40 THE entomologist's recgrd. 



thence, evenly, to the midrib, which it did not, however, attempt. 

 When eaten awaj" to the stem on the one side it would eat the other 

 side of the leaf in the same way, leaving the leaf untouched, on both 

 sides, forwards, from where it began feeding. When it had devoured 

 the young leaves at the top of the plant, which it ate to the last 

 morsel, and in some cases also the supporting shoot, it tried some of 

 the larger and more matured leaves, and, after dealing with them in 

 the manner described, it descended the main stem in search of the 

 lateral shoots, which it ascended and stripped of the young growth, as 

 it had done at the top of the plant. When moving on the foodplant 

 in search of a fresh leaf, it had a peculiar action in progression. It 

 woiild gently sway the head and segments forward, from the 2nd 

 abdominal, and, at the same time, accompany this action with a 

 movement of slow recoil and extension. Had this movement been a 

 quick, instead of a very measured, one, it might have been described 

 as a darting action. Whether the larva, when thus occupied, was 

 searching by sight or scent for its next point of attack upon the food- 

 plant can only be conjecture. It did not once leave the plant until 

 the morning of the IBth of the month, when it was found on the flooi' 

 of the cage that covered it, entirely changed in colour, contracted, and 

 preparing for pupation. The change had been accomplished with a 

 startling rapidity. At eleven o'clock the preceding night it was feeding 

 as usual, and giving no sign of the coming change. At eight o'clock 

 the next morning it was in the condition alluded to. This was a 

 great disappointment, as it had been projected to take photographs of 

 the larva for publication with this description. A drawing had, 

 however, been made from it, and it must form the illustration in 

 default of more accurate representation. The larva had greatly 

 changed in appearance. The whole of the fawn-colour had turned to 

 deep fulvous. The dorsal area from abdominal segment 2, extending 

 to the caudal horn, and reaching down laterally just below the lateral 

 line, had become a dark umber-brown. The dome-like triangles had 

 disappeared entirely. The lunules of the head were of the same dark 

 umber tint, as was the fine mediodorsal line on the prothoracic 

 dorsal surface. Of the same colour had appeared a half-circular plate- 

 like marking on the dorsal surface of the prothoracic segment, the 

 straight side on the anterior edge, where there was a narrow fulvous 

 edging between it and the head. The light fawn portions, as before- 

 said, had turned to a deep fulvous, but the anal end and prolegs were 

 the strongest of those parts in colour, being quite deep sienna in tint. 

 The ocellated marks on the thorax had lost their beauty, for they 

 Avere now suft'used with black from the jet black of the bordering 

 rings, and the only indication of the gleaming blue centres was a 

 small core of dull purplish colour. Those portions of the larva which 

 had been of the grey liver-colour were now of a dull coffee tint. The 

 sufl'used white lateral line had almost vanished, but the transverse 

 rows of small white spots showed in strong relief on the dark ground. 

 The horn was of the same colour as before, but looked more brilliant 

 by contrast with the dark dorsal development. Taken as a whole, the 

 larva appeared more like the typical form in these changed colours 

 than it did in those which preceded them. It was placed in a large 

 riower-pot on soil composed of fibre, sand, and loam, but wandered 

 round and round the pot in the familiar style until mid-day, when it 



