﻿88 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



attached to the midrib of the under side of a leaf, about a 

 quarter of an inch from the base of the leaf, and the body 

 stretched downwards towards the main stem on which the fore 

 legs rest. The main stem, the leaf-stem, and the larva thus 

 form an obtuse-angled triangle, of which the larva is the longest 

 and lowest side. 



Occasional specimens are found attacking the pods during 

 the day but the majority rest perfectly quiet till evening, when 

 they wake up and exhibit considerable activity in their search 

 for food. They eat voraciously and increase rapidly in size, the 

 duration of the larval life being about a month. The larva loses 

 its hold readily on being disturbed, and falls curled up with the 

 head tucked in tightly. 



At the cessation of feeding, the larva shrunk very con- 

 siderably, and moved about in an apparently aimless manner, 

 seeking a place for pupation. In confinement the majority 

 spun a tough cocoon of sand and silk, attached to the moss 

 which was laid on the surface of the sand. Several larvae 

 wrapped themselves tightly in the withered leaves of the balsam. 

 Damp, and plenty of it, seems essential at this period to enable 

 the larva to make a satisfactory change to the pupal state. A 

 number of newly formed cocoons, which I removed to a dry tin 

 on account of the decayed and mouldy state of the balsam, 

 when opened contained crippled pupte, the larval skin not having 

 been completely shed. All those left in the original tin, amongst 

 the wet food and moss, changed perfectly to fine pupffi. 



Full-fed and young larvcoe were obtainable together on 

 September 10th, 1905, but as the earliest appearance of larvae 

 that year would be about August 12th, and the last of my larvae 

 to spin up did so on September 30th, it appears that there is a 

 period of something like seven weeks during which it is possible 

 to find the larvae. This period would probably fall later in a 

 cold and backward season {vide " Notes on E. reticulata," by the 

 Eev. A. M. Moss, in Ent. Mo. Mag., May, 1897). 



Description of Pupa. September 16th, 1905. — Average 

 length 9 mm., or rather over eleven thirty-seconds of an inch. 

 Some, probably females, were nearly 10 mm. in length. The 

 pupa is remarkably stout, so that its general appearance is short 

 and stumpy. The surface is smooth and glossy. Anterior 

 portion, enclosing head, thorax, antennae, legs, and wings, bright 

 transparent green. Abdominal portion light golden brown, the 

 incisions of the segments being darker brown. Green medio- 

 dorsal line and, in soma pupae, traces of the red larval spots are 

 visible at the segmental divisions. Between the eleventh and 

 twelfth segments a dull red-brown spot (corresponding to the red 

 larval blotch) is distinct in all the pupae. 



Perfect Insect. —The perfect insect appears to extend over a 

 period of at least four weeks, and, judging from the behaviour of 



