FRITILLARIES. 



(Teucrium scorodonid), and the germander 

 speedwell (Veronica cliamcedrys) ; and the 

 CATERPILLARS, emerging in about fourteen 

 days, feed on these herbs for a few days, or, if 

 the weather is congenial, a few weeks, and 

 then hybernate at the roots of these plants : 

 at the end of April they reascend the plants, 

 feeding more copiously than in the autumn, 

 and crawling up any elevated object, they 

 may be found resting in the full blaze of the 

 meridian sun, which they appear particularly 

 to enjoy. I kept my specimens on a plant of 

 the narrow-leaved plantain, and covered with 

 a bell-glass ; in the middle of the day I always 

 found they crawled up the flowering-stems of 

 the plantain, and I was particularly struck 

 with the resemblance of the caterpillars to the 

 flowers of this plant, a resemblance which 

 perhaps serves as a protection against the 

 birds, which at this period of the year are 

 constantly on the look-out for caterpillars 

 wherewith to feed their young. The head of 

 the full-grown caterpillar is semiporrect and 

 fully as wide as the second segment ; it is 

 scabrous and bristly ; the second segment is 

 dorsally scabrous and bristly, and having two 

 conical spines on each side, the spines being 

 armed with bristles; the third and fourth 

 segments have each eight conical spines, two 

 small and slender ones on each side close to 

 the leg, and the others stouter and nearer the 

 back ; the following segments, from the fifth 

 to the eleventh, both inclusive, have each nine 

 conical spines, one of them being medio- 

 dorsal; the twelfth has two medio-dorsal spines 

 placed longitudinally, and three others on 

 each side ; the thirteenth has four spines, 

 forming an irregular quadrangle, and all 

 pointing backwards : all of these conical spines 

 are closely beset with short stiff bristles. 

 The colour of the head is black, the scabrous 

 points being white : the dorsal surface of the 

 body is velvety black, sprinkled with snow- 

 white dots; the spines in the medio dorsal 

 series are pale orange at the base and white 

 at the tip ; those of the next series on each 

 side are deeper orange at the base and white 

 at the tip ; all the others are pure white, but 

 the bristles of the spines are black : the legs 



are pitchy black : the belly and claspers are 

 smoke-coloured, indistinctly tinged with pink. 

 My specimens changed on the 22nd May to 

 very short and obese CHRYSALIDS, the head 

 being transversely produced in front and 

 broadly truncate, the base of each wing-case 

 is also slightly produced ; the body is very 

 convex, its anal extremity bent under towards 

 the extremity of the wing-cases, and the dorsal 

 outline being almost semi-circular, the anal 

 extremity attached by minute hooks to a 

 slight -web spun by the caterpillar on the 

 edge of the plantain- leaf ; the colour is 

 creamy white, variegated with black and 

 orange ; the cases of the legs are adorned with 

 black markings only ; the back of the thorax 

 has two conspicuous black markings, margined 

 with orange ; the eight abdominal segments 

 have each a basal dorsal band, alternately 

 orange and black, and very ornamental ; the 

 last segment is orange! I am indebted to 

 Mr. Biguell for a most liberal supply of 

 these caterpillars. Newman. 



TIME OF APPEARANCE. The caterpillar 

 lives through the winter. The chrysalis is to 

 be found at the end of May and first fort- 

 night in June. The chrysalis state lasts 

 about twenty days. 



LOCALITIES. This species is extremely 

 local, but abundant where found : it frequents 

 open places in woods, particularly where the 

 herbage is stunted and where heath occurs. 

 Mr. Tress Beale observes that it is fond of 

 basking on thistles, and that when taken it 

 feigns death, falling into the collector's net in 

 an apparently inanimate state, closing its 

 wings and contracting its legs. Mr. Birchall 

 found this species abundant at Killaruey, in 

 Ireland, but I am not aware of its having 

 been detected in Scotland, The following 

 are the only English localities with which I 

 am acquainted : 



Buckinghamshire. Near Halton Joseph 

 Greene. 



Cornwall, St. Martin's Wood, near Looe, 

 sometimes very abundant Stephen Clogg. 



Devonshire. At Fordlands, an estate about 

 three miles from Exeter E. Parfitt ; near 

 Exeter J. Hellins; abundant near Plymoutl 



