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DESCEIPTIONS OF THE LAEVA AND PUPA OF CNEPHASIA 

 SIN U AN A, Stph. 



BY EUSTACE E. BANKES, M.A., E.E.S. 



Seeing that no descriptions of Cnephasia sinuana, Stph., in its 

 earlier stages have, so far as I am aware, ever been published, the 

 following will perhaps be found useful. That of the larva was made 

 on May 21st, 1896, from specimens, about full-fed, which Dr. H. II. 

 Corbett had kindly sent me from near Doncaster on May 16th. 



Larva. 



Length, 18 mm. Greatest hreadth, about 2'5 — 275 mm. 



Head highly polislied, orange-ochreous ; upper moutli parts reddish ; ocelli 

 black, polished. Prothoracic segment of iiRarly equal breadth with head, but 

 strikingly narrower than the mesothoracic and following segments, and bearing a 

 highly polished dorsal plate, which varies greatly in colour from black, through 

 orange-ochreous, to pale ochreous, and is divided across the centre by a pale line, 

 each half of the plate being margined with black on both sides. The thoracic and 

 abdominal segments viewed together form a rather stout mass, tapering gradually 

 towards the anal segment, smooth, shining, semitransparent, dirty pale smoke-grey, 

 locally tinged with green, especially before the middle, and along the back, where the 

 dorsal vessel shows through as a conspicuous green line. In the male larva the 

 embryo testes are seen through the back of the fifth abdominal segment as two dark 

 oval spots. Anal plate varying in colour from blackish-brown to dirty pale ochreous, 

 very lightly marked with brown. Warts and spiracles appearing as black polished 

 dots standing in polished smoky spots, and emitting pale bristles. Ventral surface 

 a little paler than dorsal, and not so much tinged with green, with smaller black 

 polished warts. Legs highly polished and horny, black, with narrow pale rings. 

 Prolegs semitransparent, watery-white, externally barred with blackish. 



Larvae of different sizes were examined, but, except in the colours of the pro- 

 thoracic and anal plates, which vary greatly in different individuals, all were very 

 similar. 



The larva lives in a loose silken web spun among the flowers of 

 Scilla nutans, feeding on the flowers themselves, and also on the green 

 unripe seeds, and occasionally, in confinement, nibbling the stalk: 

 when irritated, it ejects from its mouth a drop or two of a very bright 

 green fluid. I learn from Mr. G. Elisha that from spun-up flowers of 

 Chrysanthemum leucanthemum, collected by himself in a wood in North 

 Kent, he has occasionally bred a few examples of sinuana together 

 with many of pasivana. His specimens were identified by the late 

 Mr. J. Sang, who knew the true sinuana well. 



Pupa. 



The following description was made on May 26th, 1896, from two 



