NOtES ON LIFE-HlStORIES, LARV^, ETC. 69 



day. The insects continued to emerge, till now I have 21 bred. The 

 dates and pauses of emergence are strange : December 6th, one ; 

 9th, three ; 10th, one ; 11th, one; 12th, one; 24:th, one ; January 

 5th, one ; 9th, five ; others on January 11th, 15th, 17th, 27th, 81st. 

 It will be seen that eight insects had reached perfection before the last 

 of the larvie had thought of pupation. Most of the emergences took 

 place early in the evening, though one or two issued about 10 a.m. 

 It appeared to me that there was a marked increase in the rate of 

 development after they began to feed on carrots, which they eat with 

 astonishing voracity. The lettuce leaves were equally approved, but 

 I had reason to think were too relaxing a diet. The larvae were 

 subjected to the disadvantage of no less than three journeys to 

 England and back while feeding, but I have had only one cripple. — 

 (Rev.) Frank E. Lowe, F.E.S., St. Stephen's Vicarage, Guernsey. 

 Feb., 1897. 



Larv.e of the Cochliopodid bioths. — Newman says that the feet 

 (prolegs) of the Cochliopodid larvae " are retractile, so that when one 

 of them is turned on its back, the legs appear to be withdrawn into its 

 stomach ; but when again placed in its natural position, the feet are 

 protruded, and take firm hold of the leaf " {British Moths, p. 21). Of 

 course this statement, apart from the feet being withdrawn into its 

 " stomach," is absurd. Chapman describes the real structures that 

 exist, and says, ^^ Liiiiacodes has suckers to the first eight abdominal 

 segments, though the first and last of these are poorly developed. 

 These suckers are probably homologous with prolegs, and also with 

 the eight pairs of abdominal legs of Kriacfjihala" {Trans. Knt. Soc. 

 Loud., 1894, p. 345). Poulton {Ibid., 1888, pp. 591-592) gives a most 

 interesting note on the progression of Liinacudes, and surmises that it 

 has arisen from the larva having sticky ventral surfaces. I wish to 

 ask whether this is not the method now adopted by the larva, as I 

 have just examined some, coiled up in the cocoon, and the ventral 

 surface of the larvfe is so sticky that one can pick them up by 

 means of this adhesive matter, the larva sticking to the flat edge of a 

 knife. Has anyone further information on the point ? — J. W. Tutt. 



Descriptions of eggs of lepidoptera. — Polia ni(jrocincta. — 

 The eggs are laid in a slightly imbricated manner. They are of the 

 usual Noctuid character, and are very beautiful objects under the 

 microscope. In colour, delicate claret-red. In shape, almost two- 

 thirds of a sphere (somewhat depressed). About thirty longitudinal 

 ribs, broad, glassy and iridescent, closely packed, and uniting in pairs 

 near the summit of the egg (and at the summit a third rib often 

 unites with two others), so that about ten or eleven ribs dip into and 

 cross the micropylar area, and form a central button, of crinoid 

 appearance, in the bottom of the basin-like cavity that this area forms. 

 In the centre of the button the true micropyle is situated. The trans- 

 verse ribbing is weaker than the longitudinal, yet it is distinct, 

 especially where it crosses the longitudinal ribs. Between the latter, 

 the transverse ribs have the appearance of partly-closed Venetian 

 blinds, when looked at from above. The irregularity of the longi- 

 tudinal ribbing is very remarkable, and the ladder-like arrangement 

 of the transverse ribs very beautiful. Mr. Murray (to whom I am 

 indebted for the eggs) writes: — "When first laid the eggs are much 

 paler. If fertile, they commence to grow darker in a few days." [The 

 description was made under a two-thirds lens, on Jan. 15th, 1897] . 



