2 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



the larva, though under water, keep themselves surrounded by 

 air, and supposes the eggs are afforded some similar method of 

 aeration. 



Bitsema, in stating how Acentropus lays her eggs, says they 

 are under water, but does not say they are wet, which never- 

 theless they doubtless are. 



My notes say that the moths, taken June 4th at Bookham, 

 were kept in a glass, with various leaves and some Lemna, with 

 water at the bottom. Eggs are found June 6th, laid in two 

 different manners. In the one case they are laid on leaves of 

 Lemna triadea, and are wholly submerged — one surface of the 

 egg attached to the leaf, the other free in the water. These eggs 

 are laid close together, but not overlapping — generally several 

 together, and in one case covering the whole surface of a leaf — 

 reaching the number of twenty-three. The other method of 

 laying affected about a score of eggs, and the eggs were in 

 batches of about three, and in one case six, together. These 

 floated freely on the surface of the water, the lower surface being 

 in the water and wet, the upper above water and dry. This 

 upper surface was coated with a pavement of the scales of the 

 moth, laid over the whole of each batch in one uniform direction, 

 the stalks of attachment in one direction, the serrated margins 

 in, of course, the opposite ; but all parallel, and apparently 

 close together or overlapping. When the eggs did not seem 

 quite in the same direction, the scales were nevertheless so, and 

 seemed to be what held the eggs of each group together, and 

 also what kept the upper surface dry, the scales not apparently 

 being capable of getting wet. 



The eggs are very flat, almost scale-like, of oval outline, 

 about 0*75 mm. long and 0'56 across. The contents yellowish, 

 and in some cases already showing structure, there being a 

 notch at one side in the yellow mass, from which a groove 

 appeared to nearly cut off a central circular portion. 



June 15th. — Larvae very nearly fully developed ; a tortuous 

 tube is visible, no doubt the tracheal trunk of side nearest 

 observer. 



16th, 11 a.m. — The larvae (and eggs) are now very con- 

 spicuous, owing to the head and prothoracic plate, which occupy 

 so large a part of the top of the egg, being black ; the clypeus 

 is paler, and the jaws, which stand forward prominently, are 

 brown. The eggs look thicker and more rounded, as if by 

 imbibition of water, but this may be merely a perspective effect 

 of the change of colour. No measurement seems available. 



June 16th, 5 p.m. — Some larvae found hatching, and some 

 have already done a good deal in the way of clothing themselves. 

 Their heads, including the clypeus, are now very black. They 

 creep out of the eggs in the ordinary way, and walk off along 

 the leaf on which the egg is laid ; in doing so they are in the 



