The Origin of the Markings of Caterpillars. 165 



cates what a fertile field is offered by the investi- 

 gation of this subject, and will, I trust, furnish 

 an inducement to others, not only to fill up the 

 various gaps in the small family of the Sphin- 

 gidcz, but also to treat other Lepidopterous 

 families in a similar manner. Such an investiga- 

 tion of the Papilionidcz appears to me to be 

 especially desirable ; not only of the few European 

 but also of the American and Indian species. We 

 know practically nothing, of the youngest stages 

 of the Papilio larvae from this point of view. No 

 entomological work gives any description of the 

 form and marking of the newly hatched larvae, 

 even in the case of our commonest species (Papilio 

 Machaon and P. Podalirius)^ and I believe that 

 I do not go too far when I assert that up to the 

 present time nobody has observed them at this 

 early stage. 2 When, however, we consider that 



2 [Eng. ed. Since the appearance of the German edition of 

 this work, numerous descriptions of the young stages of cater- 

 pillars have been given, but in all cases without representing 

 the relationship of th'e forms.] [In the excellent figures of 

 larvae at various stages of growth, given in some of the more 

 recent works on Lepidoptera, there will be found much material 

 which may be regarded as a contribution to the field of research 

 entered on by the author in the present essay, /. e. the ontogeny 

 and comparative morphology of larval markings, although it is 

 much to be regretted that the figures and descriptions have not 

 been given from this point of view. In his " Butterflies of 

 North America," for example, Wi H. Edwards figures the 

 young as well as the adult larvae of species of Apatura, Argy ri- 

 ms, Libythea, Phydodes, Limenitis, Colias, Papilio >, &c. 



