BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 



times as many as four hundred in number ; 

 they are crowded together on small twigs or 

 branches of the elm, sometimes completely 

 surrounding the twig and forming what, in 

 the instance of the Lackey Moth, has been 

 called a necklace; the eggs, however, although 

 closely approximate, are not embedded in glue, 

 as is the case in the Lackey Moth, but each 

 egg seems quite unconnected with the rest, 

 although touching it; each has a distinct 

 operculum, which is forced out of its place 

 and is probably eaten by the young caterpillar 

 on its natal day, and also eight longitudinal 

 ridges or keels, which commence near the 

 crown or operculum and terminate at the base, 

 just where the egg adheres to the twig : the 

 number of these ridges is not perfectly con- 

 stant to eight, as in a few instances I have 

 found only seven, and also in a few instances 

 as many as nine. I am greatly indebted to 

 Mr. Pristo for a specimen beautifully illus- 

 trating this curious chapter in the life history 

 of the species. The CATERPILLARS are hatched 

 in a fortnight, and are full grown about Mid- 

 summer ; at this period they rest in a straight 

 position on the food-plant, and are readily 

 shaken off, and fall to the ground ; they have 

 rather a limp and flaccid character,and exhibit 

 scarcely any disposition to assume the ring 

 form. Being laid and hatched in such large com- 

 panies, the caterpillars remain in close proxim- 

 ity during life, single specimens being very 

 rarely met with. The head is exserted, being 

 manifestly wider than the second segment; its 

 position is prone, its crown slightly notched, 

 and the divisions slightly elevated : the entire 

 surface of the head is scabrous ; this character 

 arising from the presence of numerous small 

 warts and elongated papillae, the length of 

 which is about equal to three times their 

 breadth; the warts and papillae are intermixed, 

 but the latter predominate on the crown, the 

 former on the cheeks; from the summit of each 

 wart or papilla emerges a slender and slightly 

 bent hair; the body is almost uniformly cylin- 

 drical, and is armed with sharp spines on every 

 segment except the second ; these spines con- 

 stitute seven longitudinal series, the first of 

 which is medio-dorsal, and consists of eight 



spines, namely, one on each segment from tho 

 fifth to the twelfth, both inclusive ; each spine 

 in this medio-dorsal series, at about half its 

 length, emits a single branch, which is directed 

 forwards in a slanting direction; the first 

 lateral series consists of ten spines : these 

 commence with the , third, and end with the 

 twelfth segment; each spine in this series 

 has at least three lateral branches, all of which 

 spring from a point nearly equidistant between 

 the base and tip of the main spine; the 

 second lateral series is composed of rather 

 smaller spines, and each of these is branched 

 much in the same way as those of the pre- 

 ceding series; and again still below this is 

 a third lateral series of eight smaller spines, 

 which begin on the fifth and end on the 

 twelfth segment; these are also branched like 

 those already described ; each spine in the 

 second lateral series stands a little in advance 

 of the corresponding spine in the first lateral 

 series, and rather more so in advance of that 

 in the third; the thirteenth segment has four 

 branched spines, forming a quadrangle, and 

 all of these lean slightly backwards ; the 

 ventral surface is without spines, and is 

 deeply wrinkled at the interstices of the seg- 

 ments, but not between each pair of legs or 

 claspers ; above each leg, or clasper, are a 

 number of longish deflected hairs, and these 

 form a lateral fringe, not particularly distinct. 

 The head is black, its shorter hairs being also 

 black, but the longer ones white ; the surface 

 of the body is thickly sprinkled with minute 

 warts, each emitting a hair from the summit ; 

 these are gathered into dense groups down 

 the middle of the back, and are there of a 

 pale brown colour, forming a continuous but 

 irregular stripe, which expands to the base of 

 each spine in the first lateral series ; this pale 

 stripe is interrupted throughout by a narrow 

 medio-dorsal stripe of velvety blackness; the 

 pale warts also form groups round the base of 

 each spine in the second lateral series, and again 

 a narrow stripe in the region of the spiracles, 

 which are scarcely perceptible ; this lateral 

 stripe includes in its course the third or lowest 

 lateral series of spines ; on the other parts of 

 the body these minute warts aVe almost white. 



