ON THK SEXES OF LEPIDOPTEROUS LARV.T;. 87 



passed behind a cloud in spring; and in the wet summer of 1879 

 the rapidly flying Argynnis paphia was easil}^ captured with the 

 fingers, having taken refuge in the brambles when disturbed, 

 because it was unable to fly. If this occurs in the South of 

 England it would be much more likely to occur in the more 

 northern parts of these islands and in tbe Alps. 



In conclusion I cannot but express my admiration of Mr. 

 Dobree's excellent paper, which is a most valuable addition to 

 the literature of melanism.* 



ON THE SEXES OF LEPIDOPTEROUS LARV^. 

 By J. Adolphe Wenigee. 



It is during my voyage from England to New Zealand that I 

 am waiting the following lines, which I trust will be of interest 

 to entomologists. 



Larvae which produce Lepidoptera have been, up to the 

 present time, a puzzle to entomologists with regard to the sexes. 

 It is said that the lepidopteron while in its larval state has no 

 sex, and that the only means by which an entomologist is able 

 to distinguish the male from the female is by its size. This is 

 not always the sign to go by, for it may be sometimes a large 

 male and a small female. I therefore devoted all the time I could 

 in 1886 to discover if other means could be found for defining 

 the sexes of larvae. The larvae on which I have made my experi- 

 ments were those of Attaciis yama-ma'i. 



It is not possible to detect the difference before the second or 

 sometimes third change, on account of its being so small, and 

 the larvae being too tender or delicate to handle. The drawing 

 which accompanies my note, and which is a perfect representation 

 of those I had alive and full grown in April, will be sufficient to 

 enable an entomologist to pick a male larva from the female 

 larva. I may here state that I have known diseases in the 

 female larva, but never in the male. On taking a larva of the 

 above species, or even pernyi, selenc, cecropia, &c., and gently 

 taking off the hind part of the larva, turning up the under side, 

 and examining the last segment that bears a spiracle, what is 



* Read before the y. Lond. Entom. and Nat. Hist. Soc, February 2-lth, 1887. 



