186 MR. W. S. MACLEAY ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF URANIA. 
colour, sometimes turning to yellow, bearing considerable resemblance in form to those 
of the genus Catocala of Schrank, particularly Cat. nupta!. They vary in shape from 
an ovate to an oblate spheroid, but in general are truly spherical. A circular space 
on their summit is smooth, but from the circumference of this circle proceed about 
twenty four longitudinal ribs, the intervals between which are crossed at right angles 
by obsolete striae. 
The young larve just emerged from the egg appear of nearly the same pale green 
colour, and have seven longitudinal black lines, which the microscope shows to be so 
many rows of long black hairs. The head of these young larve is of a dirty yellowish 
colour, but after the first month it assumes its true appearance. This caterpillar 
scarcely ever rolls itself into a ring, and when full grown is about 14 to 2 inches long, 
of a regular cylindrical form, with the more usual sixteen feet. Its head is now red, 
polished, and sessile, that is, not set on the body by means of a narrow neck, as in the 
larve of true Hesperide. This head has black mandibles, and is besides irregularly 
sprinkled with some black spots, of which four placed close together nearly at the apex 
of the triangle which crowns the clypeus, and one on each side marking the site of the 
ocelli, seem to be tolerably constant. The other spots on the head are merely black 
points, generally about twelve. The first segment of the thoraz, or prothoraa, is, as in 
many Lepidopterous larve, of a more corneous texture than the other segments, and 
more or less of a velvety black colour, which is diversified by a white dorsal line, and 
two or three white irregular spots at the sides. ‘This, however, is only the typical 
colouring of the prothoraz; for in many specimens the white is more predominant than 
I have described, and is accompanied with a slight red spot on the back of the seg- 
ment. 
The true feet are red; and the ten false feet are of the same, only somewhat paler, 
tint as the body, which varies from a pale yellowish green to a flesh colour, with five 
paler longitudinal lines, of which the middle one is dorsal. 
The mesothoracic segment is rarely spotted, but all the others are often marked more 
or less with black spots, particularly the antepenultimate segment, which scarcely ever 
occurs without two lateral black spots placed immediately above the penultimate 
stigma. These spiracles are usually black, and the whole body moderately hairy, that 
is, having on each segment about six hairs, which are white and about one fifth as 
iong as the whole body. 
It is by no means easy to make a tolerably accurate description of this caterpillar, 
because there are few larve of the same species which differ so much from each other 
in colour, size, and marking, as those of Ur. Fernandine. «It is perhaps most readily 
1 This, in fact, appears to be a very common form of Lepidopterous egg. To this form I assign those eggs 
figured badly by Reaumur, vol. ii. tab. 3. figg. 6. & 7. These, however, appear to want the clear circular space 
on the summit, and besides are not so spherical as the eggs of Urania. 
