1873] 103 



whereon to spin a small layer of eilk to secure its footing and soon 

 to convert into a most minute tubular kind of gallery, which, in some 

 instances, slightly united one leaf to another, if they were at all in 

 contact. In a few days, they ate small holes through the leaves, and, 

 after a moult or two, the holes became more conspicuous, so that as 

 the larvae grew their ravages indicated sufficiently well their situations 

 on the plant ; and, by the end of August, they had grown to be a 

 quarter of an inch long, still protecting themselves with a little silk 

 under the leaves ; but as their growth increased, they no longer made 

 any elaborate retreat, beyond occasionally turning down a part of a 

 leaf with a few threads of silk^ or more often by similar means at- 

 tached one leaf to another as a screen or hiding place in which to lie 

 sheltered : they were in their last coats when about thirty to thirty- 

 five days old, and were full fed by the fortieth and spinning themselves 

 up, mine in earthen cocoons, those of Mr. Jeffrey in sand, which his 

 local knowledge enabled him to give them to make up in. Judging 

 from the behaviour of the larvas in captivity, they should be easily 

 dislodged from the plants by shaking or beating, indeed, the first two 

 larvae I had to figure in 1876 were obtained in this way by Mr. Jeffrey 

 at Folkestone as late as September 27th. 



As to the moths, Mr. Jeffrey fortunately bred a few this summer 

 on June 27th, 30th, and July 8th, although some of his larvae, like the 

 whole of mine, died in their cocoons during hibernation. 



The egg of verhascalis is circular, flat and scale-like, colourless 

 and semi-transparent ; two days before hatching it begins to fill out 

 gradually with some degree of plumpness on the upper surface, showing 

 opaquely the embryo through the shell, which has on it numerous 

 little glistening pits. 



When first hatched, the larva is whitish, semi-translucent, and 

 rather lively ; when seven days old, it becomes slightly tinged with 

 pale bluish-green, and about the nineteenth day, when a quarter of 

 an inch long, shows faintly a stronger green dorsal stripe between two 

 lines of whitish, some light brown freckles on the head, and most 

 minute black dots sprinkled over the body : at the age of twenty-five 

 days, its length is from three-eighths to neai'ly half-an-inch, when the 

 pale head is more distinctly freckled with brown, the green stripe on 

 the back and broad band of the sides are brighter, darker and broader 

 than before, the two white stripes of the back appear more purely 

 white, and a whitish spiracular line is seen extending from the third 

 segment to the side of the anal legs, while beside the black dots, pre- 

 viously noticeable, one on either sicle of the third and fourth segments 

 is now conspicuously larger than the others. 



