200 THE STUDY OF INSECTS . 
eggs are laid in a cluster on a leaf; the larvae are con¬ 
spicuous in August and September. In some of the species 
the larvae have the curious habit of leaving the branch upon 
which they are feeding when the time to molt arrives, the 
whole colony gathering in a large mass on the trunk of the 
tree, where the molt takes place. The pupa state is passed 
in the ground, in a very light cocoon or in none at all, and 
lasts about nine months in the species that we have bred. 
The White-tipped Moth, Edema albifrons (E-de'ma 
al'bi-frons).—This beautiful moth, which is quite common, 
can be easily recognized by the accompanying figure (Fig. 
314); the white patch, which 
extends along the costa of the 
fore wing for half the length 
from the tip, being very char¬ 
acteristic. The larva (Fig. 315) 
is quite common in the autumn 
Fig. 314 .—Edema albifrons . Q n leaves of Oak. It is smooth 
and shining, with no hairs; along each side of the back 
there is a yellow stripe, and between these, on the back, 
fine black lines on a pale lilac ground ; on each side below the 
yellow stripe there are three black lines, the lowest one just 
above the spiracles. The head is orange-red; and there is 
an orange-red hump on the eighth abdominal segment. 
Fig. 315 .—EtUnta albifrons , larva. 
The Two-lined Prominent, Seirodonta bilineata (Seir-o- 
don'ta bi-lin-e-a'ta).—The larva of this species (Fig. 316) is 
much more apt to be observed than the adult. It is com¬ 
mon in the latter part of the summer and in early autumn, 
