226 THE entomologist's KECORb. 



The rearing of Ennomos autumnaria. 



By J. C. DOLLMAX. F.E.S. 



The ova, received from Mr. W. H. B. Fletcher, and obtained from a 

 Chichester strain, hatched on May 24th, and the young larva:^ com- 

 menced feeding ahnost at once upon the food provided — apple. The larva 

 upon emergence was about ^\. of an inch in length, and very heavily 

 weighted forward in the head and prothoracic segments. It was an 

 extremely active and restless creature, and erected itself upon its anal 

 and abdominal claspers to assume a quick, jerky lateral action, in 

 which it was almost continually occupied. In fact, the only method 

 of keepmg the creature in the field of vision, under the lens, was by 

 examining a specimen previously stupefied with spirit. The head was 

 large and yellow in colour. It was formed by two lobe-shaped luuules, 

 each bearing five black lateral spots on the side ; four in a semicircle, 

 radiating upwards, and a smaller one below, forming the axis. The 

 jaws were sprinkled with minute black dots, and the entire head was 

 furnished with short, stout, white set^e. The prothoracic segment 

 was of a lighter yellow than the head, and projected hood-like, over it, 

 with a sharply defined skinfold edge on the crown. On the posterior 

 edge of this segment commenced, in a suffused manner, the colora- 

 tion of the dorsal surface, which was continued to the edge of the anal 

 segment, and was of a dark olive-green. It was deepest in tint on the 

 thoracic and first four abdominal segments. It was softened away 

 into the anal segment, which, like the head, was of a clear yellow. 

 The dorsal markmg was abruptly defined on the lateral edges, where 

 it was broken in its line by the transverse wrinkles found between the 

 segments. On each segment were four whitish tubercles in this dorsal 

 area, arranged two on each side, forming the corners of a square. 

 These tubercles were lai'ger on the segments towards the anal end, and 

 were all dotted in the centre with a dark bristle. The spiracular line 

 was broad, notched, and irregular. It was yellow in colour, and 

 extended from the head to the anal segment. The spiracles were 

 white, with thickly marked dark rings around them. Below this was 

 the abdominal surface, which was of the same dark olive tint as the 

 dorsal. The legs and claspers were yellow, and finely finished with 

 black terminals. The entire larva was bristling with short seta', both 

 black and white. 



On May 29th, the larva had attained a length of ^in., and the head, 

 no longer yellow, was pale brown, finely reticulated with white ; the 

 mandibles were also whitish. The lunules were sharply defined on 

 the outside with a keen black line, and were also divided on the 

 crown in the same way. The head had not increased in size, but the 

 diameter of the body had grown to match it in scale, so that the 

 appearance of the larva now was that of a graceful elongated creature. 

 The lateral spots on the head Avere still present in the same formation. 

 The dark dorsal region had given way to a cool olive-grey tint ; and 

 the spiracular line and anal segment were no longer yellow but a 

 lighter tint of this olive-grey The skin was smooth and shining, 

 neatly incised by transverse folds at the junction of the segments. 

 The tubercles on the dorsal area, four to each segment, were now more 

 suffused in their definition, and had strong dark centres. The spirac- 

 ular line was not so abruptly defined as before, but, along this, 

 immediately upon the spiracles, was a thin thread-like line, rather 



