114 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



around elms about Oxford. Around Plymouth Sphinx ligustri seemed 

 to be the commonest " hawk moth." A catalogue giving the distri- 

 bution of the various "hawk moths" in the several counties would 

 be highly interesting. — (Eev.) Fred. Julian Briggs ; Codrington 

 College, fearbadoes, November 26th, 1910. 



Notes on the Life-History of Antitropa erinnts. — The eggs 

 are greyish white in colour, and are laid in great numbers on both 

 sides of the leaves of a lily {Dracana hookeriana) that grows wild in 

 the woods and elsewhere. The leaves of this plant are about two 

 to two and a half inches in width, and very thick ; consequently the 

 young larva when it emerges must be very strong, for as soon as it 

 is hatched it at once eats a small portion of the leaf at the edge, and 

 then turns down the same completely over itself, joining it firmly 

 together with white silky thread. It is then light green in colour, 

 with a black head. It comes out of its house to eat, and after about 

 five days it closes up each end of the same and remains therein for 

 about two and a half to three days whilst it changes its skin; it is 

 then green in colour, with a yellow head with six false eyes on the 

 same, black in colour. After moulting, the larva frequently occupies 

 the old house, if large enough ; if not, it makes another, going through 

 the same operation as l)efore, but turning over a larger portion of the 

 leaf. After about eight days it again changes its skin ; it is then 

 much paler green, head yellow with a brown line down the centre, 

 which widens at the mouth ; the six false eyes which are black are 

 placed two on each side of the brown line on the front of the head and 

 one on each side of the same. The larva now measures about three- 

 quarters of an inch in length and eats freely, but returns very 

 quickly to its house, always backwards, if disturbed whilst feeding. 

 Seven days later it again changes its skin, and remains in the follow- 

 ing state until it pupates (as the last two stages are practically 

 identical in colour and markings) : the body very nearly white and 

 very transparent ; there is a black line between the second and third 

 segments, and between the eighth and ninth segments ; on the back 

 there is a light yellow round spot, and on the last segment above the 

 hind claspers there is a hard yellow patch very similar to the brown 

 one in Floetzia fiara. Head large and yellow in colour, with the 

 brown marking more distinct and forming a triangle above the 

 mouth ; the six false eyes black in colour and much larger. When 

 full grown it is a little over two inches in length. I may mention 

 that it always comes out of its house to drop its frass. When about 

 to pupate, which it does sometimes in its last house, it completely 

 covers in each end of the same — the part whence the perfect insect 

 emerges with white silk, while the old cast skin fills up the other end. 

 Sometimes it pupates on the under side of the leaf, and then it spins 

 a lot of white silk on that portion of the leaf and fixes itself with a 

 band across the centre of the body. It changes in about three to 

 four days to a very fine pupa, which is pale bluish- white in colour 

 and has the end of the abdomen very pointed ; there is a straight 

 black line down the middle of the thorax ; the six false eyes are 

 replaced by black spots on the pupa ; the case enclosing the trunk, 

 which is only fixed to the pupa as far as the end of the wing cases. 



