METAMORPHOSES OF BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS 19 



month of September. The larva is not beautiful : it 

 is of a dull yellow, with a broad black dorsal line, and 

 with three black lines on each side ; the head and legs 

 are black ; it is slightly downy, and remarkably limp. 

 Towards the end of September the larvae are full fed, 

 and descending from the trees, may be seen wandering 

 about on the ground, which they then enter, anc 

 descend to the depth of two or three inches. There 

 they undergo their change to the pupa state, and 

 remain quietly till the month of June comes round : 

 then the pupa pushes itself upwards to the surface of 

 the ground, and, the skin cracking, the imprisoned moth 

 escapes, and, crawling up some neighbouring object, 

 proceeds to expand and dry its wings. It is a very 

 handsome insect, very sluggish in the daytime, and 

 may often be noticed on palings, or sitting in the grass. 

 It often enters houses, being attracted rather freely by 

 light. 



Let us next glance at the transformations of the 

 Vapourer Moth (Orgyiaantiqua). The female deposits 

 her eggs in autumn on the outside of her cocoon. As 

 the young larvae, when hatched, have frequently to 

 wander in search of food, it is providentially arranged 

 that they eat almost anything. In our gardens we 

 perhaps most frequently find them on rose bushes ; we 

 generally first notice them in June, and from that time 

 we have a constant succession of them. These larvae 

 are among the most curious and beautiful larvae that we 

 have ; the ground colour is blackish spotted with pink, 

 but they are covered all over with tufts of hair. In the 

 first place, there are two long blackish tufts behind the 

 head, which point forwards, giving it a long-eared 

 appearance ; then towards the tail end is another long 



