102 { October, 
colour “ noirdtre ou d’un brun roussdtre;” he makes the transverse bands 
black ; the sub-dorsal line and row of spots pale yellow; he gives 
the yellowish irroration, and makes the belly pinkish, and the horn 
slightly curved. Some way further on he figures, without description, 
a variety all over palish green; with lilac dorsal stripe, sub-dorsal row 
of whitish spots, suffused with pink, and placed on a whitish line ; the 
sides irrorated with white spots; a pinkish sub-spiracular line, and a 
brown straight horn; but I fancy this figure was taken from an inflated 
skin, which would somewhat account for the unusually pale colour, and 
for the shape of the horn. 
He also calls the larva “ polyphage,” as it indeed appears to be; I 
have heard of six specimens taken on a vine; Mr. Cumming’s larva 
was found on dock; Mr. Bignell’s was figured on knot-grass ; mine ate 
fuchsia greedily, although the rustie who brought it to me in his neck- 
erchief, assured me he found it among mangolds, and that it ate grass 
after he had carefully wrapped it up. 
My note grows lengthy, but—believing that this will hereafter be 
known as the “ divornica year’’—I shall add the information given me 
by Mr. T. Terry (who, from the height of good luck in getting twelve 
larve from eges laid by captured moths, fell into the depths of mis- 
fortune through poisoning all his brood with greenhouse vine leaves), 
and shall then conclude with a guess. 
The eggs were light green, glued to the flowers of red valerian, 
which had been put in for the sustenance of the moths; the larve were 
hatched in about three weeks ; their colour at first dirty white, without 
any spots, but with the head and horn black; at the end of their second 
week they began to assume markings; and, when they died, the longest 
was about an inch and half in length ; the head, back, horn, belly, and 
legs were all intensely black; but the segmental folds showed paler, so 
as to give the appearance of alternate lighter and darker bands; the 
sub-dorsal line was red, as well as the sub-spiracular; the sides were 
dotted with yellow, and, as far as I can gather, the sub-dorsal spots 
seem to have made their appearance, and to have been red: apparently, 
these larve, had they lived to put on their last coat, would have been 
like the dark variety described by Mr. Gatcombe. 
My guess is this: the perfect insect hybernates ; it pairs, and lays 
its eggs in May or June; the larve hatch and feed up in June and 
July ; the pupa-stage lasts about four weeks, when the moth comes 
forth to remain on the wing for a longer or shorter time previous to 
hy bernation. 
Exeter: September 8th, 1870. 
