PUPATING LARVA OF ATTACUS EDWARDSII. 107 



five pairs of abdominal legs are now quite functionless, and the 

 whole of the hinder end of the body not nearly so active as the 

 anterior end. I trust I shall be able to get it to pupate and 

 emerge as a moth. 



The following is a description of the larva of this beautiful 

 and rather rare moth, as far as can be judged by this specimen. 

 It bears a great resemblance to Atlas, and I think in its earlier 

 stage will be covered with white farina, as there are some slight 

 indications of this in the body creases at the hinder segments. 

 The whole body is a dull apple green, with faint darker patches 

 or spots, exactly as found in Cynthia and Atlas. There is now 

 no white farina, this being probably rubbed off. 



The head is dull yellow as in Cynthia. The sides have a 

 few small scattered pale blue flat tubercles with black centres, 

 and there are two rows of dorsal tubercles of a beautiful shining 

 turquoise blue, half an inch or more in length, thicker at the base 

 and tapering to a fine point. These tubercles bear a few scat- 

 tered wart like black dots, which each emit a fine bristle. The 

 four thoracic tubercles are twice as thick as the others, more 

 truncated and heavily covered with black shining warts, and 

 are like the others of turquoise blue. The two tubercles onthe 

 third thoracic segment are more widely separated than the 

 rest, so that they stand out of the line, a little down the sides 

 of the larva. The anal segment is of a drake green, with a 

 carneous spot-edged turquoise on the anal pair of legs. 



It greedily drank a small drop of water, which I have often 

 seen Saturnidae larvae do. 



I have since had a further consignment ; but the box had 

 been opened by Postal Authorities, cocoons tipped out and 

 tumbled back again anyhow, not packed as they were before, 

 the lid pressed down tight, and so crushing the cocoons that 

 there are only four out of twenty unhurt (one was entirely 

 missing). One which was just alive was in the dormant con- 

 dition of the preceding larva, but had been crushed half flat — 

 it has now died. 



Really, this wanton destruction by Postal and Customs Autho- 

 rities abroad should be redressed. Some years ago I seat to 

 North America via New York a corked box with a glass lid 

 containing set specimens of rare hybrid Saturnidae, tied with 

 string and a label, asking the examiners to be careful with them. 

 They cut the cord, opened the box, and placed the cord and label 

 in the box amongst the moths, closed the lid and tied up the box 

 with string of their own. My esteemed friend, Miss Morton, said 

 it nearly broke her heart to see them utterly ruined. 



70, Ashford Road, Withington, 

 Manchester. 



