PHORODESMA SMARAGDARIA, ESPER. 115 
pills, which then cover the special parts of the body, and make the 
little creature, when its head is drawn down, exactly resemble the 
flower- or seed-heads of A. maritima. Later in life (I cannot say when, 
but before hybernation) these hairs disappear, and are replaced by 
curious warts, crowned with short, thick spines, and the sides closely 
covered with colourless, glassy, neounmedl hooks, better suited to hold 
firmly the large fragments now used. The position of these special 
organs—if such they can be called—will be more fully specified in the 
notes which Mr. Bacot has kindly provided, and may be seen in the 
plate. It is easy to see that when at rest, or alarmed, the head and 
thoracic segments being drawn under the abdominal segments, the 
coat will almost completely cover the larva, and effectually conceal it. 
Pupation is undergone in a loose, but symmetrical cocoon, composed 
of rough silk and leaf fragments, very similar to, if not actually 
identical with, those which have composed the coat. This cocoon is 
placed rather low down upon the stem of the food-plant, and is both 
difficult to find and risky to deal with. ‘The pupa is delicate, and 
before one discovers it, one is likely to do it a fatal injury. Of six 
which I detected in my garden last August only one was uninjured. 
I have found some difficulty i in learning what is known about the 
variation of P. smaragdaria. Mr. Prout has most kindly gone into the 
matter for me, and tells me that very little appears to have been 
recorded. Milliére (Lconographie, iii., pp. 423-25, pl. elii., figs. 116-118) 
describes and figures a very large form as var. gigantea. Staudinger 
in his Catalogue, mentions a P. smaragdaria var. prasinaria, Evers.= 
volgaria, Guénée. It is much smaller, the wings more pointed, the 
white bands a great deal broader, and the hindwings whiter. It is not 
uncommon in southern Russia, and appears in May. This insect 
Milliére considers to be a distinct species. Beyond these there do not 
appear to be any described varieties. This has rather surprised me, 
because in the few of which I have been able to get particulars, there 
appears to be a considerable range of difference, the reason of this 
being probably that those series of which I have received details are 
picked out of much larger numbers. 
Of 245 specimens examined, I have found almost every possible 
variation except in colour. Neither the spot, nor the lines on the 
forewings are constant. ‘The former varies much in size, and is some- 
times, I must believe very rarely, entirely absent. The lines are made 
up of elongated blotches, or crescents, between the wing nervures, 
sometimes quite detached, sometimes entirely united. The inner line 
is less constant than the outer, which persists after the inner has quite 
disappeared. The following is a summary of the results obtained : 
1. Forewings with no spot, ab. obsoleta, n. ab. .. 20 o9 | 
2. Forewings with no transverse line, ab. alinea, n. ab.. Ss ae 3 
3: Forewings with outer transverse line only, ab. unilinea, Mabe se 9 
4, Forewings with both transverse lines = smaragdaria, Fab. 56 ae 
5. Colour decided blue-green = ab. caerwleo-viridis, n. ab. 
6. Colour of a much more vivid green = ab. viridis, Ms > oo ; 
The costal line appears to vary a little in width, and is generally 
yellowish, although sometimes (? in very perfect specimens) it is 
decidedly red. The base and costa of the hindwings are more or less 
extensively white, or yellowish-white. I fancy the more starved the 
specimens the more extensive is this white patch. I have not 
noticed that any of these variations have to do with sex. 
(To be continued.) 
