238 / THE entomologist's kecord. 



When first hatched the juvenile larvfe are of a light brown colour, 

 but they soon become a very dark greyish black, the liead being quite 

 black and shining. They are then about | in. long, and rather hairy. 

 The hairs are black, and spring from small black tubercles ; some of 

 them are nearly as long as the larva itself. The larva moults, or casts 

 its skin, four times, at intervals of from 7 to 14 days. After the first 

 moult the colour is not appreciably altered. After the second moult the 

 head becomes ditU black, and the body is adorned with a dorsal series 

 of about six orange spots. The casting of the third skin reveals a more 

 elaborate coat, the tubercles now becoming coloured and the whole body 

 of a paler tint ; the head is also marked with yellow. The only change 

 after the last moult is that the head is much more suffused with yellow. 

 When full-grown, the male larva is about 1| in. in length ; the female 

 about 2^ in. They are similarly marked. The head is of a rich 

 orange colour, delicately mottled and irrorated with black and having 

 two black stripes down the face. The body is black or grey, varying 

 with the individual. On the back of each segment of the body are 

 two tubercles, which emit short bristly hairs ; and along each side 

 of the larva are two rows of warts from which spring longer and 

 softer hairs curving downwards. All the hairs are golden brown. 

 The dorsal tubercles are dark blue on the first five segments, and 

 blood-red on the remaining seven. Mr. Bacot drew my attention to 

 some small tubercles situated between the large red dorsal tubercles 

 on the 9th and lUth segments. These have been mentioned by Mr. 

 Poulton, who, if I have heard rightly, was unable to determine 

 their use. 



Anyone who has had the somewhat doubtful pleasure of rearing a large 

 number of these larvtB will probably have marvelled at their wonder- 

 ful capacity for eating. They never seem to need the aid of the dainty 

 little " lieecham " or " Pepper's Quinine and Iron Tonic " to improve 

 their appetites. The only preparation of iron that would be of an^'^ 

 service would be the woodcutter's axe, so that one could fell a few oaks 

 and beeches, with whose leaves the perpetual cravings of the larvae 

 could be appeased. When engaged in the, to them, pleasant business 

 of getting outside the maximum of greenstuff in the minimum of time, 

 the noise made by the jaws of some 2UU larvte resembles the gentle 

 pattering of a shower of rain, as it falls on the leaves of trees and 

 bushes. I have heard it repeatedly myself. 



I have noticed a peculiar trait in the character of these larvfe, viz : 

 their sensitiveness to certain sounds. When I have been talking while 

 leaning over the aquarium-glass in which they were feeding, I have 

 frequently seen them kick up their tails in a most initated way, as 

 if they were annoyed at the sound, which was probably intensified 

 by the vibration of the glass. Similar results may be produced with 

 other larvaj, as was mentioned in the Ent. Uec. for Sept. 1893, pages 

 240-241, where Vanessa urticae, Bonthyx qnercas, Nemeophila plantaginis 

 and CaUimorpha dominida are referred to as being affected in a similar 

 way. 



The larvae of Ocneria dispar rest in a straight position on the stems 

 and branches of their food-plant. If annoyed they fall from their 

 resting-place, spasmodically jerking their heads and tails up and down. 

 This is more particularly the case \vhen they are young and frisky ; as 

 they become older and more staid they seem to take life more smoothly, 



