HESPERIDAl. 301 



soft velvety green, still with similar lines, except that the 

 whitish portion has merged in the subdorsal, rendering it 

 paler. A month later the black plates have moulted entirely 

 away, the head is of a paler green, and the subdorsal line 

 yellowish. When four months old — in October — one inch 

 in length, of a yellowish green, paler than before, and with 

 the subdorsal yellowish line edged above and below with 

 deeper green than the ground colour, followed below by a 

 paler line, and having a very faintly paler spiracular line ; 

 spiracles reddish. (Buckler.) Mr. Buckler's account of this 

 little known larva is very elaborate. He says that the eggs 

 sent to him had been laid upon a plant of (Thchomnhrcleracea, 

 but that he cannot say why this plant had been given to the 

 female butterfly to deposit upon. (The reason doubtless was 

 that the insect was found frequenting the flowers of this plant.) 

 The food selected liy the j'oung larv;e was Brarhypod iwm, 

 si/lraticum. and upon this grass they were reared. When 

 very young they drew the tips of the leaves together, so as 

 to form little cylindrical retreats, securely fastened by spin- 

 nings of silk. As they grew older they continued to make 

 tubular chambers by drawing together the grass leaf, eating 

 out pieces from the edge of the leaf below, so that, when 

 the leaf was nearly eaten through, the habitation at the top 

 would hang down, and would then be deserted, the larva 

 moving to a fresh leaf, and again forming a habitation at 

 the upper part. Its movements for this purpose were 

 extremely slow, gliding at an almost imperceptible pace, but 

 when a habitation was torn open the larva leaped nimbly out 

 of it in a fright, but then remained perfectly still for nearly 

 two hours. They were always very timid, and when dis- 

 turbed coiled up in a moment, and so remained for an hour 

 or more. When full-grown in October they made very 

 imperfect tubes, and appeared content to lie along the 

 underside of a leaf, the top of which they soon devoured. 

 In the middle of October each formed a chamber, for the 

 purpose of hybernating, by drawing the grass leaf round 



