Neonympha Mitchellii n. sp.

Male.—Upper surface grayish wood-brown, rather dark, without spots or marks, except that the spots on the underside of the hind wings and the dark lines bordering the terminal dark yellow line on the same wings show through a little. Fringes concolorus, in certain lights a little smoky tinged. Under surface slightly paler than the upper, a little more of the mouse order of color, sprinkled with buff scales. Both wings are crossed by four transverse brownish-yellow stripes, so dark on the fore wings as to be yellow-brown, occupying the same position as the same lines in its ally, N. Areolatus, the first and second uniting by a rounded end about a tenth of an inch from the inner margin of hind wings, the two outer—one terminal and the other sub-terminal—also uniting before reaching anal angle.

At different times, in making notes for a general list of our Lepidoptera, I have taken up the arrangement of our butterflies, and, although such a list must now be undertaken by some one else, I think it worth while to set down the conclusions to which I had come.

1. Nematusocreatus.—♀. Testaceous or honey-yellow; length, 0.35 inch.

Head polished, sutures behind ocelli well defined; ocelli in a slightly curved line with the lower one on the rim of a large shallow basin; face below antennæ, another between them, and one on edge of occiput; antennæ slender, two-thirds as long as body, black with basal joints paler; joints three and four subequal; five shorter.

The pale or yellow coloured species of Gortyna, the caterpillars being internal feeders, pupating, however, in the ground, prepare us for the Nonagriini. We have, however, in North America, a pecculiar tribe which I have called Arzamini, and which I here interpolate. The caterpillar was first discovered by Prof. Comstock in Florida Lakes, in the leaf-stalks of the pond lily. This was the larva of A. vulniflca var. melanopyga, and subsequently in the lake at Ithaca, the larva of the typical vulnifica was observed by the same distinguished entomologist.

There are two kinds of caterpillars which every year commit serious depredations in our Canadian apple orchards, although they by no means confine their attentions to that tree. These are the larvæ of the American and Forest Lackey Moths, two species of brown moths which frequently fly into houses at night during July, and draw attention by their headlong, reckless flight, dashing themselves against the ceiling and the walls, and very often finishing up by getting into the lamp chimney.

As far as I am aware no description of the larva, of this insect has been published, and hence I present the following:-

T. pudens.—Mature larva. Head white, with four black spots, two covering the eyes and the others near the summit of the head. A few short, whitish hairs. Body semitransparent, whitish, flecked with opaque white spots on the dorsum and more thinly on the venter. Stigmatal space covered by a blackish shading, more distinct anteriorly; a darker dorsal line. Spriacles pale brown. Cervical spot whitish, concolorous with body. A few short pale hairs.

Since my article of the North American Callimorphas appeared in the Canadian appeared in the Canadian Entomologist for October, 1887, a number of papers upon the same subject, and containing certain criticisms of my views, appeared in subsequent numbers of this magazine, and in Entomologica Americana; and, in addition, I received certain letters upon the same subject from entomologists to whom I had sent copies of my article.

It is the custom nowadays to look down with great contempt on those old authorities, who considered “North America” or even “North America,” or even “America,” a sufficently accurage locality to give when describing a species; but, perhaps, we of the present age of not quite blameless of similiar and (with our means of obtaining information) less excusable carelessness in, that we often think it enough to give the name of the state or region only.

Head and palpi olive gray; legs olive gray, tibiæ annulated with fuscous; body fuscous. Primaries olive gray, becoming paler toward the outer margin; above the fold is a broken fuscous basal streak, running to a little beyond the middle to the wing; at the end of the cell a small fuscous spot, limited beneath by a white patch. Cilia olive gray. Secondaries grayfish fuscous. Underside of wings grayish fuscous. Cilia of the primaries tipped with greenish gray.

It has long been a matter of fact to me, and one which has served a good purpose, and doubtless to other readers of the Can. Ent., that many butterflies, especially the larger kinds, are attracted by decoys resembling themselves in size and colour.

One of the most interesting studies of teh scientific entomologist—more interesting because of its economic importance—relates to variation of habits of insects, consequent upon variation in their environment. The carpte beetle, Anthrenus scrphulariœ Linn, feeds on flowers in its native Europe. In the new atmosphere of America, it feeds and thrives upon carpets, shawls and other woollen goods. The apple maggot, Trypet pomonella, feeds upon our wild haw and other wild fruits. Civilization exterminates its old-time aliment; and it betakes itself to our apples, cherries and plums/ The curculio, apple-tree borers, bark lice, etc., are other illustrations of the same truth.

Without entering further into the discussion of priority, beyond stating that Mr. Ashmead is wrong in the points(1), that my original communication was read after the publication of his synoptical table, (it was read two days before the receipt of the number of Entomologica Americana, in which the table was published), and (2), that his full description was published before mine; (mine was published nine days before the receipt of the Kansas bulletin).

Amongst insects which every year make theri presence noticeably apparent by their injuries, and thus win the distinction of being “Firstclass Pests” to the fruit-grower, not one, perhaps, is better known, nor, when not checked in its operations, more annoying than the currant worm, the larval state of the imported currant saw-fly, Nematus Ribesii, Scop. (=N. ventricosus, Klug).

The tibiæ are usually all spinose, the eyes naked, the body untufted, the form normal, the male antennæ of various structure, pectinated, brushlike simple. The European species are refered by Lederer all to one genus, Agrotis or Hübner. Nervertheless, I think the yellow-winged forms may well be separated under Hiria and Tryphœna. Of these yellow-winged forms, with flattened abdomen, we have only one T. Chardinyi, from Anticosti and Maine, considered identical with the Siberian species of the same name, described orginally by Boisduval under Anarta.

Aurelians are fequently asked how long butterflies live. By this is generally meant what is the length of life of the mature insect. As is generally known, each species passes through one cycle of its existence once a year, though it very frequently happens that two, three, or even more generations succeed one another during a single season, and it has been supposed (though never proven) to be the case with some that two or more years are required for this cycle; as is known to be true of some other insects.

The habits of insects present an attractive and fruitful field of discovery illustrating in many remarkable ways their pecuilar instincts governed by heredity, and more or less conditioned by environment. The power which we call instinct, controlling the habits of insects, has a regularity of action governed by ordinaly conditions, but there are frequent manifestations of adaptation to circumstance, as conspicuous in the several orders of insects as in the various races of mankind.