rae “ 2 Te a a | | SS ER ee a CON Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2008 with funding from Microsoft Corporation http:/www.archive.org/details/asnatureshowsthe01 dentuoft & cS) J07% Ee Blue. [ ee UNIV, Tui MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES OF THE UNITED STATES MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES OF THE UNITED STATES East of the Rocky Mountains By S. F. DENTON A Limited Edition of 500 Copies, of which this is Copy No. 4°. As ‘Nature Shows Them MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES OF THE BWNITLED Sy S> Depressaria robiniella. Depressaria robiniella. This moth expands three-fourths of an inch. ‘The head and fore wings are reddish-brown spotted with yel- low. The hind wings and body are gray. The green larvee live on the leaves of the locust and spin their webs among the leaves drawing them together. They are very active creatures and in searching for them by pulling their webs apart they are very hable to wriggle away. The larvee are said by Packard to pupate among fallen leaves on the ground, The genus Nepticula contains many very minute and yet many very beautiful species. To this genus belong the smallest of all known lepidopterous insects, many of them less than an eighth of an inch in expanse of wing. The larve of these minute insects mine in the leaves of different species of trees. TORTRICIDZ:. The leaf-rollers, so called because the larve of most of the species of this group of moths form the ends of leaves into rolls for their protection, are a numerous family, represented by many species in this country. The fore wings of these moths are broad and are often brilliantly colored, while the hind wings are usually sombre. Some of the larger species are gregarious in the larval state, uniting a number of leaves by webs, among which they feed and Various Forms of Leaf-rollers, finally pupate, leaving the empty shells of their chrysalides protrud- ing from the webs. MICRO-LEPIDOPTERA. 47 Lozotenia cerasiovorana is about one inch across the expanded wings, which are of an ochre-yellow color crossed by brownish markings. The larvee of these insects are gregarious and live on the leaves of the choke-cherry, their unsightly nests with the yellowish-brown shells of their chrysalides attached to the outside of the webs by their posterior ends may frequently be seen by the roadside. The moths often remain about or upon the nests several days after hatching. Lozotenia cerasiovorana. Lozotenia rosaceana, Lozotenia rosaceana expands nearly an inch in a fine specimen. The fore wings are light brown crossed by bands of reddish-brown and the hind wings are light yellowish brown. The larva is said by Packard to bind together the leaves of the rose, apple and straw- berry with a few silken threads. The insect is double brooded, one appearing in June and another in August. Antithesia pruniana. Antithesia pruniana is five-eighths of an inch in expanse, and the fore wings are marbled with black and lilac with white on the outer portion. The larva lives on the plum, and is a native of Europe as well as this country, doing considerable damage. Carpoeapsa pomonella. Carpocapsa pomonella is the famous coddling moth, the larve of which often does so much damage to the apple and pear crop, living in the interior of the fruits and causing them to drop to the ground when only partly grown. The moth is half an inch in expanse and is dark brown in color. 48 MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. PYRALIDE. The Pyralida, or snout moths, may be recognized by the long fore wings, their long legs and elongated bodies. Many of them also have the palpi very much elongated, from which they derive their common name. Some species are day flyers, others fly at dusk and still others fly at night and are purely nocturnal. Some of them are white and silvery in appearance, while their wings are bordered S lp { 4 r) SD Various Forms of Snout Moths. or streaked with bands of gold, others are gray or brown, often of a silky lustre, while some are black with white spots. While at rest many species fold their wings close to and partly around the body, giving them a tubular form. Many of the laryze feed upon grass and clover, while some devour the leaves of the grape, and one inter- esting but very destructive species infests the comb of the honey-bee often ruining all the comb in a hive. Galeria cereana This species, Galeria cereana, is gray and purplish-brown in color, and the larvee pupates among the honey-combs, where it has constructed its silken galleries. This insect is double brooded. Crambus girandella,. Crambus girandella is satin white with a broad gold band on the fore wings. The larva is whitish or gray, of a silky appearance and feeds upon grass or clover. This insect is sometimes very abundant, and I have seen the whole front of a house where a bright light was kept burning during the night so covered with this species as to look silvery white at a distance of a few feet. ! GEOMETRIDS. 49 GEOMETRIDZE. Loopers or Spanners. The insects belonging to this group are easily distinguished by their slim bodies and broad thin wings, which, when the insects are at rest, are spread out flat, scarcely overlapping at the edges. The coloring is usually soft and delicate in tone, being often brown, gray- green or buff, crossed by darker wavy lines. The antennz are often feathery (pectinated) and the legs usually slim and long. The larvee, from which the group derives the name of Geomet- ride, or “earth measures,” are readily distinguished from the larve of all other moths by their peculiar mode of progression, which is by bending the body into loops, thus giving the appearance of measuring the ground over which they travel. Larvze of geometrid moths. From four to six of the abdominal legs possessed by the larvee of most lepidoptera are wanting in this group, in consequence of which the larve of geometrids may be recognized at a glance. Many of these larvee spin silken threads wherever they go and are ready to quit their hold and drop from the leaves on which they may be feed- ing whenever danger threatens, mounting their threads and resuming operations again when it is past. Some of the caterpillars spin slight cocoons beneath leaves at the trunks of trees, while others burrow into the ground and there undergo their transformations. The insects of this group are numerous both in species and indi- viduals, and specimens may be taken from the first warm days in spring till late into the fall. 50 MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. Angerona crocataria is a yellow moth with light brown markings, and expands from an inch and a half to two inches. The larva feeds Angerona crocataria, on the currant and strawberry and is yellowish or light green, with brown dots and markings. The perfect fly may be found among low bushes near cultivated fields during June, and, like many other moths of this class, it flies a good deal in the daytime. Brephos infans. Brephos infans is one of the first moths to appear in the spring and is a northern species, being found throughout New England and north into Labrador. It is a day flyer, and may be taken in the latter part of March or the early part of April before the snow has left the ground. It prefers low, bushy districts, where alders and willows abound, and in favorable localities may be seen in some abundance though generally shy. It is a pretty moth, about one and a quar- ter inches in expanse, the fore wings being brown with light gray markings, while the lower wings are red with brown margins. The eaterpillar is unknown to me. Auisopteryx vernata. Anisopteryx autumnata, Anisopteryx vernata and Anisopteryx autumnata, the spring and fall canker-worm moths, have in the larval state long been a seri- GEOMETRIDS. 51 ous pest in different parts of the country, as they frequently appear in such numbers as to completely strip the foliage from apple, elm and other trees, leaving them as if devastated by a conflagration. These moths are about one and a quarter inches in expanse of wing. As the females of these two species of moths are wingless grub- like creatures, and can only deposit their eggs on the trees which form the food of the larve by climbing their trunks, it would seem that their destruction is a simple matter. Still one sees whole districts wherein fruit and shade trees have been stripped of their foliage, in spite of the precaution of encircling the trunks with bands of tar paper smeared with tar or printer’s ink. The spring canker-worm moth makes its appearance early in April, and the males may then be seen in numbers fluttering against the windows of a well-lighted room. By going out with a lantern the females may be found ascending the trees to lay their eggs, the males hovering about. The moth of the fall canker-worm emerges from its cocoon, which is spun beneath the ground, late in October. The spring canker- worm makes no cocoon, but hollows out an oval cavity in the soil in which it passes the winter as a chrysalis. These two species resemble one another closely, both in the larval state and as the perfect fly, the fully developed insects being light gray and brown with light lower wings. Zerene catenaria. Zerene catenaria, beautifully white, with black markings and dots, is not uncommon in our fields and among low shrubs in September and October. It is feeble in flight, and is often quite local. In expanse it will measure about one and a half inches. I have never seen the larvee, but have found the thin, transparent cocoons attached to low shrubs, and have hatched the moths. 52 MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. The larva of Amphidasis cognataria feeds on the maple and cur- rant, and, like the full-grown moth, is thick-bodied for a geometrid. Amphidasis cognataria. The moth is dark gray, speckled and marked with black, and about two inches in expanse. Rheumaptera hastata. Rheumaptera hastata is a black-and-white moth, little more than an inch in expanse, easily recognized from the other species of this class. It may be found in June along roads in the woods, where it flies in the daytime, much like a butterfly. This insect is said to be widely distributed, being found in Europe and Asia, as well as America. The caterpillar, which is dark brown, feeds on the leaves of the birch, where it lives in colonies. Hybernia tiliaria. This moth, Hybernia tiliaria, about two inches in expanse, resem- bles the canker-worm moth, in that the female is wingless and that it is in the larval state destructive to fruit and shade trees. The larvee are yellow, with black lines on the back and sides, and are sometimes so plentiful as to completely denude trees of their foliage. When GROMETRIDS. 38) fully grown the larvee descend into the ground, where they trans- form to pup a few inches below the surface. The perfect insect makes its appearance in October. It is light buff-yellow with orange spots, while the hind wings are nearly white. Petrophora diversilneata. Petrophora diversilneata is a very pretty moth, which often makes its way into our rooms at night. It is yellowish, with a slightly red or pink shade on the outer half of the fore wings; which are crossed by a number of reddish-brown lines. The lower wings are lighter near the body with a few brown lines near the lower edge. It is about an inch and a half in expanse of wings. The larva lives on the leaves of the grape, but rarely in such numbers as to do much damage. Heematopis grataria. During August the pretty little moth, Haematopis grataria, may be found in meadows, especially near streams, where it is sometimes quite abundant. It has a wide range, as I have taken it in Iowa, Ohio, Virginia, and the New England States. The moth is about one inch in expanse. It flies a good deal in the daytime, soon alighting after it has been flushed from the grass. Its colors are yellowish-red crossed by bands of pink. The larva is said to feed on chickweed. Geometra iridaria. An exceedingly beautiful little moth is Geometra cridaria. About one and a quarter inches in expanse of wings, it is of a rich o4 MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. shade of green, the wings being crossed by white lines edged with purple. There are a number of green moths belonging to this group which resemble one another closely, but this is the most attractive in coloring, and were it as large would rival the beautiful Actias luna. I know nothing of the life history of this moth, but have often been charmed with its beauty as it flew in at the open window to my lamp. | Among the many geometrids to be found in our country I may mention the following species, as shown in the illustration. Endropia marginata, having all wings yellowish-buff, bordered with a broad band of light brown. Expanse one and three-quarters inches. This moth may be taken with a lamp early in September. A smaller moth, Hndropia hypochraria, has brownish-gray wings with brown markings. It expands about one and a half inches. In Lutrapela clematata we have a moth with brownish-gray wings the inner part darker crossed by brown and light gray lines. It ex- pands one and three-quarters inches. Hutrapela transversata is light brownish-yellow, with distinct lines and markings of brown, Ex- panse nearly two inches. Acidalia ennucleata is creamy-white with brown markings near outer edge of wings. Expands one and a quarter inches. A finely marked moth, Therina seminudaria is light gray with wings crossed by yellowish-brown and yellow lines. Expands one and three-quarters inches. Before leaving this interesting class of insects, having figured and described only a small number of the more common species, a few words in regard to the wonderful protective coloring, shapes and hab- its of some of these moths and their larvee may prove interesting to the student of entomology. The thin, flat wings of these moths enable them to conceal themselves, not by folding the wings up close to the body as so many other species do, but by spreading them out flat on the objects on which they rest, hugging so closely to their support as to appear to be a part of it. Some of the species closely resemble patches of lichens when flattened against the trunks of trees, the lines and bits of color on their wings helping out the resemblance to such an extent that when discovered, one is some- times half in doubt where the insect leaves off and the bark begins. The green species, many of them, extend their wings on the green leaves, lying so close to the surface as to be scarcely distinguishable. Therina seminudaria. Endropia marginata. Eutrapela clematata, Eutrapela transversata. | Endropia hypochraria. Acidalia ennucleata, GEOMETRID MOTHS. fond NOCTUIDS. 57 Some yellow and brown species have the habit of resting with wings extended on the upper sides of leaves so as to almost exactly resem- ble the brown and withered patches on half-dead foliage. One or two kinds when at rest throw their bodies into curious attitudes, at the same time bending their wings into such shapes that when seen one can hardly believe they are anything but dead fragments of leaves adhering to stems. The larvee of this group of insects are many of them protected both by their shape and coloring, and even by their habits in a remarkable degree. A large number closely resemble twigs, and will remain standing out straight at an angle of forty-five degrees from a branch, holding on by their posterior claspers for hours at a time. So closely do these caterpillars resemble the small stems of plants with their minute knots that one may have to pick them from the branch to be sure he is not mistaken. One does not need to go far from home to come across examples of protective mimicry as striking and as useful to contemplate as any the world affords, and a study of the geometrids in both their larval and mature state will point as clearly to the law by which every animal is just adapted to its surroundings and protected in a degree from its enemies as any so charmingly used by the great naturalists Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace to illustrate the law of natural selection. NOCTUIDE. Ouwlets, or Moth Millers. The moths belonging to this large group are stout-bodied and rapid-flying insects, and are, as their name implies, seldom seen on the Wing except at night. When at rest they fold their wings over the body, roof-shaped, in such a way that the lower wings are entirely concealed. Their antenne are long and tapering, and their wings are always fastened together by the loop and spur already mentioned in another chapter. Most of these insects are sombre in coloring, browns and grays being the predominating colors. Many of them are thickly covered with long hair-like scales, which are easily loos- ened. The thorax is frequently tufted; and the legs covered with long scales are sometimes provided with spines at the joints. Most of our native species are of small or moderate size, but some of the 58 MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. exotic species are gigantic, specimens of Hrebus strex from Brazil sometimes measuring twelve inches from tip to tip of the expanded wings. Great difficulty is experienced in identifying many of the small and plain-colored insects belonging to this group, as they are fre- quently very much alike both in shape and markings, and puzzling varieties in colors are Common. The larvee are usually smooth, though some are hairy, and a few possess tubercles and warts. They are generally provided with six- teen legs. Some make cocoons in which to transform to the chrysa- lis state; the majority burrow into the ground and form smooth, naked chrysalides. Many of the caterpillars feed exclusively by night, hiding by day, and a number of species are among the prin- cipal insect pests with which the gardener and farmer have to deal. Our first example is the splendid moth Erebus edora, which expands six or seven inches and is occasionally taken as far north as Canada. It is a rare visitor, and one may consider himself exceed- ingly fortunate who captures a good specimen, for it is said not to live in the United States except as a wanderer from Mexico. | have never taken a specimen, but know of several instances where they have been captured in New England and the Western States. The insect is not rare in Mexico; and one rarely sees a collection from that country which does not contain one or more specimens of this fine moth. The predominating color is dark brown; but in certain lights, pink and metallic purple and blue are reflected from the wings. There is frequently a good deal of variation in this species, some- times the wavy lines running across the wings being almost white and again obscure gray or yellowish brown. This insect is a very strong flyer, as specimens are said to have been taken on board a ship, one hundred and twenty-five miles from the nearest land. I know nothing of the larva or of the life history of the insect. In Parthenos nubilis, the insect looks very much like the Catocala and has much the same habits. The upper wings are dark brown, black, gray and creamy-white. Thorax and body light brown. Lower wings blackish-brown with four wavy and somewhat indis- tinct bands of yellowish-orange. Expanse of wings two and one-halt inches. I have spécimens of this insect from New England and the Middle and Western States. It may be taken in the company of Catocala and seems to have a wide range. ‘RIOPO SIGINT a ord, _— s NOCTUIDS. 61 The genus Catocala is very well represented in this country, and is of more interest to the collector than any other class of the Noctuide, both on account of the large size of many of the species and also for their great beauty. These insects frequently measure three inches or more across the expanded wings. The upper wings are usually brown or gray with numerous zigzag lines running ACLOss them, while the lower wings are frequently crossed with broad black bars, alternating with bands of red, yellow or white. The lower wings are hidden from view when the moths are at rest. The larvee feed on various forest trees, oak and hickory being their most com- mon food plant. Both the larvee and the perfect moths are protected by their resemblance in color to the bark of trees, and only careful and dilligent search will enable one to find them. There are eighty or more species of this genus native to this country, and a large number of varieties which have been given separate names. The identification of some of the species is difficult, both on account of their variation and the obscurity of their markings. Catocala cara is one of the most common moths of this genus as well as one of the largest and finest. It loves to fly along water-courses at night, particularly where they are bordered on either side with forests, and on this account may often be found in the daytime hiding on the underside of the boards and beams of bridges, and I have myself taken thirty-seven specimens of this fine moth under one bridge in less than an hour. If one knows of such a place, he may visit it every day from the middle of August to the last of September and be tolerably certain of finding specimens of this and sometimes one or two other species. Where trees overhang the water, too, one may look for this insect with good chances of success in finding it. The larva of this insect lives on willow and may sometimes be found descending the trunk of a tree preparatory to burrowing under the leaves to undergo its transformations. The scales of all these moths seem to be very loosely attached, and the greatest care is nec- essary in handling them. I make it a rule never to touch one with my fingers for fear of injuring it. When a moth of this kind is seen on the trunk of a tree do not try to use the net for its capture but place the open end of the poison jar over it and when it flies into the trap put on the cover and the insect is safe. Each specimen should be taken out and placed in an envelope or collecting paper before another one is put into the jar. Although many of the Cato- 62 MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. cala 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. Catoeala 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- tinet 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 eray, 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 I 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 1s widely distributed, as I NOCTUIDS. 63 have had specimens from New England, Ohio, Illinois, Arkansas and Virginia. Catocala concumbens. Although common, Catocala concumbens is a very attractive insect, Its forward wings being a soft gray, while two bars of black and two of pink adorn the lower wings. This moth may be taken by sugar- ing, and it will also come to a lght, and is a pretty creature for one to see coming in at his window fluttering its wings of black and pink just in front of his face. This inseet is probably found over a large part of this country, as I have specimens from many localities. Stone walls or heaps of rocks in the woods seem to be favorite haunts of this moth; and as the bright pink lower wings are covered by the gray upper ones when at rest, it is not easily discovered. Two and three-quarters inches is the expanse of wing of a good- sized specimen. ‘The caterpillar lives on willow. Catocala epione, A number of the Catocala have no bands of bright color on the lower wings, but these members are simply black or dark brown with a white fringe, while the upper wings are very like those insects I have been describing. The present species is one of this class, and there are a large number so closely related that their separation into species is not an easy matter. 64 MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. These moths inhabit oak woods, generally in company with other kinds, and are most often to be found in the daytime hugging closely to the trunks of the trees where their gray wings marbled with dark brown and black render them difficult to see. When once alarmed they readily take to flight and are strong and rapid on the wing. This species may be taken by sugaring but rarely comes to a leght. The larva lives on oak. Catoeala fratercula. The little Catocala fratercula, which much resembles some of the larger kinds, is often abundant in oak woods in August, where it may be found in company with the larger species. Its fore wings are light gray, with creamy-white and brown patches and markings, and its lower wings are orange banded with black. One will often find this moth on fences and stone walls as well as_ tree-trunks. Half-a-dozen or more species of the same size may easily be mistaken for this and the beginner will encounter many difficulties in separat- ing the species of Catocala. ‘The larva lives on oak. The moth Catocala cerogama las upper wings gray and brown, with black markings. Thorax gray. Body brown. Lower wings brown near the body, the rest being black crossed by a single narrow band of dull orange, edged with yellowish-gray. This insect ex- pands a trifle over three inches. I have not found it-a common specie, but have specimens from Arkansas, Ohio, Massachusetts and Ontario, Canada. In Catocala parta the upper wings are gray, light brown and black. Thorax gray and black, body light brownish-buff. Lower wings orange-red with one narrow and one broad black band, the outer margin yellowish-gray. The insect expands three inches and a half in a fine specimen. This is not a rare insect, and I have taken it in Massachusetts, Southern Ohio and Ilinois, and have specimens from Ontario, Canada. Catocala subnata. Upper wings gray and light brown. Thorax light gray, body yellowish-brown. Lower wings ochreous-yellow ‘SHLOW GIN000N "BVVUQUS B[VOOIVO ‘Bsnliun BlBo0yRD ‘eqaed vpRooIe "BULBSOLIO BL/ROOIRD Bqied BlBooyegO -I NOCTUIDS. 6 crossed by two bands of black. Expanse nearly three and one-half inches. I have never taken this insect, but have specimens collected in Southern Ohio.” Catocala unijuga. Upper wings dark gray and black with light gray wavy lines, Thorax dark gray. Body brown. Lower wings bright orange-red, edged with white and crossed by two intensely black bands. Expanse of wings three inches. This is a common insect in the northeastern part of the country, and I have a number of specimens from Canada. The species, Catocala innubens, is a very variable one. The upper wings are usually dark brown, light brown and black. Thorax and body heht brown. Lower wings reddish-orange edged with yellow and crossed by two bands of black. This insect expands two and one-half inches and is sometimes found in numbers on oak-trees. I have specimens from Iowa, Ohio, Massachusetts and Ontario. Catocala flebilis. Upper wings dark gray and_ sooty black. Thorax dark gray. Body sooty brown. Lower wings black, edged with yellowish-white. Expanse two anda quarter inches. A com- mon insect in oak woods in September and October. Catocala desperata. Upper wings light gray and light brown and crossed by black lines. Thorax light gray. Body sooty brown. Lower wings blackish-brown, lighter near the body and edged with yellowish-white. Expanse two and three-quarters inches. Not a rare insect in New England and the Middle and Western States. Catocala palwogama. Upper wings gray with black markings. Thorax gray. Body light brown. Lower wings orange crossed by two black bands. Expands two and one-half inches. I have speci- mens of this insect from Southern Ohio, but have never taken it in Massachusetts. Catocala amica. Upper wings gray and black with a greenish shade. Thorax gray. Body yellowish-brown. Lower wings orange with a large brownish-black patch: Expanse of wings one and three- quarters inches. This insect is sometimes very common in autumn, and may frequently be taken in numbers on the trunks of poplar- trees. I have also found it abundantly when collecting other Cato- cala in oak forests. : Catocala antinympha. Upper wings blackish-brown, with black and brown marks. Thorax and body dark. Lower wings orange, with two black bands. Expanse, two inches. I have specimens of this insect from Ohio and Massachusetts. 68 MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. Poaphila quadrifilaris is a little moth which expands about an inch. It is very dark brown, or almost black, lighter toward the Poaphila quadrifilaris. edges of the wings. ‘The fore wings are crossed by two white stripes, the inner one being the narrower, while the lower wings are plain dark brown. This httle insect inhabits marshy meadows and when disturbed flies so rapidly that it is difficult to follow it with the eye. Its flight is short, and it alights suddenly on a grass blade, keeping an eye on the intruder and holding itself ready for another flight. I have taken this moth rarely with a lighted lamp in Massachusetts. Zs Gi ff HWW \ Bigg! Mlb, Wp al \\\ \ Chit) 7 Vs SAY Drasteria erechtea. Drasteria erechtea is a very common insect frequenting open grassy fields and meadows. It flies rapidly when disturbed, but only for a short distance. This moth is one of the first to make its appearance in the spring, and may also be found abundantly in the late summer and autumn. In expanse about an inch and a half, it is one of the commonest visitors to the collector’s lamp, sometimes becoming a great nuisance, fluttering about the lamp and even into the chimney, extinguishing the flame. The larvee of this moth feeds on clover and is of a reddish-brown color with darker stripes and two light gray lines on the back. The caterpillar might: easily be mistaken for a Geometrid as it has but three pairs of abdominal legs and moves with a looping motion. The mature insect is grayish-brown with dark brown bands and markings disposed as shown in the illustration. The male is more Catoeala innubens. Catoeala flebilis. Catocala desperata, Catocala palzeogama, NOCTUID MOTHS. NOCTUIDS. rat strongly marked than the female. This insect is found over a large part of the American continent. Euelidia cuspidea. A pretty species related to the preceding is Huclhdia cuspidea. Of the same size, its wings are brown crossed by bands of light yellowish and reddish-brown and having on the upper wings several patches of very dark velvety brown or black. This insect may occa- sionally be seen among low bushes and shrubs, particularly about patches of sweet fern. When disturbed it flies rapidly for a short distance and drops suddenly among the low bushes and conceals itself. The larva is unknown to me. Rhodophora florida. One of our most beautiful Noctuids is Rhodophora florida. Its expanse of wing is about an inch and a quarter. The fore wings are mottled with rich pink on a yellow ground for two-thirds of their length, the outer margin being yellow, while the lower wings are very light yellow or almost white. This insect may often be seen about the evening primrose, which is the food plant of the caterpillar, and it has the habit of concealing itself among the flower petals in the daytime, the tips of the wings alone being visible. This little moth has a wide range, and I have taken it in California, Nevada, Arkansas, Virginia, Ohio and in Massachusetts, and have specimens which were taken in Canada and Florida. The larva is probably a a2 MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. nocturnal feeder, as it may be found hiding in the daytime among the young leaves of the primrose. It is greenish-yellow in color. The cotton worm, Aletia agillacea, and the army worm, Hellophila unipuncta, both belong to this group of insects, and are well known where they occur in numbers on account of their destructiveness. The former lives on the leaves of the cotton plant, as its common name implies, and is the greatest enemy the cotton-growing industry has in the South. This caterpillar is nearly two inches long when fully grown, and is green in color with black stripes and black and yellow spots. The moth, which is very plain, expands an inch and a half, and is brownish-gray, the fore wings being crossed by faint wavy lines of a darker color. This insect is found mostly in the cotton-growing States, but has been taken in the North, where its occurrence is said to be from southern migration. The army worm has a wider distribution than the cotton worm, being found over the whole of the eastern half of the country as well as in Europe and Australia. The moth is plain in color, being yellowish-gray and brown with a white dot in the centre of each fore wing. These caterpillars feed on grasses, and are sometimes so Larva of Hellophila unipuncta, abundant as to devour almost every vegetable growth within their reach. At such times they commence their march for “ pastures new,” and are often seen in great numbers and all marching in one direction, which gives them their common name. The caterpillar is striped with dark gray or dark brown on a greenish-yellow or gray- ish-yellow ground, and is an inch and a half long when fully grown. The pupa state is passed in the ground. A genus of Noctuide having many American representatives, among which are some very beautiful species, is Plusia. The fore wings rather pointed, usually of different shades of brown, are fre- quently ornamented with a silvery or golden comma-shaped spot Gin some species several spots and patches), while the thorax and upper part of the abdomen is adorned with tufts of hair-like scales. The larvee, generally greenish in color, sometimes striped, are some of them injurious to garden vegetables, and spin their thin cocoons, through which the pups can be seen, among the leaves. ee ee Gee ee ee ee ee NOCTUIDS. 73 These moths frequent flowers in the evening, one of their fayor- ites being the phlox, upon the blossoms of which they alight. It is amusing to watch one of these moths standing almost upon its head Plusia simplex. as it thrusts its tongue into the flowers in its eagerness to procure the sweets. Plusia simplex is a common and well-known insect, ex- panding an inch and a quarter or more. The fore wings are brown, in some specimens pinkish-brown, darker near the centre, where there is a silvery spot whose shape can be seen in the illustration. The lower wings are dull yellow and margined with a broad band of brown. This insect is probably double-brooded, as I have taken it in June and again in September. Plusia putnami. A very pleasingly colored species is Plusta putnami. The head, forward part of the thorax, antenne and legs are reddish-pink, the tuft of hairs on the thorax being pinkish-brown. The abdomen is yellow with tufts of pink hairs on the sides. The fore wings are reddish-brown, deeper toward the outer margins, and adorned with patches of silver and golden colored scales. The lower wings are yellowish with a grayish band near the margins, and edged with pink, the whole making one of our most beautiful little moths. I have never found this species common, but have taker it with a 74 MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. lamp in Ohio and Massachusetts in August. Some species of Plusia have no metallic spots but are rich in their reddish-brown shadings. In Plusia wrea the upper wings are purplish-brown. Head and forward part of thorax yellowish, dark gray above. Body yellowish- gray. Lower wings dark brown, lighter next to body. Expanse one and one-half inches. Eucirredia pampina has upper wings and thorax reddish-orange with brown markings. Lower wings and body pinkish-gray. Ex- panse of wings one and one-half inches. This is a common little moth in autumn, and is often taken while sugaring for Catocala. In the species of the genus Gortyna the larve are stalk-borers, living in the stalks of both wild and cultivated plants, and some- times doing considerable damage to the potato, tomato, Indian corn, ete., causing the plants to wither and die. Gortyna nitela. In Gortyna nitela the fore wings are purplish-gray stippled with yellow, a light line running across them. The lower wings are light brown. The larva is pinkish-brown, darker toward the head and is marked with light yellowish-white stripes. This species is fre- quently destructive to the dahla and aster, passing its larval state within the stems of these plants and devouring their substance. The insect pupates just below the surface of the ground, where it constructs a sight cocoon. The moth appears in September. Cucullia speyeri. Cucullia speyert is a gray moth with slender pointed upper wings marked with brown, the lower wings being white, margined with i 4 Ot NOCTUIDS. eray-brown.. This insect has a crest on the forward part of the thorax, and from this fact is called the hooded owlet. The cater- pillar feeds on golden rod. Pyrophila pyramidoides. Pyrophila pyramidoides is a common moth with brown fore wings crossed by wavy lines of dark brown and black, while the hind wings are copper colored and brown. The whole upper surface of the insect is very glossy. In September this insect may be found on fences and tree-trunks and I have sometimes dislodged a number of them when stripping the loosened bark from dead tree-trunks in search of beetles. The food plants of the larva are the grape and Virginia creeper. A very interesting species in the larval state is Bellura gortynides, which lives in the leaf stems of the pond lily, having a communica- tion with the air through a hole in the leaf. When feeding it descends below the surface of the water to a distance, according to Comstock, of two feet or more. The perfect insect is brownish, and expands an ineh and a half. - Mamestra picta. A beautifully marked insect in the caterpillar state is Mamestra picta and the larva goes by the appropriate name of the zebra worm. 76 MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. This insect is frequently to be seen in the autumn on the leaves of the parsnip, carrot and cabbage, although I have never seen it abun- dant enough to do much harm. The smooth, naked caterpillar is Larva of Mamestra picta. striped longitudinally with yellow and black in conspicuous bands, these stripes being crossed with numerous fine white lines on the sides of the insect. The larva burrows into the ground and passes the winter in the pupa state, whence it emerges in the spring a moth with dark chestnut-brown fore wings and yellowish-white hind wings. The moth expands an inch and a half. In the genus Agrotis the larvee are known by the appropriate name of cut-worms. ‘The ravages of these pests are well known to farmers, gardeners and florists. What an aggravation it is after pur- chasing and carefully planting a few choice pansies or sowing and diligently caring for a bed of sweet peas to see the young plants toppling over and withering in the morning sun, their stems cut off just above the roots. The eggs of the moths are laid in the ground during July and August and the infant caterpillars soon make their appearance, but are so minute while their food (the roots of suceu- lent plants) is so abundant that their depredations are not noticed. As cold weather advances they burrow deep into the ground, where they pass the winter in smooth oval cavities in the earth in a curled position. When warm weather again awakens them to life they work their way to the surface and are then most destructive to young plants, often cutting off in a single night numbers of eab- bages, beans or peas, and hiding just below the surface of the ground during the daytime, ready to renew their depredations the next night. When the larvee arrive at maturity they again descend into the ground, where they pupate. The moths emerge in July and August. The larvee are stout-bodied creatures, dingy in color, often striped from head to tail with light gray and brown or black. They are naked, with a horny plate on the upper part of the body near the head, and the different species so closely resemble each other as to be scarcely distinguishable. These insects are very destructive to many flowering plants as well as garden vegetables, and one or two species have been known to ascend apple and pear trees and grape vines in aie al ae NOCTUIDS. 77 the night and devour the fruit buds, greatly diminishing their pro- duction. Many experiments have been tried to destroy these pests, but perhaps the most effectual is to carefully remove the soil from about the infected young plants and kill the caterpillars as they lie curled up near the roots an inch or less below the surface of the ground. Small tin basins or cups placed in the ground near the plants in such a manner that their tops are on a level with the surface will be found to be excellent traps for these annoying marauders. The caterpillars in their nightly wanderings in search of food fall into the receptacles and one may wreak vengeance on them in the morning as they will be unable to climb up the smooth sides of the tin. Re- venge is indeed sweet when one has seen his finest flowers and vege- tables cut off in early youth by these destructive ** worms.” The perfect insects are mostly nocturnal in their habits, coming into our houses at night and secreting themselves behind picture frames or among clothing in our closets in the daytime. Some species are, however, day-flyers and may be seen during the sunny hours about the blossoms of the milkweed and golden-rod busily sipping their sweets. Most of these moths are very dull in color, though a few are marked with pleasing tints of brown, gray and buff. The following illustrations of a few typically marked species of Agrotis will give an idea of their general appearance. Agrotis tassellata. Agrotis ¢-nigram. Agrotis normaniana. Agrotis tassellata is a small moth. The color of its fore wings is dark gray with two light spots and two black spots on each. ‘The lower wings are light brownish-gray, darker at their edges. This moth expands one inch and a quarter. Agrotis c-nigram is a rather dark species, the fore wings being dark brown, gray and black, with a few lighter spots and markings, while the hind wings are light brown. — It is one of the larger species, expanding an inch and three-quarters. 78 MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. Agrotis normaniana is a prettily marked species, its fore wings being marked with gray, buff and black, with the hind wings buff and brown. The insect expands an inch and a half. Agrotis herilis. Agrotis venerabilis. An exceedingly abundant species during August is Agrotis herilis. The fore wings are gray and black, with cream-colored marks and spots, while the hind wings are light brown. Expands about an inch and a half. Agrotis venerabilis is a reddish-brown moth, whose hind wings are erayish-brown. Expands an inch and three-eighths. Calocampa nupera. A rather rare moth, and at the same time a prettily marked in- sect, is Calocampa nupera. ‘This insect expands two inches and a half, and is marked as follows: the upper half of the fore wings is gray, darker toward the tips, light ash-gray nearest the body; an interrupted black line runs longitudinally through the middle of the wing, on which is situated a black spot; the lower half of the fore wing is chestnut-brown; the lower wings are reddish-brown, with a glossy surface; the thorax is dark brownish-purple and the abdomen reddish-brown. I have taken this insect occasionally in autumn while sugaring trees for Catocala. The larva of this moth is unknown to me. -> = A Sites Catoeala antinympha. Catocala amica. Aputela lobelix, Kucirroedia pampina. Parthenos nubilis. Plusia rea, ‘ NOCTUID MOTHS, NOCTUIDS. 81 Apatela americana is «a gray moth, with a scalloped, light gray line near the outer margin of the fore wings edged externally with black and brown, and with a row of black dots along the outer Apatela americana. margin. The lower wings are yellowish-gray, and the insect ex- pands two inches and a half. The hairy caterpillar feeds on the leaves of the maple, elm and chestnut, and is usually seen partially curled sidewise when not feeding. Its head, belly and legs are black, and its back is dull green. The hairs covering its body are yellow, with two pairs of tufts of long black hairs on the forward part of the body and a single tuft near the posterior extremity. In autumn the inseet spins a cocoon composed externally of silk and hairs from its body, inside of which is another covering, composed of silk and bits of bark or chips of wood. ‘This cocoon is usually hidden under the loosened bark of a tree and in it the pupa passes the winter. In Apatela lobeliv the upper wings are gray with light gray lines and black marks. Thorax gray. Abdomen. brown. Lower wings light brown. Expanse two inches. Gramatophora trisignata. Gramatophora trisignata is a pretty species, being of a mouldy- green color on the fore wings, marked with lines and mottlings of black, with three round reddish-brown spots on each wing, the lower wings being light yellowish-brown. This moth I have taken on one or two occasions with a lamp in Ohio and Massachusetts. I have also received one specimen from 82 MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. Toronto, Ont. It expands an inch and a half. The larva is one of those strange, weird forms in which Nature seems occasionally to delight, suggesting that she must have been in a ‘wondrous merry mood” in evolving a being so grotesque. The extreme of the Larva of Gramatophora trisignata. fantastic and the ridiculous seems to have been reached in shaping this creature. Of beauty it has none, and is withal a most venomous looking animal, for when disturbed it swings its head from side to side in a menacing manner. The tuft of hairs just back of the head usually have attached the hard black shells of the insect’s head which were shed in the earlier moults of the larva, and these add a good deal to its uncanny appearance, giving one the impression that it has several heads of different sizes. The caterpillar is dark brown, with a lighter brown patch occupying several of the segments. The six front legs, head and warts from which the hairs spring are shining black. The food plant of the caterpillar is lilac. BOMBYCIDZ. Spinne rs. The family of Bombyx is one of great importance, as it not only includes many of the largest and finest insects in the world, but also those of greatest importance to man from an economic standpoint, as in this family belong all the principal silk-producing insects from whose cocoons such a varicty of beautiful and useful fabrics are manufactured. The moths belonging to this family are mostly stout, thick-bodied insects, frequently very hairy or woolly. They have small, sunken heads, and the antenne are often feathered, particu- larly in the males. The mouth parts are either rudimentary or wholly wanting, many of the species not being able to appropriate food of any kind in the perfect state. Their wings are usually broad, BOMBYCIDS. 83 and in many of the species are covered with a dense armor of scales arranged in colored patterns, frequently very gay, while in others the clothing is of more subdued tints, soft and blended. The remark- able power by which the virgin females attract the males, often from long distances (referred to in a former chapter), is, to the best of my knowledge, confined exclusively to this family of moths. The caterpillars are stout-bodied creatures, many of them densely clothed with hairs or spines, while others are fleshy and are adorned with rows of tubercles. A few are naked and smooth. Xyleutes robinie. One may find in the trunks of poplar, oak and locust trees, protruding from large circular holes, the empty shells of this moth. Xyleutes (the carpenter) is a very appropriate name for this genus of moths, as their larvee mine in the solid wood of Xyleutes robiniz. Female. trees, excavating long tunnels, increasing in diameter as the cater- pillars grow. Their larvee have true legs and prolegs, but are grub- like looking creatures. The present species is flesh color above and light beneath, with the head and the forward part of the body above covered with a hard shelly substance, brown in color. When fully grown the caterpillars are two or three inches long. They seem to prefer large trees and sometimes do considerable damage, riddling the trunks and carrying their tunnels out through the bark before changing to pup. They are said to require three years to reach maturity and make their thin silken cocoons in the burrows some distance from the opening, usually lining the tunnel with silk both c front and back of their cocoons. 84 MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. The pupa is yellowish-brown, and, by means of rows of short spines on the abdominal segments, works its way to the mouth of its burrow, when the moth is about to break the shell. The moth comes forth in July, and is a night-flyer. The insect is very plain. Its wings are parchment-like, resembling in some respects the coddis flies. The female is light gray, with a net-work pattern of dark brown on the fore wings. The head and thorax are gray, and the abdomen and lower wings are brownish-gray. The insect expands three inches. The male is much smaller than the female. Its Xyleutes robinize. Male. forward wings are of a greenish-gray and dark brown, its head and thorax gray, abdomen black, and its lower wings orange and_ black. Although not a rare insect, on account of its habits it is seldom seen. Zeuzera pyrina. The leopard moth is a European species which has been introduced into this country. The wings are white, partly transparent, and marked with a number of dark spots and rings, from which it has derived its popular name. The caterpillar bores tunnels in the wood of various trees (elm, ash, maple, pear, apple, etc.), and is capable of doing a good deal of damage should it become very numerous. It is yellowish, with numerous black spots on the sides and back, and has a horny plate on the segment next the head. The moth may occasionally be taken about electric lights in the neighbor- hood where it has been introduced. To the genus Sthenopis belong some rare and interesting moths. I have made the acquaintance of but two species of this genus in this country, Sthenopis argentomaculatus and S. argentata. ‘These insects are much alike, the former being the larger, and measuring three and a half inches or more in expanse, while of the latter species, the only BOMBYCIDS. 85 specimen I ever took is two and a half inches across. Their colors are ashen gray, the fore wings being crossed by bands and rows of spots of darker gray. On the fore wings are two small silvery spots. Sthenopis argeutata. A remarkable characteristic of these moths is their exceedingly short antenne. I have never seen the larva, and the life history of these moths is not known to me. Professor Comstock states that “the larva are nearly naked and grub-like in appearance, although fur- nished with sixteen legs. They feed upon wood and are found at the roots or within the stems of plants. They transform either in their burrows or in the case of those that feed outside of roots within loose cocoons.” S. argentomaculata 1 have taken in northern Ohio, while collecting with a lamp. As it cireled about the room, it looked, with its long wings, a good deal like a large dragon-fly. I also found a specimen of the same species in the same locality in the daytime clinging to the under side of a blackberry leaf. S. argentata (the species figured) I took at dusk in Julyin South Sudbury, Mass. It was flying slowly along the road in a wooded district, and I easily caught up with it and knocked it down with my hat. I have seen species of this genus from Mexico and Brazil: and a very large coarse-looking insect of the same genus was lately sent me from Cooktown, in Queensland, Australia. The Lasiocampians include the tent caterpillars and the lappet eaterpiNars. The moths belonging to this group are downy or woolly and thick-bodied, and are distinguished by the lack of the loop and bristle which holds the upper and lower wings together during flight in other moths. The caterpillars are soft-bodied creat- ures, almost velvety to the touch, and are clothed with short soft hairs, thickest on the sides, which do not arise from warts or tuber- cles. The antennze of these moths are feathered more broadly in the 86 MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. males than in the females. When at rest the wings are folded in such a way that they slant both sides of the abdomen like a roof, and the lower wings project on the sides, not being wholly covered by the upper wings. The moths are night-flyers. Some of the larve are eregarious, living in colonies, frequently in immense numbers. Some species feed on cultivated trees, and on account of their vast numbers sometimes do immense damage. The pupa state is passed in a cocoon composed mostly of silken threads. A numerous and most destructive species belonging to this group in the East is Clistocampa americana, the tent caterpillar, whose un- sightly webs of large dimensions are to be seen almost everywhere in neglected apple orchards and by the roadside on wild cherry-trees. The eggs of the female moth are deposited in a compact mass or bunch near the end of a twig, of its chosen food plant, partly or wholly encireling it. They are cylindrical in shape and are placed on end close together often three or four hundred in a bunch and covered with a shining brown water-proof varnish which protects them from the weather. In this state they remain during the fall and winter, and hatch about the time that the leaf-buds are ready to burst in May. The young caterpillars construct in the fork of a branch a small triangular web or tent of fine silken webs in which they remain through the night and during cold or stormy weather, sallying forth in long lines, usually in single file, each caterpillar spinning its web, presumably to enable it to retrace its steps as it advances to the ends of the twigs to feed upon the opening foliage. In time these lines of silk extend to the tips of all the immediate branches about the nest, which is added to as the individuals com- posing the colony grow im size. As they remain in this tent at all times when not engaged in feeding or in wandering to and from their feeding grounds, it is a veritable home, and in time~ becomes large and strong, capable of resisting the attacks of most birds and of all parasitic insects. When the caterpillars reach maturity they are about two inches long, sparsely clothed with soft hairs thicker on the sides, with black heads, and are striped lengthwise with white, yellow and black, with a blue spot in the middle of each segment on each side. When -about to pupate they abandon their tent and separately wander off in search of a suitable locality in which to spin their cocoons. These are spun in crevices in the bark of trees, about fences and stone walls, frequently on buildings on the clapboards or under the BOMBYCIDS. 87 eaves. They are oval in form, light colored and thin, and intermixed with the threads is a yellowish-white substance which seems to give stiffness to the cocoon. About two weeks after the cocoon is finished the moth makes its escape through a hole in one end which it moist- ens, it is said, with a secretion from its mouth, enabling the insect to push the loosened threads aside. The moth expands from an inch Clisiocampa americana, to an inch and a half or over, the male being smaller than the female. The body of the insect is woolly, and is of a rusty brown color, its fore wings being crossed by a lighter band edged on either side by a narrow grayish-yellow line. The male is somewhat darker than the female. This insect in its caterpillar state is so injurious to apple orchards that its destruction becomes a necessity to keep the trees in bearing condition. It is not a difficult insect to combat, as its clusters of egos are easily seen during the fall and winter, and can be picked off by hand and burned. When the young larvee first begin their opera- tions in the spring their nests may easily be taken from the trees and each colony destroyed in its infancy. ‘To insure success in this work the tents should be removed either early in the morning or late in the afternoon, or else on stormy days when the whole colony is at home. A piece of coarse burlap wound around the end of a pole and saturated with kerosene oil will be found well fitted for the work, as the oil will destroy the caterpillars which it touches even if they are not removed with the tent. To keep one’s orchard cleared of these pests the nests should be destroyed not only on the orchard trees but also on all neglected trees in the neighborhood infested by them, especially the wild cherry-tree, which seems to be the favorite food plant of the species. Two or three neglected trees will breed moths enough to stock several orchards with the pest the following spring. The parasites probably do more to hold these imsects in check than all other agents (man included) put together. If one will (oe) oe) MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. closely watch a colony of the tent caterpillars when out of their nest or a large number of larvee of any other kind, he may see a small swarm of ichneumon flies constantly hovering about and over them. These are on the watch for a chance to deposit their eggs in or on the bodies of the caterpillars ; and when one considers their numbers and persistency, one wonders that a sufficient number of the larvee escape to propagate the species. Here is an instance which gives some idea of their ravages. One of my brothers had one hundred caterpillars of a large species he wished to raise which he placed on a young tree and enclosed the whole in mosquito netting. Under this net they remained until nearly full grown, when one day a small rent was dis- covered in one corner of the net presumably made by a bird; and when the larvee were taken out and examined, of the entire number but three had escaped the ichneuman flies which had found their way into the net and laid their eggs on the caterpillars. While a species is comparatively scarce, its chances of escape from birds and parasitic insects are fairly good; and if it is a prolific Clisiocampa disstria. species well adapted to its surroundings and has plenty of food, it will increase until its posterity may be reckoned by millions. It now begins to attract attention, both from the birds and the parasites, as a large amount of food going to waste. The parasites attack it, and having an abundance of food begin to increase at a rapid rate; and the birds finding an easily obtained food-supply neglect other foods and apply themselves to this. The consequence is that the demand soon equals and finally exceeds the supply, and an entire region previously infested with an injurious insect may be so depopulated in one or two seasons that a careless observer might conclude that the species was extinct or had migrated to other parts. This, in my opinion, is the explanation of the sudden disappearance of many an BOMBYCIDS. 89 insect pest which may have at one time threatened the destruction of the plants upon which it subsisted. The forest tent caterpillar, Clisiocampa disstria, resembles the pre- ceding species both in its habits and in the general appearance of the caterpillar and moth. The larva is more bluish than the common tent caterpillar, has a row of spots along the back instead of lines, is greenish on the sides and has a blue head. It lives in large colonies of three or four hundred individuals on oaks and walnuts, and makes a large tent beneath which it remains except when feeding. This insect I have seen very abundant in the White Mountain region of New Hampshire, where it not only devoured the leaves of the oak and walnut, but also apple, cherry, and when hard pressed even birch, alder and elm. ‘The insects were nearly full grown by the middle of June. The moth is about the same size as the preceding, but is of amore reddish-tan color, and the fore wings are crossed by a broad band of a darker shade. It is an inhabitant of all the New England and Middle States. Tolype velleda. The lappet moth, Tolype velleda, is a pretty and interesting species. The larva is very much flattened beneath, and along its sides are a number of flat projections or lappets from which spring numerous hairs making a fringe around the body. When the insect is not feeding it hugs closely to the bark of the tree, the hairs on it sides he flat against its support; and as its colors are dull greenish-gray, it looks like nothing on earth so much as a swelling on the bark. One may even gaze directly upon it without realizing that it is anything alive. The larva is orange, sometimes red beneath and has an in- tensely black band between two of the segments on the upper side on the forward part of the body. This band does not show when the insect is at rest. It feeds upon the apple, poplar and willow, and reaches full size during July, when it is two inches or more in length. It spins a thick gray-brown cocoon, oval in shape, convex above, flat and very thin on the under side, and spreading out on the edges like 90 MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. thin paper, attached to the trunk or a limb of the tree upon which the larva fed. The chrysalis is dark brown and very smooth. The moth makes its appearance early in September and is a night-flyer, occasionally attracted to lighted lamps. Its colors are soft and blended, being white shaded with blue-gray, and its wings crossed by two broad bands of dark gray. The female moth expands two and one-half inches, but the male is smaller, expanding but one and one-half inches. Another species, closely related to the preceding but smaller, is Tolype laricis, which lives on the larch. Its larva is brownish-gray in color and about an inch and a half long. Its habits are much like Tolype laricis. T. velleda, and it makes a similar though smaller cocoon. The moth emerges early in September and lays its eggs, which do not hatch till the folowing spring. The female moth resembles 7. velleda in color, except that it is hghter near the body, and the outer gray band on the forward wings is darker and narrower. The male, which is here figured, is dark gray with clouded wings. The abdomen is sooty black. According to my experience this is a rare moth. Gastropacha americana. Gastropacha americana is a reddish-brown moth with a lighter band crossing the wings, edged with wavy dark brown lines and having the edges of the wings scalloped. There is a good deal of discrepancy in size between the male and female, a good-sized speci- men of the latter spreading two inches. The larva feeds on apple, birch, maple and ash. It is flattened beneath and fringed with hairs BOMBYCIDS. 91 on the sides, like 7’. velleda. It is gray above, with irregular white spots, and striped with sooty black, having two scarlet bands crossing the forward part of the body, on each of which are three black spots. The under side is orange. The caterpillar measures over two inches in length when fully grown, and makes a gray-brown cocoon on the tree upon which it feeds. The moth emerges in June or early in July. To the genus Anisota belong several pretty native insects. They are not large, the largest spreading less than three inches. The sexes differ so much in coloring, size and shape as to scarcely be recognized as the same species. The antenne of the females are narrow, while in the males they are pectinated tor two-thirds of their length. The larve feed on various forest trees and are sometimes so abundant as to completely strip the trees of their leaves. These in- sects pupate in the ground. Anisota senatoria, Anisota senatoria is a common species in the eastern United States and Canada, and may be taken the latter part of June about electric lights at night or found in the daytime clinging to egrass-stalks under oak-trees, where they have rested to expand their wings after leaving the chrysalis shell. The female moth deposits her eggs in clusters on the under side of the leaves of oak-trees, and the larvae may some- times be seen in immense numbers. They are apparently gregarious during their entire caterpillar state and in casting their skins they congregate on the ends of the twigs leaving their wrinkled cast-off coverings where they often re- main after the larvee are full grown and have departed. When young they eat only the small and tender leaves, devouring the 92 MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. larger and tougher ones as they grow in size and strength, often stripping whole acres of forests of their leaves. When not feeding, the caterpillars congregate in immense clusters, bending down. the smaller twigs with their weight. They are dark brown or black in color, with dark ochreous yellow stripes on their sides and back, and are armed with short spines on each segment, and’ two horns on the segment next the head. They are stiff, hard and rough when fully grown, and during the early part of September crawl down the trees and burrow five or six inches into the ground, where they remain in the pupa state during the winter. The chrysalis is hard and spiny ; and when the moth is about to break the shell it works its way to the surface, where the empty case may be found protruding from the ground after the insect has flown. The female moth expands two and a half inches, and is of an ochreous yellow color, with a reddish east, tinged slightly with purple along the outer margin of the fore wines. The upper wings are stippled with faint brown spots and have a small white dot near the centre. The male is much smaller than the female. Its wings look small in proportion to its body and are purplish-brown, darker toward the tips of the fore wings, which have a white spot in the centre. Anisota stigma is not nearly so common an insect as the preceding species, and I have never seen it abundant. The habits of the cater- pillar are similar to those of A. senatoria ; but it is much lighter in color, being a tawny orange with dark stripes on its sides and back. Its spines are also longer. The female moth very much resembles A. senatoria, but is richer and more reddish in coloring, with larger spots of dark brown or black on its wings. The male is more lke the female in color than is the male of the other species, and has a large white spot in the centre of the fore wings. ‘The wings are also spotted with dark brown. This insect varies a good deal in the in- tensity of its coloring. Especially is this the case with the male, which is sometimes almost red. The male expands an inch and three-quarters and the female nearly three inches. In Anisota virginiensis the scales are thinly scattered over the wings, so that they appear almost transparent. The female is more purple than the other two species, and lacks the sprinkle of brown spots. The male is small and purple-brown in color, with a scaleless, transparent patch in the middle of each of the wings. This insect | have never found abundant. The female moth is about the size of A. senatoria, but the male is smaller than the male of that species. BOMBYCIDS. 93 The larva of this insect, like the two preceding, lives on the oak. It is of a dull grayish-green color, with indistinct stripes of pinkish, and is stippled with white dots. It is armed with short spines and horns, and, like the other species of the genus, is rough and hard. Anisota rubiecunda. Anisota rubicunda is very variable in its abundance or searcity, and is sometimes to be taken in numbers where, during the next sea- son, it may be rare. The species is usually very abundant in Wash- ington, D. C., where the larva lives on the maple-trees, frequently doing much damage. The trees in the Smithsonian grounds are in- fested with the caterpillars, and the perfect insects just out of their chrysalids may be taken by the dozen in June clinging to the grass stalks under the trees. One may even gather the live chrysalides as Chrysalis of Anisota rubieunda, they protrude from their burrows and have the pleasure of watching the imprisoned moth emerge in one’s own room. It is a beautiful insect. The fore wings are a delicate pink with a wide yellow band crossing them diagonally, while the lower wings are yellow with the lower margin pink. The body is yellow, and very soft and downy. The males are much smaller than their mates, and their coloring is usually much stronger. The insect spreads from one and a half to two and a half inches. The larva is two inches long, is light green striped longitudinally with dark green, and is horned in front, spiny along its back and sides, and is firm and rough to the touch. It 94 MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. seems to be more plentiful in the South than the North, and is, I be- heve, a rare insect in New England. We now come to the two genera Citheronia and Hacles, the royal moths, both represented by large species. ‘They are very stout-bodied moths and hairy or woolly. The antennz of the males are broadly pectinated for two-thirds of their length, the same organs of the females being simple. Their wings are strong, but they fly only by night. The larvee are armed with horns on the forward part of their bodies and are also somewhat hairy. They spin no cocoons, but pass the winter in the pupa state under ground. The chrysalis is spiny on the abdominal segments, doubtless to enable it to push itself up to the surface when the moth is about to break the shell. Citheronia regalis. Male. Citheronia regalis is a large and strikingly marked insect, and is not rare in the South and West, where the caterpillar feeds on the leaves of the walnut, hickory, butternut and persimmon. ‘The sexes frequently differ very much in size, although similarly marked. A good-sized male will measure four inches across its expanded wings, and a female six or more. I have a grand female specimen of this insect from Gainesville, Va., which is nearly seven inches across. BOMBYCIDS. 95 The body is reddish-orange, with yellow spots and lines on the thorax. The upper wings are olive streaked with broad reddish lines which follow the veins, and a number of large yellow spots are distributed over the wings as shown in the illustration. The lower wings are reddish-orange, with a few vague olive markings between the veins, a large spot and a defused band of yellow near the upper margin, which is usually covered with the upper wings. I have taken this fine moth about the electric ights in Washington, D. C., where it is not rare, have found specimens in I1linois and Arkansas, and have no doubt but that it inhabits all the Southern and Western States as far west as Kansas; but it must be considered a rare insect in north- ern New England. An insect very closely allied to this I have seen in collections from Mexico, also from Colombia and Brazil, South America. A friend living in Norwich, Conn., has succeeded in finding the larva of this moth there for several consecutive years, feeding on the leaves of the sumac, and has reared the perfect insects, of which he has sent me specimens. The caterpillar is one of our largest, if not the very largest, being four or five inches in length, thick in proportion and very for- midable in appearance, owing to a number of large curved spines with which it is armed on the forward part of the body. It is green in color, banded across the rings with blue. The head, legs, and large spines near the head are orange and the shorter spines black. Although a formidable-looking creature, it is perfectly harmless. When ready to pupate in September, the insect burrows into the ground, where it transforms into a stout brown chrysalis. This chrys- alis works its way to the surface of the ground the latter part of the following June, and the fly emerging crawls to a neighboring bush, and there hangs suspended until its wings have developed and are rigid enough to support it in flight. It is a sluggish insect, and when found may be carried home on the twig to which it is attached without danger of its taking flight. Eacles imperialis resembles the preceding, both in the larval and perfect state. Although not differing greatly in size, the males being slightly smaller than their mates, there is a marked difference in the coloring of the sexes. The ground color of both male and female is a rich yellowish-buff. In the male the forward wings are brownish-purple on the inner half, connected with a broad band of the same color extending along the outer margin. The lower wings 96 MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. have an irregular wavy line of the same color crossing them with a round spot and a vague patch above. Both upper and lower wings, particularly the former, are stippled with blended spots of dark brown or black. The thorax and abdomen are mottled with yellowish-buft and brownish-purple. The female is lghter than her mate, all four wings being crossed with a band of brownish-purple, with an irregu- lar clouded patch of the same color at the base of each wing near the body. The body is mottled and the wings stippled much the same as with the male. A good-sized specimen of this fine insect will measure five and a half inches across its expanded wings. It 1s not rare throughout the eastern half of the United States and Canada, and two or three closely allied species or varieties of the same species (one of them considerably larger than our own) occur throughout Mexico and temperate and tropical South America. The eggs are deposited singly on the button-wood, oak, and the different species of pine, and the caterpillars may be found full grown in September. They are usually dark green in color, although occa- sionally brown or even black, three or four inches long when full grown, and are rather hairy. Each segment is armed with short rough spines, with four larger ones on the forward part of the body. Larva of Eacles imperialis. The spiricles are very distinctly marked on the sides. The larva burrows into the ground, where it transforms into a chrysalis, remain- ing in this state during the winter. The chrysalis, which is much like that of C. regalis, makes its way to the surface of the ground, where it emerges a moth in June, and the empty pupa case may be found partly protruding from its burrow after the moth has flown. As the larva of this insect is a large and stout creature, it might be supposed that it would be readily seen; but as it is frequently located on the high branches of large trees and is usually of the same color as the leaves, it is not an easy insect to find. Where pine or sycamore trees overhang a road or a well-worn path the huge pellets Male Moth. Female Moth. EACLES IMPERIALI BOMBYCIDS. 9 of excrement dropped by the caterpillar will enable one to search out its whereabouts. When found it is not an easy thing to dislodge him, as he has a tenacious grasp of the twig to which he clings. The moth is sluggish in its movements, but flies well when once on the wing, and may occasionally be taken about electric lights. Saturnia io is a familiar insect to most persons haying a shght acquaintance with our native lepidopteria, and like several other native insects belonging to this family of Bombycide is a very lovely creature. The predominating color of the male, which expands three Saturnia io. Female, inches, is a yellowish-buff, deeper on the lower wings, the fore wings having a purple-brown spot a little above the centre of the wing, with two wavy lines near the outer margin, and one near the base of the wing, of the same color. In the middle of the lower wing isa large bluish spot witha white centre, having a broad ring of black encircling it. Outside of this is a sharp black line and then a red- dish-purple ne which broadens out into a wide band on the inner margin. The body is yellow, and the antenne, which are red, are broad and pectinated. The female is considerably larger than the male. The upper wings are a deep brownish-purple crossed by darker bands edged with fine wavy lines of yellow. The lower wings are much like those of the male except that the bluish spot is larger in proportion and the colors generally darker. The thorax is purpte-brown and the abdomen reddish-brown. The antenne are narrow and slightly pectinated. The eggs of the female are laid on the leaves of a variety of trees —oak, willow, locust, poplar, apple, etc.,— and are deposited in a 100 MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. compact patch of from thirty to eighty, or more, on the under side of a leaf. When the caterpillars hatch they are reddish-brown in color and covered with minute spines. ‘They are gregarious in their habits during the earlier part of their existence, feeding, resting and moving from place to place in regular order. When half-grown they separate, and during the remainder of the caterpillar state shift for themselves. The mature larva is two and a half inches long, of a Larva of Saturnia io. light green color, with a white stripe edged with reddish-purple extending along the sides. It is profusely covered with branching spines which are very sharp, and when carelessly touched sting like the nettle, causing the part affected to swell into whitish pimples, smarting painfully for an hour or two. When about to pupate the larva descends to the ground, where it draws together a few dead Chrysalis and cocoon of Saturnia io. leaves and spins among them a thin, irregular, brown cocoon, in which it passes the winter, coming out as a moth late the following June. This insect is readily attracted with a bright light, and the males may be assembled in numbers With a captive female. Saturnia maia. When the leaves of the oak are unfolding in the spring colonies of small, dark brown, spiny larvee may be found on them by diligent search. These are the young of the maia moth, and they may be easily reared by enclosing a small scrub-oak in mosquito netting and allowing the larve to feed. As the larvee mature they BOMBYCIDS. 101 become solitary in their habits, and when fully grown are three inches long, and, like the preceding, are covered with sharp branching spies which sting, but in a less degree than Saturnia io, if the in- sect is handled carelessly. The larva is brown in color, with reddish- brown head and legs, the tubercles at the base of the spines being also reddish-brown. When about to pupate the caterpillar crawls to the ground and, drawing a collection of leaves and sticks together, spins a loose, thin cocoon among them. Saturnia maia. Male. The moth emerges late in the fall, usually about the middle of October, and is one of the last of our lepidoptera which the collector may take on the wing. The maia moth is a day-flier, and may be seen on mild autumn days when the woods and fields are brown, hovering over the shrubby oaks. The males are easily assembled with a captive female. The sexes are readily distinguished from each other. The male has a broad feather-like antenna (while that of the female is narrow) and the end of the abdomen is adorned with a tuft of red hairs which the female does not have. The wings seem to be thinly covered with scales, and on that account are partly transparent. This moth is often very local, and may be abundant in one local- ity while scarce in another, apparently as favorable to its habita- tion. It may be readily taken on the wing with the net, and when fresh and perfect is an exceedingly pretty insect, its colors of soft blackish-brown, creamy-white, and bright red harmonizing in a pleas- ing manner. The female may sometimes be found by watching the 102 MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. movements of the males, who seem to scent them out, fluttering near the spot where the female rests concealed on a scrub-oak. Next in order comes the group of moths called Attac7, which includes many of the largest silk-producing species. Attacus cecropia is our largest native silk-spinning insect, and easily holds its place among the giant lepidoptera of the world. Specimens are occasionally taken six and one-half or even seven inches from tip to tip of their extended wings; and were it not so common, it would be much higher prized by collectors. When fresh from the cocoon, its wings (still soft, but fully expanded) have the appearance of being a part of some rich and heavy fabric, and a gentle- man with whom I am acquainted having interests in a woollen mill, remarked, on seeing one of these grand moths for the first time, “Now if I could manufacture a piece of goods like that, I think it would sell.” The subdued colors and the delicately traced patterns of many of the moths would, if imitated in fabrics, give greater variety and more artistic effects to the materials used for our adorn- ment and comfort. The female cecropia moth, the bulk of whose enormous body is composed almost wholly of eggs (two or three hundred in number), lays them singly or at the most two or three together on the under side of the leaves of the food plant. These egos are circular in shape, slightly flattened above and below, and 55 Larva of Attacus cecropia, are creamy-white in color. The young caterpillars make their appear- ance in ten or twelve days and are at first dark brown or black, covered with minute tubercles and stout black spines. At each moult they change in color, and when three-quarters of an inch long are orange or deep yellow studded with black tubercles and spines. The insect assumes a greenish and finally a beautiful bluish-green color as it matures, eventually reaching a length of three or four inches and a thickness of one’s thumb. It is then an imposing-look- BOMBYCIDS. 103 ing creature with large coral-red tubercles on the forward part of its body, yellow ones on its back, and smaller blue ones on its sides and about its head, all covered with short black bristles. It clasps the bough or twig on which it rests with a wonderful tenacity, and if placed on one’s finger the grasp of its fleshy feet with their minute hooks is very noticeable. It has a peculiar odor, both in the larva and the moth state, which may be of some protection to the animal. Toward the end of September the caterpillar constructs its coarse, brown, elongated cocoon, which is usually attached on one side to a twig or branch. This cocoon is composed of two parts, consisting of a loose, wrinkled outer covering and a well-shaped and dense inner pod, with fine floss silk separating the two, which are both loosely to} Section of cocoon of Attacus ceecropia. spun at one end to enable the moth to make its escape. There is frequently a marked difference between the cocoons found on trees and shrubs on high ground and those taken from low bushes and shrubs in swampy districts. The latter are frequently two or three times as large externally as the upland variety, and have a large amount of the floss silk between the outer and inner coverings. This variation I cannot explain, and have noticed no difference in the moths emerging from the two varieties of cocoons other than that the swamp-inhabiting specimens appear larger and richer in coloring than their upland relations. Sometimes the cocoons of these species are to be found in large numbers. In the suburbs of Chicago they may be seen on the shade trees in dozens and sometimes in hun- dreds ; and I have known two men to collect a bushel of them in 104 MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. this locality in half a day. The moth emerges about the 20th oi June, usually in the morning; and by evening its wings are rigid and it is ready to take flight. As these moths take no nourishment their lives are very short after reaching maturity. Resting hidden 5 Swamp and upland forms of cocoons of Attacus ceeropia. by day among the leaves, the males sally forth at evening in search of their mates guided by their keen sense of smell, and having insured the continuance of the species for another year, they soon perish. This insect inhabits a large part of the continent east of the Rocky Mountains. In Colorado, Utah, California and the far West generally its place is occupied by closely allied forms, very large and heavy-bodied insects, in which red and dark brown colors predomi- nate. Two or three species of Attacus from Mexico are interesting, from having a transparent almond-shaped spot in the centre of each wing. One of these, Attacus splendens, is a lovely creature, on whose wings pink, brown, purple, black and white are mingled, making a very pleasing combination. There is frequently great variation in the coloring of these moths. Attacus cynthia is a species which has been introduced into this country and Europe from China, and may now be found in a wild BOMBYCIDS. 105 state in the vicinity of New York City, Philadelphia and other places where its food plant, the alanthus, has been cultivated as a shade tree. It became so common in Philadelphia and Washington, D. C., at one time as to be a pest, and threatened the destruction of the trees; but the parasites and birds seem now able to cope with it and hold it in check. _ This insect is reared in Asiatic countries for its silk, which is said to be strong and very durable, but lacks the beauty of that produced by Bombyx mori. It was probably for its silk that it was introduced into this country, but that it has ever been successfully utilized here for the manufacture of fabrics I have yet to learn. The female lays two hundred to three hundred cream-colored eggs, and the young caterpillars are yellowish profusely adorned with black spots and tubercles. The mature caterpillar is three inches long, of a clear bluish-green color adorned with blue tubercles. The cocoon is similar in shape to that produced by the next species de- scribed, Attacus promethia, and is a little larger. In some parts of the country the insect is double-brooded, the second brood remaining in its cocoons during the winter months, coming out late in June. The moth is a fine large insect, expand- ing, in large specimens, four or five inches. The females are usually a good deal larger, with broader wings than their mates. Attacus promethia is a very abundant species throughout a large part of the United States and Canada, and is one of the first of the family with whose life history the amateur collector is likely to become acquainted. The female moth deposits her eggs in July on the twigs of the wild cherry, sassafras and button-bush, sometimes five or six together and at others twenty or thirty or more in a Larya of Attacus promethia. cluster; and toward the end of that month the minute caterpillars make their way out and mount to the top of the tree or bush, where they may be found feeding on the tender young leaves. When fully grown the caterpillar is one of the handsomest, being two inches long, half an inch thick, very smooth and plump, and of a lght bluish-green color. There are four cylindrical coral-red tubercles on 106 MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. the upper part of the body just back of the head and a large yellow one near the tail end. Numerous small blue warts occur in regular order on the back and sides. The head, legs and posterior part of the body are yellow. While feeding these caterpillars usually re- main among the tender leaves on the new growth, and several are generally found in close proximity. On reaching maturity the caterpillar descends to the lower part of the bush and begins spin- ning its cocoon. After selecting a leaf suitable for its purpose, it commences by spinning a quantity of silk along the branch and down the stem of the leaf in order to make it secure for the winter. Cocoon of Attacus promethia. It then draws the sides of the leaf together with silk, and therein spins its tough, brownish cocoon. The silk is very strong, and the cocoons are attached so firmly to the twigs by their slender cord that they ride secure for the winter. In fact, one may often find cocoons which have weathered the blasts of several seasons still firmly at- tached. The upper end of the cocoon, which is double like Attacus cecropia, is so loosely spun that the moth has little difficulty in fore- ing its way out. This silk could probably be made useful in the arts, as it is very strong and durable and the caterpillars could be reared in the open air in countless thousands with little difficulty. The moths emerge from the cocoons the latter part of June and the first of July, the females differing so much from the males as easily to be mistaken for different species. The male is a very oily Male Moth. a Female Moth. ATTACUS ANGULIFERA. BOMBYCIDS. 109 insect, and in preparing specimens for the cabinet the abdomen should be opened from the under side and its contents removed, the space being filled with cotton.