ANTHROCERA (iHERMOPHILA) VICIJE. 461 



appearance of a maggot." After hybernation, the larvae begin to feed 

 in March, moulting in early April, and then quickly undergo several 

 moults, becoming full-fed from about the beginning to the end of 

 June. Some larvae, however, take two years to complete their meta- 

 morphoses, that is, they hybernate two winters. Briggs reports that 

 a brood of larvae moulted on April 5th, again on May 27th, then on 

 June 8th, July 9th, and July 29th, when they were about half- 

 an-inch long. They then ceased feeding, and proceeded to hybernate 

 for a second winter. This habit of going over two winters in the 

 larval stage is not altogether due to temperature, since Fletcher 

 reports that larvae remained torpid during the unusually hot summer 

 of 1893. The larva, even when feeding, is very sluggish, and its 

 growth is so slow that it is possible that two years is more frequently 

 taken for it to reach maturity than one. Barrett says that the full- 

 grown larva is fairly active in its movements when hungry, but is 

 usually so sluggish that another may walk over without disturbing it. 

 Caradja observes that the larva is only found singly in sunny places, 

 while, in the shade close by, he has obtained them in the greatest 

 abundance from different species of trefoil, in May and until June 

 10th. 



LARVA. The newly -hatched larva is of the shape of the adult, 

 although probably somewhat more slender. It bears the generalised 

 form of tubercles i, ii, in the form of dorsal anterior and posterior 

 trapezoidals, iii as supraspiracular, iv and v as subspiracular and 

 each tubercle bears a short whitish hair. After the first moult the 

 specialised tubercular warts appear, and the larva undergoes no great 

 structural change afterwards. When it hybernates (? third instar) it is 

 very small, about 5-7 mm. in length. At this stage the following de- 

 scription was made under a two-thirds lens (October 1st, 1897) : 

 The head is completely retractile within the prothorax, pale brown 

 in colour, with dark brown markings on the cheek, the ocelli black. 

 Dorsal view : The ground colour whitish, somewhat transparent and 

 glassy-looking, is distinctly visible as a broad medio-dorsal line. 

 The prothorax is swollen, and composed of the united warts, that are 

 mostly separate on the following segments. These consist of (1) Two 

 dorsal warts (one on either side of the medio-dorsal line, and formed 

 by the junction of i and ii on each side). (2) A supraspiracular 

 wart (iii) on each side. (8) A subspiracular wart (consisting of 

 of iv and v united) on each side. (4) A marginal wart (at the 

 base of each proleg, and situated at the lower margin of the 

 lateral area). The dorsal warts are yellow in colour, and placed 

 at the front of each segment. Each is complex in structure, 

 bearing several long yellowish branched hairs with blackish bases, 

 each arising from a black tubercle, that forms its base. A ring of 

 pale hairs on the margin of each wart gives it a very radiated 

 appearance. The large size and yellowish colour of the dorsal 

 warts make them appear as two longitudinal lines, extending from the 

 metathorax to the anal segment. (On the prothorax and mesothorax 

 they are united medially.) Lateral view : There is a longitudinal 

 series of supraspiracular warts, very similar to the dorsal series, each 

 with six black tubercular points, and each of the latter giving rise to a 

 long branched hair. The spiracles are prominent, each forming a 

 hemisphere, slaty-grey in colour, with a densely black apical point 



