30 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



been constant to me, and I shall be glad to forward to anyone 

 wanting the species, on receipt of box and return postage, a series 

 of six, as far as they will go. — [Dr.] H. W. Livett ; Wells, 

 Somerset, October 14, 1881. 



Life-history of Plusia bractea. — I have found that if a 

 worn female of Plusia bractea, when captured, is placed in a large 

 chip pill-box, in which a small aperture has been left for air, and 

 the box is placed in a window upon which the evening sun shines, 

 she will probably deposit some eggs. These are almost the colour 

 of the chip upon which they would be laid, and are very small in 

 proportion to the size of the insect. Later in autumn the eggs 

 will hatch, and the young larvae feed and grow till they are about 

 half an inch in length, and are in colour a dull green. In spring 

 they begin to feed vigorously and increase in size, and can then 

 be distinguished from the larvae of P. V-aureum by the segments 

 being more marked and indented. As they grow they become of 

 a richer and brighter green ; and when about to spin up the 

 caterpillar of P. bractea is a handsome larva, upwards of an inch 

 in length, with only six prolegs ; the anterior legs are generally 

 black. It has a habit of elongating all the anterior segments, 

 making them look very slender in comparison with the rest of the 

 body. The dorsal line is very narrow, of a darker green than the 

 ground colour, and between it and the spiracular lines are three 

 wavy white lines ; but all these markings are so minute that at 

 first sight the larva appears of a uniform green. All the bod}' 

 below the spiracles is of a darker green than the upper surface ; 

 the face, which is almost flat, has a black stripe at each side ; the 

 mandibles are also black, and two prickly points on the last 

 segments are dark in colour. The larva is sprinkled all over with 

 almost invisible white hairs, which show at once if it is held 

 against the light. It spins a white silky covering, through which 

 the dark chrysalis can be seen ; the cocoon is completed about 

 the end of May or beginning of June. The imagos appear in 

 June or the beginning of July ; they are particularly fond of the 

 flowers of honeysuckle and Viola cornuta, which they frequent 

 just before dark, in company with Plusia V-aureum, P. iota and 

 P. chrysitis ; possibly, but rarely, with P. inter rogatlonis. About 

 four years ago I succeeded in rearing five splendid Plusia bractea 

 on groundsel alone. When they were large enough to take out of 

 the glass- topped box, a healthy young groundsel was placed in 



