90 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



as to form a continuation of the body, which thus seems to end in 

 a point ; in colour they are green, with a lateral stripe, sometimes 

 pink, sometimes white, though when young the larvae are 

 occasionally entirely pink — in fact, it seems to depend very much 

 upon the colour of the stems upon which they find themselves. 

 Two pink specimens found in July changed their skins the first 

 week in September, and then became green with a pink lateral 

 stripe ; the following month the lateral stripe of one changed to 

 white, but the other remained unchanged until it went to pupa 

 about the end of October. The cocoon is composed of fragments 

 of leaves and earth, just upon the surface of the ground, and is of 

 so flimsy a character that it is possible to observe the pupa inside ; 

 this is of a grey colour speckled with black, and having a blunt 

 head. The pupal state only lasts for a month. This species is 

 generally abundant, but others in the same genus are rarities. 



Whilst among the Geometers, I cannot refrain from mentioning 

 the very beautiful Emerald Moths. These, formerly divided into 

 many genera, have quite recently been gathered together in the 

 genus Iodis, as careful investigations into their structure give no 

 reasons for their separation. As the name leads one to expect, 

 all these moths have the ground colour of some shade of green, 

 and they are, without exception, most delicate and beautiful 

 insects. The species selected as typical of the group is Iodis 

 inspirata, and the sexes, which differ considerably, were at one 

 time described under different names as distinct species. The 

 larva is of a most extraordinary nature, having two spreading 

 horns on the last segment, and having the other segments extended 

 on each side in a most unique manner. It feeds upon the native 

 cherry in the early part of the year, and when full fed pupates 

 between a few stems connected together by a frail network, the 

 pupa differing in no particular from the ordinary Emerald type. 

 I can lay no claim myself to the discovery of the foregoing par- 

 ticulars, being indebted to Mr. Kershaw, jun., for specimens of 

 the perfect insect and to Mr. Spry for the larva from which I 

 took my figure ; but it is such a beautiful and interesting insect 

 that I could not pass it by in silence. 



There is one great charm in rearing out the Victorian Lepi- 

 doptera, on account of the results frequently being of a most 

 unlooked-for character, species emerging entirely different to what 

 one has been led to expect from the appearance of the larvae. 

 English collectors, especially, must throw away most of the ideas 

 gained by a knowledge of home insects, be content to begin over 

 again, and to recognize that in Victoria the Lepidoptera follow 

 the same rule as many of the plants and animals, having charac- 

 teristics and habits entirely Australian. Some of these forms are 

 of more than passing interest, inasmuch that they help to bridge 

 over the sharply defined divisions known in Europe, and, forming 



