CYPRESS-SPURGE CATERPILLAR. 



179 



securely, and when the period of its pupa trance has 

 expired in the following July, it makes its exit in the 

 form of a yellowish moth, with several brown spots 

 above, and a brown band on each of its four wings 

 below. It is also furnished with a sort of tail. 



On the cypress spurge {Euphorbia cyparissias), 

 a native woodland plant, but not of very common 

 occurrence, may be found, towards the end of Octo- 

 ber, a caterpillar of a middle size, sparely tufted 

 with hair, and striped with black, white, red, and 

 brown. The leaves of the plant which are in the 

 form of short narrow blades of grass, are made choice 

 of by the caterpillar to construct its cocoon, which it 

 does with great neatness and regularity, the end of 

 each leaf, after it has been detached from the plant, 

 being fixed to the stem, and the other leaves placed 

 parallel, as they are successively added. The other 

 ends of all these are bent inwards, so as to form a 

 uniformly rounded oblong figure, somewhat larger 

 at one end than at the other. 



Cypress-Spurge Cattrp:llar—(Acronycta LupKrcsics ?)~xi>ith a Cocoon, 

 or. a branch. 



A caterpillar which builds a very similar cocoon 

 to the last mentioned, may be found upon a more 

 common plant — the yellow snap-dragon or toad-jflax 



