24 



The Larva. — Id color the caterpillar of this Pyralid varies greatly, but 

 it is usually of a lighter or darker green ; the darkest specimeuvs are 

 almost bluish-green, the palest yellowish-greeu. In the great majority 

 of cases the piliferous warts are black and polished, but in others, and 

 chiefly in the smaller ones, they are of the same color as the body. In 

 fact, hardly any two caterpillars, comingfrom the same moth, are exactly 

 alike. The arrangement of these warts is best observed in the darker 

 specimens, where two rows of them, each consisting of two warts, form 

 an almost exact square upon each abdominal segment. The warts below 

 and above the spiracles are longitudinall}' oval and rather far removed 

 from the dorsal rows. The cervical plate is either black with greenish 

 or green with blackish markings. The yellowish-greeu head is distin- 

 guished by two ill-defined, oblique and dusky stripes, which diverge 

 posteriorly. The very small spiracles are dull yellow. lu a number of 

 very dark green specimens the head is more yellow than green and not 

 marked with any black. Quite a number of these caterpillars are almost 

 olive green, suffused more or less with cherry-red. The recently hatched 

 caterpillars are white, with a pale yellow head. These highly polished 

 caterpillars reach a length of 20'"™ when they cease to feed and prepare 

 to pupate. The duration of their larval existence Is about three weeks. 



Fig. 4. Margarodes quadristigmalis. a, larva, side view; b, same, dorsal view; c, cocoon; d, 

 moth — all slightly enlarged; e, two segments of larva from side showing arrangement of spots; /, anal 

 segment of papa from below — still more enlarged (original). 



Pupa and Cocoon. — The slender, bright amber-colored pupa is lo™'" 

 long, and is well protected by a double cocoon, which is, however, so 

 thin and transparent that the pupa can clearly be discerned inside of it. 

 The white and delicate outer cocoon, usually fastened securely between 

 leaves or to the rubbish under the hedge, is somewhat oval, though 

 frequently very irregular in shape ; it is frequently a little denser near 

 the anterior end. The inner and still thinner cocoon surrounds the pupa 

 quite closely, and is connected with the outer one by a number of irreg- 

 ular threads. As the moth matures inside the pupa the former bright 



