486 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [June, 



A, larva half grown before last moult ; fig. B, full grown 

 after last moult ; fig. C, full grown, two days before pupation ; 

 and fig. D, pupa. 



The lar\^a found last Summer, several of w^hich w^ere full 

 grown and a number about half grown, were taken feeding 

 on common sunflower {Helianthus annuus). The older speci- 

 mens ate the coarse leaves down to the leaf stalk, leaving only 

 short portions of the coarser veins. They seemed to feed at 

 all hours of the day, when well grown their weight causes 

 them to hang back downward from the leaves; the approxi- 

 mation of the ends of the oblique lateral stripes on the central 

 dorsal line was very protective in pattern, and the first were 

 found only \>y their excreta, tho' I must have passed daily so 

 close under them as to almost brush them with my head, the 

 sunflower on which they were feeding being just at the en- 

 trance of my garden gate. After careful search I found one 

 ^g&> which failed to hatch. It was laid on the upper side of a 

 sunflower leaf, was four millemetres in lateral diameter, ver- 

 tical diameter a little less, being a flattened hemisphere in 

 shape, somewhat rounded underneath, depressed slightly above 

 in centre, and was of a clear transparent yellow-green. 



The full grown larva, in the height of its developement after 

 last moult, is five and a half inches long when fully extended, 

 depth, dorso-ventrally, five-eights of an inch. Head rounded; 

 dark clear green; two clear blue stripes from summit of centre 

 of head in front diagonally down to basal outer corners of head. 

 First three segments yellowish green, lighter above, with two 

 dorso-lateral lines compo.sed of whitish yellow tubercles tipped 

 with brown; the.se extend to beginning of fourth segment. A 

 dorsal greenish blue-white line along centre of first four seg- 

 ments. Remaining segment shade from light pea-green (after 

 quite yellow) down to dark clear blue-green below. From the 

 line marking the beginning of the fourth .segment and from a 

 point opposite the stigma of that segment, an oblique yellow- 

 white band, sharply cut, runs to near the top and rear of 

 fourth .segment, contituied on over fifth segment, and ending 

 in center of top of sixth, where it becomes nearly parallel with 

 its fellow from theotli<r ^ide; after entering fifth segment this 



