40 [Ju^y- 



ground-colour than the rest of the back and the side ; next comes the 

 whitish sub-dorsal line, and after an interval of ground-colour the 

 perfectly white spiracular stripe, both of these are very conspicuous ; 

 though all the ventral legs are equally well developed, it still often 

 assumes its former favourite position while resting, which is very 

 much like that of a half looper, holding on sometimes by the anal and 

 fourth pair of ventral legs only, at other times with addition of the 

 third pair, while the others and all the fore part of the body are held 

 off free, with the head bending downwards forming an arch ; after 

 feeding three days the ground colour is lighter and greener and the 

 length when laid up is 11 mm. 



After the last moult it attains in four days its full growth, when 

 the length is 20 mm. and stoutish in proportion, of true Noctua form 

 with plump twelfth segment, the thoracic segments slightly taper to- 

 wards the smaller and rather flattened head, the mouth prominent ; in 

 colour the head and plate are of a light greenish tint and glossy, the 

 ground of the rest of the body is light green, the dorsal line dark 

 green, the whitish sub-dorsal line is finely edged above with darker 

 green than that of the back and side, the yellowish or yellowish-white 

 spiracular stripe is well relieved along the upper margin by a con- 

 spicuous dark green stripe, the spiracles are whitish, finely outlined 

 with black, the tubercular dots are brown but too minute for any but 

 powerfully assisted vision, the belly and legs a rather paler green than 

 the back, the skin soft and smooth ; when it has ceased to feed and is 

 laid up all the lines soon disappear, and it is then of an uniform green 

 colour. 



The larva fabricates at about an inch or two beneath the surface 

 of the soil a cocoon of earth, with a thickness of wall about 1 mm., 

 or in parts even less, kneaded well together with silk, and slightly 

 attached to a few coarse particles of earth outside, it is of close 

 texture and not very brittle, the general figure is roundish or roundish- 

 oval, and measures about 9 by 6 or 7 mm., the interior is very smooth 

 and just fits the pupa comfortably without room to spare ; the pupa 

 itself is of a very dumpy form, with rather a bluntly tapered abdomen, 

 having at the tip two fine thorny points of inconceivable minuteness, 

 and in contact with the compressed old larval skin ; in colour the pupa 

 skin is reddish-brown and rather shining, and in length 6 to 7 mm. 



The perfect insects were bred, both male and female, in the morn- 

 ing of the 4th, and a female on the 11th, of this month. 



Emsworth : May 12tk, 1882. 



