1870. $3 
Description of the larva of Acronycta myrice.—To the kindness of Mr. George 
H. Kenrick, of Innerhadden, I am indebted for the opportunity of offering a descrip- 
tion of the full grown larva of this species, which I have proved by breeding the 
moth, as far as I know, for the first time. 
The larva, taken in Perth-shire, reached me 12th September, 1869 ; ate, appa- 
rently without preference, sweet-gale, sallow, heath, or ling; spun itself up ina 
tough silken cocoon covered with moss, on the 15th; and the moth—a female— 
appeared on Juue 28th, 1870. 
I may mention that a Moray-shire example of this larva, sent me for inspection 
about the same time as the above by Mr. Longstaff, showed a decided partiality 
for birch. 
The Perth-shire larva I figured on September 12th, and at the same time noted 
the following particulars. 
The larva is one inch and a half in length, moderately stout, the last three 
segments seen to taper a little tothe anal extremity when looked at from above: 
the head rather flattened in front, widest at the sides just above the mouth, and 
scarcely less than the second segment, but the two lobes are rounded and well 
defined on the crown; the second segment is almost flat on the back, though all 
the other segments are remarkably rounded and plump, and the segmental divi- 
sions deeply cut. 
The ground colour is a rather smoky deep olive-green ; the head is black and 
shining, the lobes outlined with pale vlive, the base of the papilla lemon-yellow, 
the mouth olive-green ; the second segment has a black shining plate on the back, 
divided in the centre by a thin line of yellowish olive; the third seyment has an 
orange-red transverse central band extending to the sub-dorsal region, and dividing 
a broad, oval, dorsal, black, velvety mark, with an olive tubercle in front at each end ; 
the fourth segment has a similar broad dorsal oval of black, bounded on either side 
by a large sub-dorsal lemon-yellow tubercle ; on each segment, excepting the first 
two, there is a transverse black velvety broad band, somewhat saddle-shaped, and 
upon this, in the sub-dorsal region, from the fifth to the thirteenth segment inclusive, 
is a conspicuous lemon-yellow blotch, something of a triangular form, but with 
rounded angles ; the lower side marking well the sub-dorsal region, and bearing on its 
hinder angle, sloping upwards, two large wart-like tubercles of the same colour, 
and almost close together ; the spiracles are white, and are situated in the bottom 
part of the velvety black transverse bands, and a little above each, on the black 
band, is an olive tubercle; immediately beneath the spiracles is an inflated and 
rather punctured stripe of bright orange-red running along the side ; below this 
come other olive tubercles, two on the lower side of each segment; the ventral 
surface is also of the olive ground colour ; the pro-legs are of a darker, smoky-olive, the 
anterior legs black. All the tubercles are furnished with fascicles of hairs of a 
smoky-olive tint; those on the third segment are longer, more numerous than the 
others, and directed forwards to the crown of the head; some longer hairs also 
proceed irregularly from the twelfth segment, and point backwards. 
The Moray-shire larva was much like the foregoing, save that it had black hairs 
mixed with the olive ones; its sub-dorsal blotches were less bright, though of a 
deeper tint of yellow ; and there was more orange than red in the transverse band 
of the third segment, as well as in the sub-spiracular stripe, which last also was 
interrupted at the segmental divisions.—Wwa. BuckLer, Emsworth, August, 1870. 
