92 BRITISH LEPIDOPTERA. 



eating a twig, had surrounded it entirely, so that this little congerie of 

 larvae, even at a short distance, looked like one of the fruits. 



The resemblance that the larvae of S. albifronn and C. lor/ani bear 

 respectively to a raceme of flowers and a bunch of fruit is paralleled by 

 the almost exact similarity that the gregarious larvae of End row is 

 vt-rsicolora have, when young, to a bunch of birch catkins. It is the 

 habit of the latter in the first two'"skins, to congregate at the end of 

 the twigs of the birch, their heads raised and pointed towards the ex- 

 tremity of the twig. In this position, their resemblance to the young 

 birch catkins is unmistakeable, for their dark coloration, coupled with 

 the rough surface of the skin and the raised position of the anterior 

 part of their bodies, makes them most difficult to distinguish, unless 

 specially looked for. 



We have already drawn attention to the fact that an undisturbed larva 

 of Stauropm faiji bears a great resemblance to a beech-leaf. Mrs. Bazett 

 has pointed out (Ent. Eec., ii., p. 210) the great resemblance that the 

 newly-hatched larva bears to an ant. Miiller first drew attention 

 (Kosmos, 1879, p. 114) to the fact, that an irritated adult larva of the 

 same species assumes a spider-like attitude for the purpose of alarming its 

 enemies. Poulton says that, when excited, the anterior, unlengthened 

 legs are held apart, and certainly suggest the jaws of a spider-like 

 animal, whilst the posterior abdominal segments are turned so far 

 over the head that the two caudal appendages project over it, and, by 

 divergence, occupy the appropriate position for a pair of antennae, 

 which, indeed, they suggest most strongly. The four elongated legs 

 are extended widely and quiver in the most terrific manner, whilst the 

 ventral surface of the larva, which becomes dorsal in the terrifying 

 attitude, is coloured so as to resemble the abdomen of a spider-like 

 creature. Poulton states that the result is to produce not exactly any 

 particular spider, but only an ideal monster which embodies all the 

 most alarming points in a spider's organisation. 



The strange superficial resemblance that certain of the Choaro- 

 campid larvae bear to reptiles has been repeatedly noticed. A larva 

 of a species of Choerocampa, from New Granada, is recorded (Knt. 

 Mo. Mag., vi., p. 172) as being remarkable for the extraordinary 

 form of the head, which resembles that of one of the venomous snakes 

 of that country. 



Packard writes of the terrifying appearances observed in the larvae of 

 Centra and Staiiropus, as follows : The Centra larva varies in the direc- 

 tion of the enlargement of the prothoracic segment, to form a sort of hood 

 to admit the head, serving to make a visage calculated to frighten away 

 any assailant. It is the puff-adder among the Bombycine caterpil- 

 lars, as the larva of Choerocampa is among those of the Sphiugids. 

 The stemapoda, which seemed to have proved very useful in Macruro- 

 cawpa, were retained in Centra, being apparently too useful to be lost. 

 While the Centra caterpillars assume a defensive and offensive atti- 

 tude, in order to frighten away other animals, they do not mimic the 

 appearance of other animals ; but in the singular caterpillar of Stau- 

 ropus there is such a mimicry, the thoracic legs being much longer 

 than in any other known lepidopterous larvae and the stemapoda being 



* We consider Cerura to be a Notodont genus, and do not look upon the latter 

 as Bombycid in the true sense of the term. 



