MELITjEA I. 
On 22d April, 1874, I went again to the swamp, hardly expecting to find the 
Chelone out of the ground, as the weather had been cold and vegetation back¬ 
ward. But the moment I reached the water my eye fell upon two or three of 
these caterpillars on the lower leaves of an isolated stem which was not more 
than six inches high. Near by were other stems, each with one or more caterpil¬ 
lars, and so it was as far as I could distinguish the plants over the water. These 
larvm were nearly mature. On the stem being jarred they instantly rolled up and 
dropped to the ground. Some I saw resting beneath the plants on chips or 
leaves. Others were running over the hummocks which projected above the sur¬ 
face of the water, moving rapidly and throwing their heads to the right or left 
as if feeling their way. Two days after I visited the swamp better prepared for 
exploring the water, and could have brought away hundreds of the caterpillars. 
They were to be found wherever a plant of Chelone grew, not at all screened, but 
in plain sight, and wherever there were fallen trees or dead branches there were 
to be seen many at rest. 
At this larval stage this species must be subject to few enemies, and must be 
obnoxious to the birds which abound in swamps. Otherwise none could reach 
maturity, for not the least effort is made for concealment after the caterpillars 
have deserted the web, and the contrast of color with the green leaves makes 
them unusually conspicuous. The only shelter sought by them is in rainy 
weather or from the sun when the heat is extreme, and that is attained by shift¬ 
ing to the under sides of the leaves. 
At different times up to September, 1875, I visited the swamp, and so have be¬ 
come acquainted with the complete history of the species. On 13th June, 1875, 
I found three clusters of eggs, and brought home two of them. These two were 
laid on leaves of the same stem, at some distance from the top, both upon the 
middle of the leaves, on under side, one close against the midrib, the other scarcely 
touching it. The former comprised about two hundred eggs, densely packed in 
a somewhat irregular mass, two layers deep, each egg resting on its base. The 
other cluster was rounded, four layers deep, with a few eggs which represented 
a fifth, the bottom layers apparently regular, but many of the eggs of the upper 
ones inclined, and some lying on their sides. There seemed to be about four 
hundred eggs in this cluster. (See Figs’, a, a 2 .) The color was a peculiar shade of 
crimson, like that of wilted currants, having a tint of blue in it, but two or three 
of the eggs were lemon-yellow when first observed, and this I am informed by 
Mr. Scudder is the color when newly laid. From him also I learn that the dura¬ 
tion of this stage is nineteen to twenty days. The larvm began to emerge 24th 
June, thirteen days after I brought home the eggs, and about thirty-six hours 
before the disclosure the color of these had gradually changed from crimson to 
black. 
