APRIL. 65 



pursuit of Entomology, may often find a rarity that 

 older hands may miss, I will transcribe the natural 

 history of the larva of that beautiful and extremely 

 rare moth "The Essex Emerald" (JPhorodesma Sma- 

 ragdaria), translated by that active and energetic En- 

 tomologist, J. W. Douglas, Esq., from the Stettin 

 " Entomologische Zeitung," and read by him before 

 the Entomological Society of London, March 1st, 

 1852. 



"The larva of Phorodesma Smaragdaria (Esper), 

 by G. Koch, sen., Frankfort-on-the-Maine." 



" Hitherto this larva and its natural history have been 

 entirely unknown ; neither Ochsenheimer, Treitschke, 

 nor any other author, has given any account of it, 

 for if they had, the perfect insect would probably 

 not be such a rarity. The moth flies in woods late in 

 the evening ; on which account it is seldom taken ; and 

 the larvae are so deceptive to the eye that they have 

 hitherto eluded all search for them. The merit of 

 solving the riddle belongs to Herr Verwalter Miihlig, 

 who succeeded in finding an impregnated female which 

 laid eggs, by which circumstance we were put upon 

 the search, and now we find the species not uncom- 

 monly in our town woods. I give the following 

 account with this remark, that, although it is made 

 exactly after nature, everything is not to be found 

 therein which may be observed with a lens in these 

 most remarkable larvae. Besides, the matter is suffi- 

 ciently interesting to render it desirable to be acquainted 

 with the details of the natural history of these larvae, 

 otherwise than in fragments as at present, and to learn 

 some particulars about their early states. 



