"f^-^i 209 



Tliiinks to the kiiulnoss of the Rev. H. Williams of Croxton, my desire has been 

 fulfilled, and my work in this difficult matter accomplished during the season now 

 closing ; and in the hope of interesting some of the readers of this Magazine, I ven- 

 ture to submit my notes of both species of larvae for publication ; at the same time 

 acknowledging the kindness of Mr. W. Machin, who, at the end of March, 1871, 

 sent me two larva; found by him at the roots of grass, and by so doing, as the event 

 has proved, helped me to both species at once. 



Both species of larvae are alike in figure and structure, having tough, smooth, 

 shilling skins, and still more lustrous dark heads, plates, and spots; they arc 

 irritable in di.sposition, and this circumstance, added to the lustre of their 

 surface, rendera very close inspection necessary to arrive at their identification. 

 They are cylindrical and tapering a little from the third segment to the head, and 

 again from the eleventh to the anal extremity ; the third and fourth segments sub- 

 divided by transverse wrinkles, the others plump, well-defined, and puckered a little 

 along the sides ; the usual dots in both species assume the character of tubercular 

 warts, each furnished with a hair, like the head and plates they arc black or blackish- 

 brown in colour, and in shape and arrangement are found as follows : the central 

 transverse series on the back of the third and fourth segments are oblong and arc 

 preceded and followed by a fusiform transverse spot dorsally divided by a thin line 

 of the ground colour, which is also seen to divide the anterior plate, while on the 

 sides of these two segments are grouped several more or less roundish spots ; 

 on the back of each of the other segments (save the last) are four large black 

 spots, the trapezoidals, these have the first pairs round, the second pairs roundish- 

 ovate ; along the sides of each of these segments are grouped five spots in this way, 

 the spiracle is surrounded with four of them, viz. : a large one above and below, one 

 behind much smaller, and the smallest a mere dot in front, the fifth spot is the 

 lowest, and where the ventral legs occur is borne on them ; the thirteenth segment 

 has spots in front and a plate beliiud ; the ventral and anal legs are broadly barred 

 near their tips, which are fringed with hooks of the same colour as the head and 

 plates. 



Lithoxylea full-grown is about one and a half-inch in length, and stout in pro- 

 portion, its brownish-grey ground colour has a slight fawn tinge in it, and is but 

 little paler below the spiracular region, though the belly has a faint tinge of greenish ; 

 the pulsating dorsal vessel is of a deeper tint than the back ; the upper lip darkish 

 fawn colour, the antcnnal papillie a little paler ; the anterior legs fawn colour and 

 often tipped with blackish ; spiracles black. 



IPolyodon, when fuU gi'own, varies in length from one and a half to one and six- 

 eighths of an inch, and is often very stout ; its colour is either grey, brownish-grey, 

 or lurid deep reddish-grey varying in intensity, and there is a variety banded across 

 the middle of each segment with darker grey than the ground colour, these band: 

 are not abruptly defined but melt away to the palar gi'ound colour; another variety 

 occurs in which the back is dark purplish-grey, changing gently along the spiracular 

 region to a dingy brownish-red, which is on all the lower parts of the body, while 

 the head is dingy purplish-red ; but, whatever the general colouring, the pulsating 

 darker dorsal vessel shows in a subdued manner through the skin ; tvilhiii the area 

 of the trapezoidal spots on the back there are on each se(j)ucnt,from the fourth to 

 the twelfth, six pale grey marks, namely : a pair of iransrrrse short curved and 



