NOTES ON THE EARLY STAGES OF EPIRRITA DILUTATA 

 DENIS & SCHIFF. 



I'.y G. ( ). I)a\. I'.IvS., Dnncaii. I',. C. 



A female nmili \\a^ fnund al rest cii tree tiiiiik in the Duncan Dis- 

 Iricl ol' \ ancouver Island mi IJtli (Jctolier, l''l,i. It was eunlined in 

 elii|) l)iix and laid e,L;^s Lilh tn Idlli ( )i.-ti >lier. E.ui^s laid in inemilar 

 masses, sniiie siiiLjiy. atlaclied in hox. In Ljeneial ajipearance like ininule 

 liuiiclies III li.Ljlu Ljreen. uxal Lj'fapes. vSize ul' ei^i;. .66 b_\- .60 mm. I'nder 

 band lens the surface h Hiked pitted all (i\ er. 



\\ hen e.xaiuined on 14tli .March. I'n4. after wintering; outside, the 

 et^.^s were cayenne-coldured in luass and shiny. Sides a little flattened 

 and indented. The "iMttinj;" still distinct. I'nder hand lens the culnur 

 iif indi\'idual ei^s^s was a reddish light hruwii. r.egan tn hatch nut .March 

 IXth and majcirity out l/y the 20th. Lar\a al first a sunt)- nlixe green, 

 no apjiareiit markings; head and first seginent rather swoolen ; anal 

 claspers fairly spreading. The anal claspers and the segment l)ehind head 

 a lighter green than the rest of the hod}-. Head brown. 'J'he larva would 

 eat btids of sallow and the common species of vaccinium, Init preferred 

 the latter, on which it fed well. .\11 other food offered (including alder, 

 which I had an idea might be its food-plant i was rejected. l,ar\a 

 continued to be of the dull (jlive colour without marking until 1st .\])ril, 

 when those which had newly shed their skins (1 am not sure whether for 

 the first or second time), developed a chrome yellow colour with incon- 

 spicuous lines running the whole length of the body. .\t this date these 

 lar\ae were ,s mm. long. The lines were not \ery distinct. i)Ut I could 

 make out a median dorsal line and two others each side of it on the dorsal 

 area, making fi\e lines altogether. The space between the median litie 

 and the first side line, slightly wider than between the second and third. 

 In the ne.xt iiistar. the ai-ipearance of the lar\a much the same, exce])t 

 that the colour becomes a glaucous green, similar to that of the lea\es 

 on which the caterpillar feeds, and the longtitudinal lines are rather more 

 distinct, with a decided whitish line just below the s]5iracle.s — this line 

 runs along (abo\e) a kind of ridge. The \entral surface has a tendency 

 to whitish, and in the next instar, this whiteness is much more pro- 

 nounced, liecoming a characteristic distinction. The whitish s|)iracular 

 lines are more marked towards the anus. .\t this stage ( ISth .\prili. the 

 larvae were 1.^ to 17 mm. long. ( )n 2''tli .\pril they had increased to 

 25 mm. in length, and some had already c<inimenced to |)upate, spin- 

 ning chambers in the frass collected ai the bottom of the breeding jar. 

 The cocoons were fairly strong, for 1 scr;i;)ed some masses of frass out 

 before ! discoxered there were lar\-ae pupating in it. Larvae when full 

 led, much the same in ai)|)earance as alread\- described. onl\- the white 



