326 THE KNTOMOLOGIST. 



colouring gradually fading until it finally turns to an opaque 

 white with the faintest yellowish hue at the base and rather 

 leaden in certain lights on the crown. It remains unchanged 

 during February and March ; at the end of the latter month, or 

 the first few days of April, it hatches. After hatching, the shell 

 is a dull opaque white. 



On April 1st, 1901, the eggs began hatching; nearly all were 

 hatched by the end of the first week in that month. The larva 

 eats a circular hole in the crown of the egg, through which it 

 emerges. Directly after emerging it measures ^^2 ii^- long ; the 

 head is proportionately large, the body swollen at the middle, 

 attenuated at both ends but mostly so on the first segment, 

 which is furnished with a dark-brown shining collar ; it is 

 wrinkled transversely and lobed laterally ; the entire body is a 

 rich deep straw-j^ellow, which becomes paler after feeding ; on 

 each side are four longitudinal rows of very minute knobbed 

 points, all of about equal size ; the first and second rows are 

 dorsal and subdorsal, the third and fourth are super-spiracular 

 and sub-spiracular ; excepting those forming the latter row, all 

 the points are directed forwards, those on the anal segment are 

 longer and only slightly clubbed ; along the lateral region, in- 

 cluding the claspers, are a number of minute spines pointing 

 downwards; all the points and spines are white and glassy with 

 dark bases ; the entire surface is granular ; the head shining 

 black, granulated, and bears a number of tiny whitish spines ; 

 the mouth-parts are brown ; the legs and claspers the same 

 colour as the body. If the young larva is in any way disturbed, 

 however slightly, it immediately contracts and rolls itself up 

 with the head touching the eighth segment, and remains motion- 

 less for several minutes. It does not eat the empty egg-shell, 

 but directly after leaving the egg it starts spinning the fine grass 

 together into a somewhat dense cluster an inch or two above the 

 ground. In this compact shelter the larva lives and feeds upon 

 the grass surrounding it, remaining almost always completely 

 hidden. Sometimes as many as three or four live together. It 

 appears to be chiefly nocturnal, as I have always found them 

 quietly resting during the day, and exceedingly difficult to see, 

 as they are so well hidden. The first stage lasts for about one 

 month. 



On May 2nd I found many of the larvae had recently moulted 

 for the first time. Just before first moult it measures ^ in. long, 

 the colour being the same as when first hatched. Soon after 

 first moult the colour along the dorsal surface has a decidedly 

 greenish tinge ; the rest of the body is pale straw-yellow. It 

 is more thickly sprinkled with minute white glassy angulated 

 knobbed points with black bases ; and on the dorsal surface of 

 each segment are two shining black spiracular-like rings, and 

 another just above the true spiracle ; also on the second and 



