62 
MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. 
cola may be enticed into one’s room on warm evenings in August, 
by placing a light in the window, I have never yet taken Catocala 
cara in this manner; nor does it seem to be attracted by sugaring, 
and if one had to depend on this mode of capture he would conclude 
that it was a rare insect. 
Catocala relicta. 
This is one of the finest and rarest of the Catocala. The upper 
wings of the male insect are creamy-white, crossed by several indis¬ 
tinct bands of gray; the lower wings are black, with a white curved 
bar crossing just below the middle and a creamy-white fringe at the 
margin. The head is light ; but the thorax and abdomen are dark 
gray, almost black. The upper wings of the female are much darker, 
although specimens may be found ranging from almost pure white to 
dark gray. A fine specimen of this rare moth will measure nearly 
four inches across its expanded wings, and it is enough to make one’s 
heart jump with excitement to see one of these strikingly marked 
insects quietly sipping the intoxicating liquid where one has smeared 
a tree-trunk with rum and molasses. 
Like many other species of the genus Catocala , this insect is 
local, and may sometimes be found in some abundance. One collec¬ 
tor with whom 1 am acquainted has taken a dozen perfect specimens 
in a season, but this must be considered very unusual. I have 
always found it a very scarce insect. It is widely distributed, as I 
