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back with yellow; the dorsal line, which is interrupted by the dorsal 

 spines, is of a velvety black edged with sulphur yellow ; below the spiracles, 

 which are black ringed with yellow, is a clear broad yellow line ; the spines 

 on the third segment are black, all the others pale yellow, set with black 

 bristles, the other hairs pale ; legs reddish-brown. The paler variety had the 

 ground colour of a dull greyish-drab, the dorsal line of the ground colour on 

 a more yellowish band, the lateral lines more distinct, the spines pink with 

 white tips." In the same work, Mr. Buckler describes a more remarkable 

 variety sent him by the Rev. E. Horton, on the 25th September, Is68, and 

 which he found feeding on Malva sylvestris. Mr. Horton's attention was 

 arrested by the inixed-up appearance of certain of the leaves. On examination, 

 he found the edges of some were drawn together by threads into a kind of 

 purse, each containing a caterpillar ; and he noticed that in every case but 

 one, the caterpillar was eating away the upper surface of the leaf within the 

 purse. The youngest was an inch long, with seven rows of spines, all black 

 in colour, except those in the dorsal and sub-dorsal rows on the sixth, eighth, 

 and tenth segments, which were pale primrose yellow ; the head and upper 

 surface of the body black, with a double dorsal stripe of pale yellow, and a 

 stripe of the same colour above the legs : the underside and fore-legs deep 

 olive-brown. After moulting the change in appearance was very great, and 

 growth very rapid, the primrose yellow and black spines being replaced by 

 others' of a dirty greenish-yellow tint ; but the extraordinary and puzzling 

 feature now assumed was a dense covering of pale grey hairs, nearly as long 

 as the spines, and almost hiding them. The spiracles were greenish-grey 

 with black centres, the head black, and like the body covered with grey hairs. 

 Now arises the question, writes- Mr. Buckler, as to the how and why of the 

 caterpillar's hairy coat. Had these mallow eaters become hairy through eat- 

 ing the downy mallows, whilst those feeding on thistles are clothed with 

 spines alone ? Or were they a second brood, thus clothed with hair for pro- 

 tection* against possible cold weather in late autumn? On the 10th October, 

 the caterpillar above described, after first suspending itself to the top of its 

 dwelling, left its case and crawled to the gauze cover of its cage, and on the 

 llth suspended itself there, and became a chrysalis on the 13th. 



The chrysalis is about an inch in length, and moderately stout ; the head 

 has a pair of very short blunt horns, and the anal spike is like a short curved 

 leaf stalk ending abruptly, and set round with a ring of hooked spines. The 

 Pev. J. Hellins had two varieties of coloration, the darker variety having the 

 back pale dusky brown, finely dotted with black, and an interrupted stripe 

 of pale pinkish grey glossed wu i gold down the middle, the sub-dorsal knobs 

 golden, and outside them on ti 3 abdomen a stripe of pinkish grey ; on the 



