ACHERONTIA ATROPOS AND SPHINX CONVOLVULI. 283 



packed with cabbage and potato-leaves, and so was in rather a 

 famished condition, as it had been travelling since Saturday the 

 17th. It began to feed ravenously at once, and in a few days 

 was full grown, and had attained to dimensions nearly as large 

 as my largest atropos. This was a green larva, and as far as my 

 experience goes green is the typical colour. 



This is both a convolvnli and atropos year, for between the 

 19th ultimo and the date of this paper I have taken or had 

 brought to me eight more larvae of the former and more than 

 twenty of the latter, besides having seen convolvnli flying at late 

 honeysuckle in my garden, and having had several of the moths 

 brought to me. I have also noticed traces of the larvae of both 

 species in every potato-field I have visited in this neighbourhood, 

 and the larvae of atropos have occurred in every little patch of 

 potatoes in the cottage and allotment gardens around Harwich 

 and Dovercourt. 



As we have no weekly paper, and in order that my brother 

 entomologists might know that these larvae were about, I 

 wrote to several of the daily papers to inform them, so that 

 they might be on the look-out for them before it was too 

 late. The result of this was that I was overwhelmed with appli- 

 cations from all sorts of people, asking me to send them larvae, 

 pupae, or the perfect insects of each species. I also received 

 several letters from gentlemen on the occurrence of convolvnli, 

 from which I learn that it has been taken near Bridport, Manor 

 Park, and Rye, and that it has been numerous in Jersey. 



In the above remarks I have stated that I believe the green 

 to be the typical form of convolvnli, so perhaps it will be as well 

 to give a short description of the larva. 



(A.) Typical form. Bright apple-green, with narrow black 

 lines between the skin folds; oblique stripes bright yellowish 

 green ; head green, with black stripes each side of the cheeks ; 

 horn orange-red, tipped with black. 



(B.) Var. 1.— As above, but with a subdorsal row of square- 

 shaped black spots, and a large black blotch above each spiracle. 



Var. 2. — Apple-green, with the oblique stripes broadly bor- 

 dered above by purplish black, the stripes nearly meeting over 

 the back, and those on the last two segments running up to the 

 base of the caudal horn. 



Var. 3.— The brown variety, as figured by Buckler, but 

 difficult to describe. 



It is a hard-feeling larva to the touch, and when annoyed 

 curls itself into a ring, or violently jerks itself from side to side. 



Dovercourt, Essex : Sept. 10th, 1901. 



