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46
FIELD NOTES
Vol.10: nos.1-2
One difference was noticed in the antennae. In moth A they are blond; in B they are brown, as in ail other moths in my collection.
Moth A was checked with all specimens in the collection of The American Museum of Natural History. We found after careful comparison that there were no specimens with similar variations in the markings and coloration of the wings.
MELVIN GOLIGER, 369 Alabama Ave., Brooklyn 7, N. Y., U. S. A.
HEMILEUCA MAI A IN OHIO IN 1955 (SATURNIID^E)
A heavy flight of Buck Moths, Hemileuca maia Dru., took place in Ohio in 1955. On October 23, at Fort Hill State Memorial, Highland County, my brother, JOHN S. TllOMAS, and I noticed exceptional numbers of the moths. My niece and nephews, Virginia, John N. and David Thomas, captured 15 specimens in about 30 minutes' time. All were in fresh condition. Incidentally, agile young people are much more effective in capturing these swift-flying insects than middle-aged naturalists!
On the same day, Mr. Conrad Roth, Portsmouth, reported that Shawnee State Forest in Scioto County was "full of them" and that many seemed to be just emerging. He sent two specimens to the Museum, both teneral.
Mr. ARTHUR R. Harper, of Columbus, tells me that he saw "hundreds" of Buck Moths in Adams County at Blue Creek and at Lynx, over a period extending from some time prior to October 15 until November 11. Prof. J. N. Knull, curator of insect collections, Ohio State University, observed many individuals in southern Hocking County on October 20.
In my experience, Buck Moths have been found flying on sunny days, mostly during the middle hours of the day. Mr. ROTH, however, states that on November 10, a dark, cloudy day, he found them "flying every where" early in the morning and on November 13 he saw "a good many" flying after sunset. The temperatures on November 10 were below normal, but November 13 was an exceptionally warm day: at Columbus the thermometer attained a maximum of 74 degrees Fahrenheit, equalling the all-time record for so late in the season.
Edward S. Thomas, Curator of Natural History, Ohio State Museum,
Columbus, Ohio, U. S. A.
EUPHYDRAS PHAETON IN SOUTHERN INDIANA
A number of larva:-' of the Baltimore (Tut?-' ydryas phaeton Drury) were found May 8, 1955, crawling on the ground and on small maples along a hillside in Brown County State Park, Indiana. On May 14, further search turned up more larvae, some of which were apparently feeding on already badly chewed plants of Chelone glabra. The characteristic webs made by the caterpillars were also noted. The larvae readily ate Chelone when presented to them in captivity, and some had pupated by May 19. BLATCHLEY (17th Ann. Kept. Indiana Dept. Geol. and Nat. Res., 1892) records phaeton as uncommon in Decatur, Vanderburgh, Vigo, and Monroe counties, and it probably occurs in local colonies throughout Indiana.
A dry, west-facing hillside seems far from the bog or marshy meadow habitat usually ascribed to this species. The humidity on the slope is doubtless influenced by an adjacent artificial lake, but the presence of the preferred foodplant is probably more important than the physical conditions. A study of the reported foodplants from the viewpoint of their biochemical affinities would be interesting.
FRANK N. YOUNG, Dept. of Zoology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind., U. S. A.