NOTKS, CAPTURES, ETC. 187 



roughly describe the darkest type as a black larva, with an 

 interrupted chain of while dorsal spots, and with a more 

 indistinctly defined whitish spiracular line; whilst the paler 

 type might not inaptly be called a creamy white larva, with 

 transverse bands of markings : these transverse bands are 

 composed of a fine dull orange band (quite lost in the dark 

 form), bordered on either side by largish black dots, just 

 touching on their outer margins, four of these spots being 

 larger than the rest; two on either side of the orange bands 

 are on the dorsal area, and by the strong contrast of jet-black 

 on the creamy white ground form the broadish, irregular, 

 chain-like pattern of the dorsal area ; smaller black spots, 

 with a little gray shading, produce a faint spiracular line ; 

 the spiracles being dull orange, which on the anterior 

 segments show rather more of the orange colour. The larva 

 is thinly covered with stiffish hairs; those of the dorsal area 

 being black, and those of the spiracular area white. The 

 ventral surface is dull lead-colour in all of them. When full 

 grown they measure one-eighth of an inch, are moderately 

 stout, slightly thickest in the middle, decreasing a little to each 

 extremity ; the head is rather small, and of a mottled brown 

 colour; the segments are well defined. As to treatment — 

 when first hatched I placed them in a wide-mouthed bottle, 

 and tried them with a variety of likely plants ; and I had the 

 satisfaction of seeing that they ate a garden variety of 

 Myosotis, and also Borago officinalis; by preference the 

 former plant, but being an early flowering species it was 

 getting out of flower and much covered with Aphis. I tried 

 them with the common forget-me-not [Myosotis palustris), of 

 our brooks, and they took to feeding on it at once, eating 

 both flowers and leaves, and throve well. They were fidl fed 

 from June 24th to 30th, when some of them commenced 

 spinning a fine white silky cocoon on the surface of the 

 ground, introducing a few grains of earth, &c., into its 

 composition, so as to give it the character of surrounding 

 objects, doubtless for protection. Others spun in like manner. 

 Three of them spun a fine white web amongst the food-plant, 

 through which could be seen the moderately stout, reddish 

 brown pupa, showing a slight indication of the spots on the 

 abdominal surface of the imago. The first imago appeared, 

 July 16th, a fine female; another on the 17lh ; and a very 

 large male on the 18th. The coloration of the first is 

 extremely bright, the crimson spots being both large and 

 deeply coloured. In the two last the crimson is less bright, 



