THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 37 



neither feigns death nor rolls in a ring when disturbed or an- 

 noyed, as probably the only protection it seeks or requh-es is 

 that afforded by its cocoon. Head porrected in crawling, 

 rather narrower than the body ; it is perfectly glabrous, but 

 emits about thirty fiue hairs, which are directed forwards ; 

 body of uniform substance throughout, the back slightly de- 

 pressed, the belly flattened ; each segment has twelve warts, 

 and each wart emits a bristle. Colour of the head intense 

 black and shining, the labrum white ; dorsal surface of the 

 body dark smoke-coloured as far as the spiracles, and having 

 an irregular narrow medio-dorsal white stripe, interrupted on 

 the 10th, 11th and 12th segments; the warts and bristles are 

 white; the ventral surface, beginning at the spiracles, as also 

 the legs and clasjiers, ochreous-yellow ; but in very wet wea- 

 ther, when the larva feeds voraciously, the belly and all the 

 under parts assume a tinge of green ; nevertheless, although 

 these parts assume this green tinge after voracious feeding, they 

 invariably return to their normal yellow colour before pupa- 

 tion, thus proving the altered tinge to be the result of re- 

 pletion : when the time for pupation arrives, these larvge 

 usually secrete themselves in holes in the wall, and spin 

 a slight web amongst old spiders' webs, dust and crumbled 

 earth or mortar, in which they undergo the change, but some- 

 limes they use for tljis purpose the cocoons they had pre- 

 viously constructed as habitations during their larvahood : 

 they usually remain in the pupa throughout June and July, 

 and the moth makes its appearance in xAugust and through- 

 out September. On account of its peculiar economy this 

 species is rather difficult to manage in confinement: the 

 larvge from which my description is made proved exceedingly 

 restless in confinement, and pertinaciously refused to build 

 or to feed on the diversified banquet of lichens, which, with 

 more than parental solicitude (I will not say judgment) I 

 provided for their well-being. The ground colour of the 

 moth is very variable, sometimes nearly white, sometimes 

 gray -green, and sometimes reddish or dusky brown : it comes 

 freely to sugar, and sometimes is very abundant, more espe- 

 cially on our southern coast. Forty years back it occurred 

 prolusely oil the canal bridge in the Old Kent Road, but 

 1 find no record of its occurrence elsewhere in the Lon- 

 don district. 1 am indebted to Mr. Dell, of Morris Town, 



