THE GENUS ACRONYCTA AND ITS ALLIES. 243 



skin, the whole larva retains a pellucid transparency, to a 

 degree much beyond any other Acronycta. The 3rd segment 

 is somewhat opaque with a yellowish shade, the dark seg- 

 ments 2, 4.5, 8. 9 and 12, have the appearance as if the dark 

 portion were really a plate laid on dorsally ; this aspect is 

 assisted by the circumstance that the dark portion is dorsal 

 only and is rounded at the angles, so that a pale wedge in- 

 trudes between the dark portions of the adjoining dark segments 

 4.5 and 8.g. The head is now densely black and shining with 

 12-16 black hairs. The 2nd segment has a black plate with 

 three black hairs on each side, two along the anterior margin 

 and one towards the posterior angle ; on each side, below this, 

 is a plate with two hairs, and lower, laterally, another with a 

 large black hair and a shorter behind. Dorsally, and behind 

 the plate, are, one on either side, a reddish-brown patch, or 

 one might say, the rest of the segment is dorsally reddish- 

 brown, divided by a colourless dorsal line ; 3rd segment 

 colourless, dorsal tubercle with two hairs, 4th segment dorsal 

 tubercles with two hairs. The dorsum around the tubercles, 

 which are black, is rich red-brown, stopping short before the 

 lateral tubercle which is in exact line with the supra-spiracular 

 of 5th. The 5th segment is the same, except that four trape- 

 zoidals, each black with one hair, are all included in the coloured 

 area. 8 and g have the same large red lozenges including 

 trapezoidal tubercles black. On 3, 6.7, 10. 11 the tubercles are 

 ust tinted with dark, getting blackish to the edges. On 12 

 they are again black and a lighter shading of the dark area 

 includes the supra-spiracular tubercles. 13 follows the rule of 

 the pale segments with reversed trapezoidals (as usual) ; 14 has 

 a pale plate, just tinted with fuscous, somewhat pyramidal in 

 form, and carrying 8 hairs. The hairs are all black, the 

 longest about one and a half the diameter of the larva. The 

 nth segment requires fuller notice. The tubercles are very 

 small and the hairs about half the length of the others ; at 

 first view there are no posterior trapezoidal tubercles. On the 

 other segments the large tubercles are angular and fit together, 

 and even in the full-grown (in first skin) larva, are still in this 

 obvious relation to each other, though floated somewhat apart. 

 Here the anterior trapezoidals are minute and rounded, and 

 no posterior trapezoidals are anywhere to be seen. There is, 

 however, between segments 11 and 12 what appears to be a 

 narrow subsegment, rounded and cushioned like an ordinary 

 segment ; this carries two minute tubercles with fine hairs, and 



