In these, as well as in cases where 
shade is found to exercise a protective influence, I am inclined to suspeci an explana- 
tion will be found. a> has been suggested by others, in a difference in the nectar se- 
cretion of the leaf glands, the moths being perhaps attracted to those plants where 
the flow of nectar is greatest, and avoiding those where, from some cause, but litlle 
is secreted. As to the laws which govern the secretion of nectar I know nothing. 
The period of larval existence was. at Centreville, about nine days iu July and ten 
•lays in August. In vivaria in the house the time was extended to fourteen days in 1 he 
former and sixteen day- in the latter month. The worms occupy nearly the whole of 
one day in completing their welts or cocoons : the following day they change to pupa', 
which attain their full brown color before morning of the third day. 
The pupa, except in cases of accidental reversal, is invariably i'ound with the head 
towards the base of the leaf. The pupa state lasts from eight to eleven days in July, 
from seven to eight days in August. The warm, damp nights in August seemed to- 
hasten their development. 
The moths begin to emerge from pupa soon after sunset, and continue to appear 
during a great part of the night. In August, on cloudy days, large numbers disclosed 
at ().:{0 p. m. The period <>f existence in the imago .stage is difficult to determine 
with certainty. The males probably die soon alter copulation. In the fourth and 
fifth broods the life of the female is certainly not more than fifteen days, ruder net- 
ting in the held, they survived nine or ten days, laying eggs nightly during at least 
half ol this pt nod, and dying without having deposited all their ova. I am inclined 
to think the average life of a moth in freedom is about ten days. In vivaria, when 
deprived of moisture, they invariable died in tour or five days. By keeping the air in 
t he breeding .jar moist, and giving t hem fresh cot ton lea ves spr.i ved w i t h water, their 
life w;is prolonged in some cases eleven days. They drank greedily, lapping up with 
their proboscis the artificial dew produced h\ an atomizer. 1 first observed copu- 
lation in my breeding jan OD August 7. The following is a transcript from my 
notes of t hat date : 
At d o'cloc k this morning I I'ound two Ah-tia moths in copulation J 1 hey disclosed 
last evening from pupa- that I was handling. I watched 1 hem about lift ecu minutes, 
when they quietly sepaiatc-d. The male genitals were not much protruded. The 
two terminal pinnies clasped the body of the female on either side, but I was unable 
to observe the posit ion of t he ot her parts. The male re sted with wings horizontal in 
the usual position, the female held the- wings raised vert ically, a posit ion 1 have never 
seen it assume. Neither sex made any movement until they separated, when the male 
genitals were retracted at once to the normal position. 
My next observation was on August I I. when I found two pairs in copulation at 1 
a. 111. On this occasion I watc hed my jars dining the entire night, except between 
the. hours of -J and I a. in., when 1 unfortunately fell asleep. On awaking at 4 a. m., 
I found one pair in coitu in jar No. *J and another pair in jar No. 11. Both contained 
moths which had emerged from pupa three nights before (August 11). Evidently 
copulation had been in progress some time, for t hey soon separated, w hen disturbed 
by the fluttering of the other moths. Both sexes held the wings horizontal. As 
to the position of the genitalia nothing new could be made- out. Many fertile eggs 
had been deposited in the same jar earlier in the night, and probably by moths that 
had copulated during the; fust or second nights. My breeding jars have been under 
Observation at all hours up to 1 a. in., but copulation was never seen during this part 
of the night. I'p to August 14 my night work in the fields had never been continued 
later than 1 a. in., and consequently 1 had never seen copulation there. Subsequently 
I made observations during the early morning hours, and on several occasions found 
moths in coitu just before daybreak. The coupling ceased as soon as it became light. 
During the clay it is the invariable habit of the moth on alighting to turn the head 
downward. After dark and throughout the night, they retain indifferently any posi- 
tion they may happen to take on coming to rest. At daw n, as the light increases, it 
is a curious sight to see the moths, one after another, reverse their positions, and set- 
tle themselves for their diurnal nap. Aletia does not appear to me to he greatly at- 
tracted by light; on the contrary, the moths often seem to be repelled by it. In 
carrying a lantern through the fields at night, an occasional specimen flew against 
the glass, often, as it seemed to me, in anger. Multitudes, disturbed by the light, 
flew up at my approach and vanished in the darkness overhead. So wary do they 
become when a strong light falls upon them that observations of their habits by night 
are rendered exceedingly difficult, and I never once succeeded in watching closely a 
moth in the act of laying her eggs. Late in the season, when the moths roam far and 
wide in search of fruit, many fly into lighted rooms through the open windows, show- 
ing that for certain individuals light has some attraction. 
