LIFE-HISTORY OF NOLA CENTONALIS. 43 
mouth bottle with the eggs directly they commenced to hatch. 
Being so small, little or no signs of frass could be detected, and 
feared I had lost all, till the fourth day, when the contents of the 
bottle were carefully inspected on a sheet of white paper. I was 
pleased to find three different plants had been eaten. This gave 
hope, and enabled me to clear away a lot of useless plants. 
Carefully replacing the larve with fresh portions of their food, 
viz., Potentilla anserina, Lotus corniculatus, and Trifolium 
procumbens, I left them again four days, and then repeated the 
inspection. Now the preference for the Leguminose was decided, 
Trifolium procumbens being evidently the favourite food. I 
continued to give this plant for a short time, but finding it difficult 
to keep up a fresh supply, for I could not find it growing near 
Greenwich, substituted Trifolium minus and Medicago lupulina, 
both of which they ate freely. In their early stages they feed on 
the leaves only, but after the third and fourth moult I observed 
they had a taste for the flowers, so tried them with the heads of 
bloom of the common clover (7. pratense). ‘They took most 
kindly to this food, and, being easily obtained, I continued with it 
till they spun up, which they did from first to second week in 
November. Doubtless this abnormal time of pupating was 
induced by being kept in a warmed room, and well supplied with 
fresh food. In nature they would undoubtedly hybernate. This 
is shown by six larve I had sent to Mr. Buckler. Atlhough these 
were treated like mine, only in a cold room, after moulting five 
times they refused to feed up, and hybernated, as did two larve 
with me also. Luckily, by my forcing treatment, the risk of 
losing them in the state of hybernating was avoided, and enabled 
me to send a full-fed larva on to Mr. Buckler, and thus secured 
its portrait by his able pencil. 
The young larve are a pale brownish yellow, hairy, and rather 
sluggish, a character they retained through lfe. If touched 
or irritated they drop from their food and curl themselves up, and 
remain thus for some time. They moulted five times at pretty 
regular intervals, viz.: first moult, on September 6th to 8th; 
second moult, 16th to 18th; third moult, 24th to 26th; fourth, 
October 12th to 14th; and the fifth and final was completed 
by October 26th. No great change of coloration takes place till 
the fourth change of skin, when a faint fulvous-yellow dorsal line 
first makes its appearance, and the fleshy tubercles are dark and 
spot-like. This last character is almost lost in the final moult. 
