1874.] 275 



Description of the larva of Apamea gemina. — On the 28th of March, 1868, mj 

 friend Mr. Doublcday kindly sent me a larva about an inch long, found at night in 

 Epping Forest, which, unfortunately, soon after died from ichneumons, and the 

 figure taken of it remained an enigma until 1872, when its identity was determined 

 by the appearance of gemina from a similar larra, found by the Rev. H. Williams, 

 of Croxton, while searching for larvse of its congener unanimis under grass sods in a 

 loose and damp soil on December 12th, 1871 ; although so much smaller than the 

 one above mentioned, being only three-eighths of an inch long at that date, yet I 

 saw at once it was of the same species, possessing the same distinguishing chai-acters, 

 which continued unchanged till its maturity. 



Though supplied with plenty of grasses from time to time, it persistently kept 

 itself coiled round, and nestled amongst the soil at the roots, showing no disposition 

 to feed until the 27th of February, 1872, when it came out and moulted on the 

 grass, and then began to feed on Phalaris arundinacea ; having soon after increased 

 in length to seven-eighths of an inch, it again moulted ; and by March 18th reached 

 its full growth, when I found it woiild eat Poa annua or Triticum repens quite as 

 well as the ribbon grass, but it was not a great eater : on the 24th it retired to 

 earth, and the moth, a female, emerged on June 12th, a dark and handsome variety, 

 the remissa of Haworth. 



This larva, when full-grown, was one and five-eighths of an inch in length, cylin- 

 drical, of moderate and almost uniform stoutness, tapering but little at either end, 

 the head rounded. In colour it was a brownish-grey, finely striated longitudinally 

 with a darker tint of the same ; the dorsal line yellowish- white, uniform in width 

 throughout, and bordered with dark grey ; the sub-dorsal stripe brownish-ochreous, 

 but little paler than the colour of the back ; the spiracular stripe, characteristic of 

 the genus and of this species in particular, was hroad, of a light drab colour with 

 paler edges, and along its middle were situated the oval spiracles which were yellow- 

 ish-drab delicately outlined with black ; the belly and all the legs brownish-grey 

 similar to that of the back ; the shining head of the same colour freckled with 

 darker, the black plate on the second segment highly polished as well as on the anal 

 flap, and on both the dorsal and sub-dorsal lines appeared almost white, the tubercular 

 warty dots blackish, each bearing a grey-brown hair. 



The pupa was little more that five-eighths of an inch in length, of the usual 

 Noctua shape, rather stout in proportion to its length, ending in two minute points 

 at the anal tip ; it was of a dark mahogany-brown colour, and very glossy, enclosed 

 in a very brittle earthen cocoon one inch long by five-eighths wide, lined with a 

 slightly wrought tracery of silk threads. — Wm. Buckler, Emsworth : March Qth, 1874. 



Description of the larva of Nonagria neurica. — On the 30th of June, 1870, 

 several larvce of this species were forwarded to me by the Hon. Thomas de Grey, 

 who very kindly sent me some of a number he had taken in the Norfolk fens, that 

 I might not only figure the larva and pupa, but also breed the imago ; unfortunately, 

 however, whilst ho had the good luck to breed four imag08 on July 27th, all my larv£B 

 were infested with dipterous parasites, so that I did not see the pupa, nor have I 

 since been able to obtain more examples. 



The larva; were inhabiting pieces of the stems of Arundo phragmites, which- had 

 evidently been cut from the upper portions of the reeds, as they were perfectly fresh 



