till^E -HISTORY OV LYC2ENA ^GON» 387 



furnished with two retractile tubercles, wliich are occasionally 

 thrust out when it is suddenly alarmed, otherwise they remain 

 withdrawn, forming sliort blunt processes ; the tubercle is pale 

 straw-yellow in colour, and surrounding the apex of the sheath 

 is a series of black warts, each terminating in a short spine 

 resembling a thorn. The ventral surface of the larva is much 

 flattened, and while resting it lies so flat that the legs and 

 claspers are almost hidden; the head is very black and shining. 

 Tlie ground colour of the body is very pale green, a dark purplish 

 medio-dorsal stripe runs the entire length; it is broadest on the 

 first segment, and is bordered on each side by a white line, then 

 a pinkish and green band blending into the pale green of the 

 ground colour, followed by a conspicuous subdorsal dark green 

 stripe, composed of a series of rather oblique marks, one on each 

 segment, and a somewhat similar stripe, but narrower, runs 

 parallel to it immediately above the spiracles ; a subspiracular 

 dark green stripe, bordered below by a white stripe, passes along 

 the lateral ridge, which borders on the green of the ventral 

 surface ; the spiracles are white ; the entire surface is thickly 

 sprinkled with black and white granulations, the white ones pre- 

 dominating, each granule emits a very minute fine ochreous hair, 

 those along the dorsal surface are the longest and stoutest- The 

 legs are greenish, and the claspers green and brown-pink ; the 

 segments are strongly defined, and somewhat overlapping. 



Another form of the larva, which appears of almost equal 

 occurrence, has the first subdorsal and subspiracular stripes 

 lilac-red, and generally the ground colour is more tinged with 

 olive, giving the whole a decided reddish hue. 



The larva in all its stages is very sluggish in its movements ; 

 it has a slow gliding motion, continually protruding and with- 

 drawing its head, and waving it to and fro during progression. It 

 feeds upon the gorse blossoms as long as it remains in bloom, 

 and when they cease it readily takes to the young and tender 

 spines, which formed the sole food of the larvse during their last 

 stage. The larvse in their earlier stages closely resemble in form 

 and colour the small brown bracts of the bloom. The first 

 pupated on June 32nd. 



The pupa measures four-twelfths of an inch in length. Dorsal 

 view : it is widest across the middle of the abdomen ; the head is 

 rounded ; base of the wing is slightly angular and prominent, the 

 wing curving gently over the side of the abdomen, and is rather 

 swollen ; the abdomen is attenuated to the anal extremity. Lateral 

 view : head rounded ; thorax rounded and swollen, and nipped in 

 behind ; the abdomen is swollen about the middle and curves to 

 the anal segment, which is blunt, rounded, and furnished witli 

 hooks ; the wing is a little swollen near the apex. The whole 

 surface is smooth, but not very shining. The colour is pale 

 ochreous green ; the abdomen is darker olive-green ; head and 



