70 [August, 



Capture of OpModea lunaris near Lewes. — A specimen of this rare insect was 

 taken at sugar, near this town, on the 18th June last, by my friend Mr. ]\I. S. Blaker. 

 The insect, whicli is a female, is in fair condition. It possessed the usual restlessness 

 of the CatovalldcBj and nearly succeeded in effecting its escape. — J. H. A. Jennee, 

 Lewes : Jidi/ 12th, 1873. 



Description of the larva of Limacodes asellus. — On October 13tli, 1872, I had 

 the good fortune to receive an example of the larva of this species, found on a beech 

 tree near Marlow, and kindly presented to be by the Rev. B. Smith. 



For two days the larva continued to feed at intervals on the edges of beech 

 leaves, and on the 16th it spun its coeoon on the under surface near the edge of one 

 of them, and the perfect insect, a female, came forth on July 7th, 1873. 



This larva, when moving and fully strelched out, measured about half-an-inch 

 long, and a quarter of an inch broad across the middle of the body, from whence it 

 tapered towards each end ; but in repose, or when disturbed, its length did not 

 exceed three-eighths of an inch, as the head and the second segment were then en- 

 tirely retracted, so that the front part of the body appeared but little tapered, and 

 broadly truncate, though somewhat rounded : when protruded, the head was seen to 

 be very small, and rather flattened, as in the LyccBnidce ; the anal extremity was 

 rounded ; on a side view the back appeared somewhat arched, and the ventral surface 

 was in close contact with the leaf. The segments were not marked in the usual way 

 by transvei'se folds, but only by narrow dimpled depressions ; there were also little 

 circular dimples on the back, one in the centre of the front of each segment, and two 

 at the back in the subdorsal region ; this region, being a little raised on each side, 

 formed a slight dorsal hollow. 



The six anterior legs, though minute, were yet distinctly to be seen when the 

 larva was in motion, but no ventral or anal legs were perceptible, and instead of them 

 it had along the sides on the margin of the belly, which was deeply depressed along 

 the middle, a soft projecting ridge of extremely flexible skin. Tliis served very well 

 the purpose of legs by its undulatory movement from behind forwards ; one wave at a 

 time, formed under each segment, slowly advancing and subsiding in regular succession 

 as far forwards as the fifth segment. The head was smooth and shining, the back 

 and sides rather so, though the skin there was covered with a pubescence, but this 

 was so fine as to be seen only with a powerful lens ; it was noticeable that the dimpled 

 spots were for the most part paler than the rest, and that a few short and very minute 

 bristles were scattered at each extremity, and at intervals along the back. 



Its ground colour was a pale yellowish-gi'een, watery looking along the side, where 

 it soon faded into something of a pale flesh tint beneath ; on the back, beginning at 

 the front of the third segment, was a broad olive-brown extensive mark reminding 

 one somewhat of the dark saddle on D. vinida ; this mark lessened in breadth a 

 little on the fifth segment, and then grew broader on the sixth, attaining its greatest 

 breadth on the seventh and eighth, where it reached low on the sides ; it began to 

 decrease again on the ninth, and gradually narrowed from thence to the anal tip ; 

 the olive-brown was darkest on the third and fourth segments, and there was 

 throughout an outline of darker brown, this also further relieved below by a pale 

 sulphur-yellow border, which enlarged to a spot on the side of the fifth segment^ 

 with smaller spots on the fourth and sixth ; the second segment was pale yellowish- 

 green, and also the head with a slight tinge of brown, the mouth edged above and 

 on each side with dark brown, pajiillse yellowish-green ; a dark brown dorsal vessel 

 could be seen through the olive' on the back as far as the end of the tenth segment ; 

 the moving bkin of the under surface was almost coloiu'less, with a clear pellucid 

 jelly-like appearance. 



