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LIFE-HISTOEY OF PACHNOBIA LEUCOGRAPHA, 

 By J. Akkle. 



I AM indebted to Dr. Chapman, of Hereford, for an acquaint- 

 ance with the life-history of this rare, local, and interesting moth 

 — so rare that it frequently figures amongst " the few unrepresented 

 species " in the cabinets of the older entomologists. During the 

 last two seasons, early in the month of April, I received eggs 

 from Hereford, which is one of the few localities for the insect. 

 What I considered to be a careful description of the egg got lost ; 

 but Dr. Chapman again comes to my aid, and, in kindly helping 

 out these observations with his own remarks upon the egg, con- 

 verts my loss into a material gain. 



" The diameter," he observes, *' is "78 mm. ; height '69 mm. ; 

 not quite spherical, but rather flattened below and narrowing 

 upwards ; about 44 ribs, terminating upwards in a raised waved 

 margin round micropylean area : ribs sharp, fluted by indications 

 of cross ridges, which are obsolete. Colour orange-yellow, with 

 brownish red markings crowded together into an apical blotch, 

 and a marginal zone, with an intermediate subapical zone nearl}'' 

 free (a common pattern in Noctua eggs). The top patch of brown 

 is very large, and the zone below more regular than in egg of 

 P. ruhricosa (which has 40 ribs). Newly laid: — 'colour pale 

 greenish or greenish-yellow." 



The eggs I kept in a glass tumbler, with the usual gauze covering, 

 elastic band, and square of glass over the top. They hatched 

 about the 7th of May. Upon the larvae, fed throughout on 

 chickweed, I made the following notes, which correspond to the 

 different moults or changes of skin. The caterpillar is not of 

 active habits. It is apparently averse to much climbing or 

 travelling, and is very easily reared. 



1st. — After hatching: — head light brown; 2nd, 3rd, and 

 4th segments dark green ; remaining segments very pale green. 

 In moving, the caterpillars *' loop " like Geometers ; if disturbed 

 they immediately assume a Sphinx-like attitude, sitting up in the 

 form of the letter S, and looking very much — in colour, shape, 

 &c. — like a bit of chickweed stem. At the slightest touch they 

 fall to the ground. 



2nd. — Head pale green, suffused with brown. Body uniformly 

 green, but paler underneath. Characteristics as in 1st stage. 

 The larvae were now changed into large flower-pots, three parts 

 filled with light soil. A covering of net was substituted for the 

 gauze, and retained, with a glass covering, until the emergence of 

 the perfect insect. 



3rd. — Head inclining to russet-colour. Dorsal area olive- 

 green ; under surface pale apple-green. Each segment on the 



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