GONOPTERIDjE. 241 



Larva with sixteen legs, the prolegs complete ; head 

 rounded, pale green ; body elongated, rather even in 

 thickness, but the segments slightly rounded up, extremities 

 very little tapering ; colour soft semi-transparent grass- 

 green, the usual lines scarcely visible, or sometimes the 

 spiracular more yellow-green ; spiracles reddish-black ; legs 

 and prolegs green. When young the dorsal and subdorsal 

 lines show rather darker green. When quite full-grown, and 

 about to pupate, a large jet-black spot appears on each side of 

 the second and third segments, at the insertion of tbe future 

 wings, but these spots are thrown off with the larva skin. 



May to July or August on sallow, willow, and poplar; 

 feeding mainly at night, but remaining upon leaves of its 

 food-plaut during the day, and wonderfully protected by its 

 soft similar semi-transparent green colour. Its work, how- 

 ever, is conspicuous enough, and the considerably eaten 

 leaves of a strong sallow shoot by the wayside readily lead 

 to the discovery of the culprit ; its ravages in osier-beds are 

 sometimes rather serious. 



Pupa nearly of the ordinary Noctua form, but rather more 

 pointed than usual at the head, and with the hinder portions 

 of the wing-covers swollen ; these covers, and those of the 

 limbs and antennas, are dull with excessively minute and 

 close roughening, which can hardly be called sculpture, but 

 their margins rather more glossy ; dorsal and abdominal 

 segments covered with the same dull downy appearance, 

 and the edges without pitting or other sculpture but levelled, 

 off behind ; cremaster short and blunt, but furnished with a 

 cluster of spreading hooked spikes or bristles. Colour usually 

 dull black, but sometimes dull chestnut-brown, in which case 

 the incisions of the abdominal segments are darker and the 

 spiracles nearly black. In a slightly-built silken chamber 

 among dead leaves on the ground. 



The moth doubtless hides among dead leaves on the 

 ground during the day so long as it remains at large ; and 

 VOL. VI. Q 



