mr.] 213 



Description of the larva of Coremia propugnata. — I received a batch of eggs of 

 tliis species through the kiuduess of Mr. Oweu Wilson, of Carmarthen, on the IGth 

 June last. They were globular, smooth, and polished, and uniformly pale straw- 

 colour ; two days later, or three or four after they were deposited, they had become 

 orange, and before hatching changed to lead colour. The young larvae appeared on 

 the 23rd June, were slender, dark olive-brown, the head brownish. They fed up 

 rapidly on young cabbage leaves, and, by the middle of July, were full grown. 

 Length, about an inch, and of moderate bulk in proportion ; the head has the lobes 

 rounded, and is considerably narrower than the second segment ; body rounded aboTC 

 and below, but the two portions are distinctly divided by the skin at the sides, form- 

 ing a raised lateral ridge ; it is of tolerably uniform width, tapering only a little 

 towards the head ; the segments are distinctly divided, and the skin has a somewhat 

 tough appearance. 



Ground colour dingy ochrcous, but (except on the last four or five segments) is 

 almost entirely covered with dark, dull smoke-colour ; in some specimens this dark 

 shade is nearly black, whilst in others a very dark green tint is observable : head 

 glossy, pale brown, with darker brown spots ; dorsal line darker green, paler on the 

 posterior segments ; sub-dorsal lines rather waved, grey ; there is also an indistinct 

 finer grey line between the sub-dorsal and spiracular regions, but there are no per- 

 ceptible spiracular lines. On the anterior of each segment, and situated on the 

 dorsal line, is a conspicuous, rather large, black spot, and this spot is generally pre- 

 ceded by an equally conspicuous paler mark, of various tints in different specimens, 

 in some being pink, in others grey or yellowish ; spiracles distinct, black, the raised 

 tubercles grey. 



Ventral surface dull ochrcous or (in some specimens) pinkish ; it lias a fine 

 smoke-coloured central line, enclosed in a band of the ground colour, outside of 

 which, on each side, is an olive band, bordered outwardly with a fine smoky line, and 

 there arc faint indications of one or two other waved Ihies between this and the 

 spiracular ridges ; on each side too is a double si-ries of black dots of two sizes, a 

 large one being in front, followed by a smaller one. 



The pupa is enclosed in a silken cocoon, and is about two-fifths of an inch in 

 length, rather dumpy, smooth, and highly polished ; thorax cylindrical ; wing-, eye-, 

 and antenna-cases boldly defined ; the abdomen attenuated, but not rapidly, towards 

 the anal point, which, however, is fine and sharp. Colour dark brown, the antenna)- 

 cases and outer edges of the wings pale brown ; the whole changing to deep 

 inahogiuiy-brown just before the emergence of the imago. 



All the brood, forming a very fine series, emerged about the middle of August. 

 — G-EO. T. PoHKiTT, Highroyd llouse, liuddersfield : January 4ith, 1877. 



JS'alural History of Asthena sylvjta.— On the 15th of last July, I was very glad 

 to receive some eggs of this species, which had been obtained by Mr. J. Batty, on 

 the 4th of the month ; the larvse were hatched on the 16th, fed away at once on 

 alder, preferring all through their growth tender open leaves, but avoiding tlie sticky 

 leaf-buds ; they grew rapidly, and by August 8th, were in their last skin, and, in a 

 few days more, would have been full-fed, when I had the misfortune to get them 

 killed. To replace them, Mr. Batty kindly sent me the larva; he had been rearing 

 himself, but I found these were by no means so far advanced as mine had been, for, 



