CERURA. 



245 



in the others, the dark band is concave on both sides, and 

 much attenuated in the middle. It is pure blackish-grey, not 

 dusted with orange, and the black border is only slightly 

 marked. 



The larva is pale green, with a yellowish-brown head. On the 

 second segment commences a large reddish-brown spot, bor- 

 dered with white on the sides, and shaped like a pyramid or 

 triangle, with the sides longer than the base. On the third 

 segment it ends in a small button-like elevation. The dorsal 

 line commences on the fifth segment, and is not joined to the 

 triangular mark already mentioned. It is also reddish-brown, 

 and is pointed in front, expanding gradually till the eighth seg- 



Larva of Alder Kitten. 



ment, where it widens out so much as to extend laterally down 

 to the spiracle. It then narrows again till the twelfth segment, 

 where it slightly expands, and terminates between the caudal 

 processes, which are long and spiny, in a shining black plate. 

 This dorsal line is bordered with a white line, broken on the 

 eighth segment, and is spotted with yellowish on the sides of 

 the sixth and eighth segments. It feeds on birch and alder. 



The pupa is brown, and is contained in a hard, firm cocoon. 



This species is widely distributed in England, but is scarce 

 in collections, owing rather to the difficulty of finding it than to 

 its actual rarity. Its cocoons are almost invisible, from their 



