NOTKS ON LIFE-HISTORIES, LARViE, ETC. 293 



appearance of the caudal horn of Ai/distls when I first examined it, 

 and thought it must be something allied to the Notodonts. I found, 

 however, on examination, that the horn does not rise from the 8th 

 abdominal segment, and bear the anterior trapezoidals of that seg- 

 ment, as in the Sphingids, etc., but that it is situated on what is 

 either a small 9th abdominal segment, or a large and distinct sub- 

 segment, of the 8th abdominal, both the anterior and posterior trape- 

 zoidals of the 8th segment being in front of the horn, and in their 

 correct position relative to the spiracle. — A. Bacot. 



Note ox the larva of Deilephila euphorble. — On .July 28th- 

 29th, we found one hundred and twenty larvte of Deilephila eupliorbiai' 

 feeding on sea-spurge [Euphorbia paralias), on the coast of Brittany, 

 at Le Pouldu. There were individuals in all the skins, and the larvje 

 Avere very abundant. The eggs appear to be laid on the tops of the 

 young shoots of the spurge, the latter forming the food of the newly- 

 hatched larv!^, which eat the tops of the shoots for some time (until in 

 third skin), but at the ord or 4th moult (when the red first appears) 

 they feed on the leaves at the base of the stalks, which are red. The 

 young larvae eat through the stalks, below the seeds, so that the sand 

 all round the eaten plants is covered with the seed-heads. We almost 

 always found the caterpillars in pairs, although the only batch of eggs 

 we found consisted of about a dozen. The larv», if handled roughly, 

 eject small jets of a fluid, very similar to the juice of the Eujihurbia, 

 and throw it from side to side by means of sudden jerks of the thorax. 

 This Huid causes a very violent irritation if it gets into scratches, or 

 into the eyes. On August 1st, the larvte were transferred to another 

 species of Euphorbia, which they ate readily. By August 4th, some 

 of the larvae ceased to feed, and commenced to pupate. The larvae 

 make a hole about half-an-inch deep, "roofing" and " walling " it 

 with silk, mixed with sand, bits of leaves, etc., but without making a 

 distinct floor. They remain in the cocoons about a week before 

 turning to pupae. In spite of the normal habit of the larva to make 

 its cocoon partially underground, many individuals made up their 

 cocoons on the surface, among leaves (when earth was not available), 

 the silk used being dark yellow in tint. The changes in colour that 

 many larvae undergo are as follows : — The red dorsal stripe turns 

 yellow, then black ; the sub-dorsal and supra-spiracular spots under- 

 going the same changes in turn. Then the caudal horn, head and 

 legs, become blackened (without, however, turning yellow). In the 

 very black forms, the supra-spiracular spots almost cease to exist, and 

 the sub-dorsal are only visible because of their brighter surface. About 

 seventy larvae underwent the above changes, and these must have been 

 quite normal, and not due to disease, for the larvfe continued to eat most 

 ravenously, and out of about eighty larvae, which did not go down at 

 once, we only lost five. If this species be subject to the attacks of 

 parasites, it is possible that they will appear in the pupal stage ; we 

 have not lost a smgle larva from this cause. Three imagines have 

 already appeared from these pupae. What are they doing to emerge at 

 this time of year? — Edward S. Harrison, Josnes, Loir-et-Cher, 

 France. Sept. 2dth, 1897. 



On the cocoon of Sphinx ligustri. — I have just had larvae of 

 this species pupate successfully. The larva went down about two 

 inches, and there made a dome of beaten earth, about one inch high 

 by two and a half inches long. Like the larva of Deilephila eiiphorhiae, 



