1895.] G5 



Leopoldella, Costa, from Cannes, a smaller and very closely allied 

 species, and Major Hering alludes to another near ally, T. vinctella, 

 H.-S. 



I hope that a coloured plate of T. vinculeUa with its larva, 

 case, &c., may ere long appear iu the Proceedings of the Dorset Field 

 Club. 



Monte Video, near Weymouth : 

 January, 1895. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE LARVA OF TEPHROSIA EXTERSAEIA. 

 BY GEORGE T. PORRITT, F.L.S. 



When on a collecting expedition to Abbott's Wood, Sussex, with 

 Mr. W. H. Tugwel!, at the beginning of June, 1892, we found 

 Te])lirosia extersaria a very abundant visitor to the sugared trees. 

 From some of the specimens boxed eggs were obtained, but it was not 

 until some time after they were hatched that I discovered there was 

 no English description of the larva, hence only meagre notes had been 

 made on the earliest stages. Fortunately the eggs, which were dull 

 dark green, did not all hatch together, so that when I did find out the 

 necessity of studying them closely, I was able to take notes on the 

 larvfB in various stages. By this time, August 5th, they varied from 

 half an inch to an inch or a little over in length. Up to nearly 

 three-quarters of an inch the colouring and marking ai'e pretty much 

 the same, and may be described as follows : — 



Body slender, cylindrical, and of almost uniform width throughout ; head 

 rounded, but rather flat in front, fully as wide as the second segment ; skin smooth 

 and glossy, and the segmental divisions clearly defined. Ground-colour briglit 

 pale green ; the head yellowish-green in front, brown at the sides ; the very fine 

 medio-dorsal line, and the broad subdorsal stripes darker green ; spiracles black. 

 Ventral area and prolegs bright green, the front pair of prolegs tipped with brown ; 

 anterior-legs grey, ringed at intervals with brown. 



In the next stage, that is, when about three-quarters of an inch has been 

 attained, two small raised tubercles have appeared on the 9th segment; the ground- 

 colour has become a darker green, and the fine medio-dorsal line still darker green ; 

 the subdorsal stripes have become more or less purple, some sjxicimens having very 

 little of this colour, in others it is th3 predominating colour of the stripes; the two 

 tubercles on the 9th segment are purjile in both pale and dark forms ; the segmental 

 divisions are yellow or pink in different specimens ; the head is still yellowish- 

 green, but has lost a good deal of the brown at the sides. 



At the next moult an inch has been attained ; the skin has now quite lost its 

 glossy character, and has become rather rough in appearance ; the two small 

 tubercles on the 9th segment have swollen into a distinct transverse ridge, the seg- 

 ments also slightly overlap each other. Ground-colour bright green ; the middle of 



