﻿64 lAugust, 



Medon of South England, by changing its food for some weeks, may change into 

 Artaxerxes, and the specific identity of the two forms will then be for ever incon- 

 testably demonstrated. — P. C. Zellek,, Stettin, 2ith June, 1869. 



Life history of Polia nigrocincta, and description of its larva. — Eggs laid in 

 July and August, on the sea-pink, Statice armeria ; first larvas hatched September 

 25th ; fed on sea-pink in preference to several plants offered (there can, indeed, be 

 no doubt that sea-pink is its proper food-plant), and continued to feed upon it at 

 intervals throughout winter, growing but very little after October, when they 

 were about three-tenths of an inch long. Color : clear, slightly pellucid, emerald 

 green, with a light spiracular line. Shape : long in proportion to their breadth, 

 the dorsal lines scarcely perceptible. About May, the colour changes to a some- 

 what more pellucid light mineral-green, with the head, face, and trophi glass-like, 

 and the shape is slightly flattened to the spiracular line, then becoming more 

 cylindrical with dorsal lines double, but only faintly indicated ; between the dorsal 

 and the sub-dorsal line (which is also double, but still more faintly traced than 

 the dorsal marks) there are three minute light dots, one above and two below, 

 upon each segment. The spiracular line is whitish-green, well-defined upon the 

 upper edge and toned off into the light pea-green of the under-part of the larva ; 

 feet light green, claspers slightly tinged with olive. At this stage, the larva is fond 

 of stretching itself out upon a stem of the sea-pink or grass during the night-time, 

 and at such times the divisions of the first eight segments appear as yellowish 

 rings. Gradually the larva changes colour ; first a dark tinge of ochreous olive- 

 pink creeps over it, and it begins to show its preference for the flowers of the sea- 

 pink, which is just coming into bloom. Eesting on the stems with its claspers, and 

 turned over the top of the flowers, it fairly devours them ; commencing with the 

 petals and stamens, it will, in a very short time, eat an entire flower-head, and 

 then gnaw the stem down, after the manner of Leucania littoralis on star-grass, 

 until it has to move lower down the stem itself as it feeds. Growing rapidly now, 

 it soon becomes less flattened, stouter, with the segmental divisions more con- 

 stricted and slightly pellucid, and changes to a smooth light pinkish or rich fawn 

 colour, tinged with olivaceous (an indescribable color) ; the head hairy, browner 

 than before, but still glass-like ; the dorsal line a little better defined, still double 

 on the centre of the segments, but joined together at each of the constrictions, 

 forming a faintly defined chain-like mark down the back ; the sub-dorsal line can 

 only be seen now with a good glass, under which the coloring of the space between 

 these lines may be seen as marmcrate brownish markings or atomic suffusations, 

 and the three segmental spots before named are now light, with a dark upper edge ; 

 the spiracular line is light, but less pronounced than before, the spiracles being 

 composed of a dark ring with an ochreous inside. Beneath, the larva is light 

 greenish, with horn-like feet. One peculiarity of this larva is a singular violet or 

 peach-bloom appearance which often passes over it, especially over some of the 

 first and last segments, as it moves. To sum up, it is one of those larvas which 

 have no salient points to rely upon, and this want adds to the difficulty of 

 description ; it certainly has no resemblance to the larva of any other Polia which 

 has ever been in the British List, but rather approaches some of the true Hadena 

 larvae, especially, when mature, resembling in general appearance certain larvae of 



