250 



THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



The egg measures '79 mm. high and 106 mm. in diameter 

 at the base ; it is of a pointed conical shape. Of several speci- 

 mens examined, each had nine very prominent keels, six running 

 the entire length and rising high above the crown, the three 

 remaining keels originate much lower down, being two-thirds 

 the length of the others ; all are transversely ribbed by about 

 fourteen in number, these extend across the intervening spaces 

 of the shell, which is granular. The micropyle is sunken, the 

 keels standing high around it. 



When first laid, it is primrose-yellow in colour, which 

 gradually deepens to coppery-reddish, then to a warm lilac-brown, 

 and the keels pearl-grey with an ochreous tinge in shadow. 

 They remain thus coloured throughout hibernation and until 

 hatching. 



The young larva directly after hatching is rather large in 

 proportion to the butterfly, measuring 1*33 mm. long. In 

 structure it exactly resembles that of A. laodice, with the 

 exception that on the lateral lobe of each segment hecate has 

 only four hairs, while laodice has five, and the ground colour is 

 a deeper olive-ochreous ; the head is shining olive-black beset 

 with fine pectinated whitish bristles ; on the first segment is a 

 transverse chitineous shining olive-brown disc. The dorsal 

 surface of the anterior half of the body is darker than the rest. 

 The surface is granular and densely sprinkled with dusky points. 

 In other details of structure it is similar to laodice. The globose 

 warts turn olive-brown when a day old. 



Owing to the continuous dull, chilly weather throughout 

 the greater part of March and April, the larvae remained in a 

 sluggish condition, feeding only at intervals, which proved fatal 

 to a large number. The survivors remained fully six weeks in 

 the first stage. 



The first moult occurred on April 25th, 1913. After first 

 moult (shortly before second) it is 4*75 mm. long ; the head is 

 shining black beset with bristles. The ground colour of the 

 body is pale ochreous checkered with purplish-brown, and a 

 medio-dorsal and subdorsal line of the same colour. There are 

 six longitudinal rows of blackish tubercles, each beset with a 

 number of finely pectinated bristles, the base of each tubercle is 

 pale amber blending into creamy-whitish, forming a series of 

 pale square spots. The legs purplish and claspers olive. 



After second moult the ground colour is pearly-grey white, 

 checkered and speckled with purplish-brown ; the tubercles 

 cream-coloured with amber bases, and beset with black pectinated 

 bristles. The head shining black mottled with ochreous ; legs 

 black, claspers olive-brown and whitish-ochreous. 



After third moult it is 12*7 mm. in length. Similar to the 

 previous stage, excepting the markings are more numerous and 

 all clearly defined, also deeper in colour, with a conspicuous 



