upon lepidopterous larva, dec. 283 



as to the extreme uniformity, and therefore the 

 ancestral character, of the appearances witnessed in 

 the ontogeny of this species. 



&>. The young larva of Sesia bombyliformis, dtc. — I have 

 found a note, in Prof.Westwood's 'Modern Classification 

 of Insects ' (1840, vol. ii., p. 366), which proves that the 

 yonng larvae of the genus are spinous, and thus resemble 

 all the other young Sphinx larvae which have been ex- 

 amined for this character. At that time the character 

 had not been described in any other of the Sphingida, 

 and therefore Prof. Westwood looked upon the genus as 

 aberrant. The note is as follows : — " Sesia (S. bombyli- 

 formis, &c.) is certainly the most aberrant genus in the 

 family, the caterpillars being slightly pilose ; and when 

 about ten days old they have several furcate spines 

 upon each segment of the abdomen that entirely 

 disappear when they are full-fed, according to the 

 information given by Mr. Dale to Mr. Curtis. The full- 

 grown caterpillar is, however, evidently Sphingideous." 

 The fact that the spines are furcate compares in an 

 interesting manner with the character of these structures 

 in the genus Smerinthus. 



y. Further notes upon the red spots of Smerinthus 

 larvce : — i. Smerinthus oeellatus. — In two mature larva?, 

 captured in August, 1886, the red spots were more 

 developed than in any other individual of this species 

 hitherto described. Both were light yellowish green 

 varieties, although not extreme forms, and both were 

 found upon Salix triandra near Oxford. The most 

 extreme variety is represented in Plate X., fig. 1 ; but 

 the other only differed in the absence of the minute dot 

 of the upper row on the first thoracic segment. The 

 small size of the upper dot on the seventh abdominal 

 segment is noteworthy, and was the same in both 

 individuals. Comparing these larvae with that figured 

 in one of my previous papers (Trans. Eiit. Soc. Lond., 

 1884, Pt. I., p. 27, &c), it is seen that in the larvae here 

 described the spots of the two upper rows are larger 

 and extend on to more segments, while those upon the 

 claspers are much larger and more distinct. In breeding 

 large numbers of this species I found the spots in 

 various degrees of development upon many of the 

 whitish larvae, although more frequently upon the 

 yellowish varieties. This observation confirms the 



