NOTODONTID^. loi 



black form is a recurrent variety, and is met with in both sexes ; 

 intermediate smoky-grey examples also occur. Wyre Forest 

 specimens in the cabinet of Mr. and Mrs. Abbott have the 

 thorax and base of the fore wings unusually hoary in colour. 

 On the wing in May, June, and the beginning of July, and 

 in very exceptional seasons, as a partial second generation, in 

 October and November, but the occurrence of this second 

 emergence does not seem to have been recorded abroad, nor 

 to have been noticed here until quite recently. 



Larva nearly three inches in length, shaped something 

 like a lobster. Head large, narrow above and slightly cleft, 

 broad below, flattened, outer edge ridged, and the lobes 

 prominent ; second and third segments smaller, fifth to the 

 tenth much larger, deeply divided and produced into double 

 perpendicular tubercles on the back ; eleventh segment 

 flattened a little at the sides, but less prominent above, twelfth 

 and thirteenth also flattened at the sides, but swollen into a 

 great ovate lobe, raised above the back and embellished with 

 two curved-down tails or tentacles ; no anal prolegs. The true 

 legs are very long, longer than those of the moth, sprawling, 

 having regular tibise, tarsi, and outward bending knees, 

 as conspicuous as those of a spider, but totally unlike those 

 of other larvas ; ventral prolegs very large and prominent. 

 Head reddish-brown, streaked in front with light brown, or 

 with purplish-crimson ; body and legs light brown or darker 

 brown, with a faintly purplish tinge, always shaded on the 

 segments with deeper brown ; dorsal line faintly yellowish, 

 bordered with blackish ; dorsal humps edged on each side 

 with blackish lines apparently representing subdorsal lines ; 

 spiracles white, ringed with blackish-brown, surrounded with 

 paler, and edged above by a deep brown spiracular line ; 

 hinder segments rather darker and more crimson-brown, 

 showing but little trace of the longitudinal lines. The very 

 young larva looks almost like a long-legged ant and is dark 

 brown, there being little alteration in appearance other than 



