THE GENUS ACRONYCTA AND ITS ALLIES. 79 



on a closer view, notwithstanding the abundant hairs, a striking- 

 likeness to Acronycta aliii suggests itself, chiefly, perhaps, from 

 the colour and apparent texture of the black velvety sides, and 

 the orange tubercles, recalling alni's yellow lozenges. There 

 is no longer the outline of riimicis, the 5th is the largest seg- 

 ment, and that is all that can be said for it. The 12th is in no 

 wise larger than those in front of it; behind 12 the form is 

 somewhat truncate. The segments are rounded, of a glistening 

 velvety black, becoming dull and sooty at the incisions ; the 

 tubercles and hairs are also black, except the anterior trape- 

 zoidals, which, with their hairs, are of a golden red ; the dorsal 

 tubercles of 3 and 4 are included in this set, but 2 is black ; the 

 posterior trapezoidal of 12, and four tubercles in 13 belong to 

 the coloured series. In some specimens the posterior trape- 

 zoidals,' which are smaller than the anterior, are also coloured, 

 those of the 5th segment are usually so. The majority of the 

 hairs are 2\ to 3 mm. in length, but a few in each segment, 

 chiefly the supra-spiracular, are 5 to 6 mm., and some on 2, 3, 

 and 12 are as much as g mm. in length. The uncoloured 

 hairs are chiefly black, but some pale ones are interspersed ; 

 the posterior spiracular tubercles have three small hairs. 



Jul}^ 3rd. They are spinning up. 



The cocoon is of rather whiter silk than in most of the other 

 species of Viniiiiia, and leaves, twigs, etc., are drawn together 

 to cover it. It presents no distinct structure to facilitate the 

 emergence of the moth. 



Details of the pupae are figured in PI. I., 5. 



The characteristic hooped margin of segments is least 

 marked in auricoma of any member of the Viminia group. 

 This portion of the segment is distinctly marked off by its 

 smoothness from the rest of the segment, and looks raised ; 

 but as a matter of fact it hardly rises above the level of the 

 rest of the surface. It also differs in having the nodules be- 

 tween the eyes closer together than in the other species, and 

 occasionally the nodules are united together (the ordinary form 

 in Siviyra nervosa). The anal armature, and indeed the whole 

 pupa, is so close to the other species that an absolute descrip- 

 tion would apply almost equally to any of them. As compared 

 with rmnicis the mesothorax is not so overhanging, the incisions 

 of the free segments are black. The bristles of the anal arma- 

 ture are shorter, stiffer, darker, and look more regularly placed 

 than in riimicis, the upper corners of the square extremity are 

 znore rounded than in rumicis, and each have two minute 



