ENDROMID^. 55 



have been repeatedly confirmed, and which are worthy of 

 close attention. The eggs are placed in short double rows 

 on a twig of birch and are most accurately of the brown 

 colour of the twigs. The larva3 when hatched are, as already 

 stated, black ; they sit in little companies, when not feeding, 

 upon the bark of the twigs. Now the twigs of birch are 

 peculiar in having curious little black roughnesses, running 

 into little jsointed eminences. Mr. Gascoyne says: " All are 

 now assembling near the tip of the twig to repose, ere they 

 commence feeding ; when at rest they adhere by the claspers, 

 the anterior part of the body being erect ; they closely resemble 

 in colour, shape, and size those little black stumps so common 

 on the twigs of the birch." But as they feed they grow, and 

 obviously the resemblance to the " little black stumps " would 

 soon be useless; so when they have cast the first skin they 

 appear with a dull green colouring, the black colour only exist- 

 ing as small spots. " The larvas are now become of a dull green 

 colour, and as they sit in groups, have a remarkable resem- 

 blance to bunches of the birch-catkins ; it requires a practised 

 eye and close observation to distinguish one from the other." 

 A second moult takes place, after which the larvas " becoming 

 too large to derive security from their resemblance to the 

 catkins, disperse ; their attitude and colour daily assume 

 more resemblance to a leaf." As they become large the 

 resemblance to a half-opened leaf — the side-ribs represented 

 by the oblique stripes of the larva — is something remarkable. 

 The result of this series of protective resemblances is, in due 

 time, a moth which, whether male or female, is so close an 

 imitation, when at rest, of the position and colour of a dead 

 leaf or bunch of leaves that no one, except from close ex- 

 amination, would suspect it to be anything else. There seems 

 to be, in this life history, food for much thought. 



During the time of flight the males can be attracted in 

 numbers by means of a freshly emerged female ; they are 

 then most reckless, dashing into the heather, or the birch 

 trees, to the great damage of their wings. Upwards of a 



