New York AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT Station. 305 
after leaving the cocoons, but probably live but a short time after 
the eges have been deposited. Some female moths kept in the 
breeding cages laid their eggs within two days after escaping from 
the cocoon and died before the end of the third day. 
Descriptions.— In general the moths resemble those of the 
apple-tree tent-caterpillar except that the oblique lines across the 
fore-wings are dark instead of light in color. The general color 
of typical specimens is buff with a brownish tinge. An exami- 
nation of a large number of moths showed a wide variation from 
this even in the individuals that do not approach the varieties, 
referred to on a subsequent page. Both wings and body are sub- 
ject to decided shadings of either a yellow or brownish cast. A 
male moth of average size spreads about one inch, but in the 
moths reared last spring a few were found that spread but $ inch 
and a few that spread 14 inches. There is less variation in the 
markings of the females but an equal or greater variation in size. 
A female of average size was found to spread 1% inches, the 
smallest 14 inches and the largest 1% inches. The two upper 
rows of moths on Plate X XV show the variation in size. The 
upper row are males and the second row females. 
The following detailed’ descriptions of the male and female 
moths are by Dr. Asa Fitch.” 
“The male moth usually measures 1.20 inches across its spread wings. Its 
thorax is densely coated with soft hairs of a nankin-yellow color. Its ab- 
domen is covered with shorter hairs, which are light umber or cinnamon brown 
on the back and tip and paler or nankin-yellow on the sides. The antenne 
are gray, freckled with brown scales and their branches are very dark brown. 
The face is brown, with tips of the feelers pale gray. The fore-wings are gray, 
varied more or less with nankin-yellow, and they are divided into three nearly 
equal portions by two straight dark brown lines, which cross them obliquely, 
parallel with each other and with the hind margin. * * * The fringe is 
of the same dark brown color, with the oblique lines, with two whitish alter- 
nations towards its outer end. But some times it is of the same color with 
the wings, and edged along its tip with whitish. The hind wings are of a. 
uniform pale umber or cinnamon brown, sometimes broadly grayish on the 
outer margin and across their middle a faint darker brown band is usually 
20 Fitch, Asa. Fifth Report, p. 822. 
20 
