﻿188 [January, 



The eggs were too far gone for description when I had them. The newly- 

 hatched larva is exceedingly small, yellow in colour, with a dark head. After- 

 wards it becomes paler, of a yellowish-white, and is to look at like a small maggot' 



On October 14th, just before its last moult, I made this note of its appearance. 

 Full £-inck long, and plump, but able to stow itself away in a Bartsia seed pod ; 

 tapering towards the head, and not so much towards the tail ; the skin smooth and 

 glossy, the usual dots very minute, but distinct, being dark; the ground-colour 

 yellowish-white ; head dark brown ; plate on 2nd segment pale brown ; a sort of 

 pale-brownish plate also on 13th segment, which looks darker from the tubercular 

 dots on it being black. On a very close inspection, one can trace the course of the 

 lines — soon to be developed distinctly, but they cannot yet be described as plainly 

 noticeable. 



Immediately after the last moult, its appearance is much prettier than at any 

 other time, the ground-colour being of a pale delicate buff, and the lines very 

 clear and almost black ; but this contrast is soon lost, the ground becoming darker 

 and dingier, and the lines paler and more diffused. 



When the larva has become full-fed, the length is about half-an-inch, the 

 figure stout, somewhat flattened ; the segments 4, 3, and 2, tapering rather 

 rapidly ; the head still narrower than 2, and round in shape ; half the 2nd seg- 

 ment scale-like and shining ; the hinder segments also taper to the tail ; the skin 

 is rough and wrinkled ; the tubercles dull white, furnished with short dark brown 

 hairs : the ground-colour varies in different individuals — being greyish-yellow, 

 greenish-grey, greyish-brown, or brown ; the dorsal line blackish, beginning very fine 

 on the front of each segment, thickening towards its end, and slightly interrupted at 

 the fold ; the sub-dorsal line more or less visibly continuous according to the depth 

 of the ground colour, and may be desci'ibed as a line of stout blackish dashes placed 

 at the folds, sometimes connected by brownish streaks which fade away into the 

 ground-colour about the middle of each segment ; on segments 10 to 13, the dorsal 

 and sub-dorsals unite to form a darker smoky streak, which tapers away to a point 

 at the anal extremity : below the sub-dorsal comes a brown wavy line ; the spira- 

 cular region is brownish above and more yellowish- white below, these colours not 

 being definitely separated by a line ; the black spiracles are placed in open spaces 

 of the paler colour : at the 10th segment, the lateral lines fade away into the pale 

 colour, thus forming a strong contrast to the united dark lines on the back; below 

 the spiracles comes a clearly defined stripe of dark brown, followed by a broader 

 one not so dark ; the belly varied with yellowish and pinkish-white, with two in- 

 distinctly darker lines along it ; the head and collar yellowish, the dark lines 

 passing through them as freckled stripes. — J. Hellins, Exeter, October 25th, 1869. 



Description of the larva of Chilo phragmitellus. — On February 12th, 1869, I 

 received from the Rev. J. Hellins, two larvae of this species, and on the 28th, some 

 more of them from the Hon. T. de Grey, in stems of Arundo phragmiies, either 

 hybernating or feeding (perhaps) on the knots inside. Early in April, I found one, 

 that had escaped from the stems, very actively crawling about. 



The larva is three-quarters of an inch in length, cylindrical, and tapering a 

 very little behind ; the segmental divisions deeply cut : each segment with only 

 one sub-dividing and deep wrinkle. 



