﻿262 [April, 



at the beginning of each segment with a thin black streak, which is generally in- 

 clined to end in the slightest possible curve just at the lateral point of the dorsal 

 diamond : this diamond form is but obscurely and vaguely represented on the third 

 and fourth segments, and the last of the series is on the twelfth, where it becomes 

 little more than a triangle, while the pale sub-dorsal lines and their black upper 

 edgings are there continuous, and become united by both crossing transversely the 

 end of that segment ; on the thirteenth segment the dorsal line only is distinct. 



The ground colour of the sides grey or brownish-grey, tinged anteriorly with 

 bluish-grey, the space between the sub-dorsal line and the spiracles is very thickly 

 freckled with dark grey-brown, forming a dark longitudinal side band in agreeable 

 contrast to the back ; the sub-spiracular stripe is pale greyish, like the ventral 

 surface, and only to be distinguished from it by its upper and lower edges being a 

 little paler than the rest. 



The head is rather pale brown ; the second segment has on the back a darker 

 brown velvety patch or plate, rounded behind and margined in front with still 

 darker brown. The tubercular dots are black, rather small, but rendered con- 

 spicuously distinct both on the back and sides by a small circle of pale groundcolour 

 surrounding each of them ; the spiracles also are black. 



The winter of 1868-69 being of a mild character, and the food-plants easily 

 obtainable, about sixty of these larvae continued feeding, and reached their full 

 growth before the end of 1868, the most advanced spun up between dock leaves on 

 November 14th, and others quickly followed; somewhat to my surprise they refused 

 to enter the earth, but, on being supplied with moss, for the most part hid them- 

 selves in that, constructing very slight cocoons. 



The pupae is quite of the ordinary Nociua form ; at first it is a pale greenish 

 colour, and changes in a couple of days to brown, and finally to dark brown, and is 

 very slightly attached by the tail to a thread of its cocoon. This portion of the 

 brood, having all become pupae by the end of December, did not remain long in that 

 state, but began to appear as moths as early as January 19th, 1869, and so on at 

 intervals, until April 29th, by which time I had bred twenty-six $ and twenty-seven 

 9 : however, a large proportion of them were more or less crippled in their wings, 

 and very dingy in colour, though some curious varieties occurred ; but, as a whole, 

 they were not fine examples. 



The remainder of the brood meantime had hybernated, some of them no more 

 than two lines in length, others nearly half-an-inch, and many of them died off 

 during the winter ; but, on the approach of April, the survivors began to feed, and 

 by the 10th of May they were full grown ; they also preferred spinning themselves 

 up in moss or in dock leaves to entering the earth. 



The perfect insects, and they really were very perfect and fine, forty -five in' 

 number, appeared at intervals between June 4th and July 11th. — Wm. Buckler, 

 Bmsworth, February, 1870. 



Comparative notes on the larva of Xanthia cerago and silago. — Not until the 

 season of 1869 have I had a good opportunity of really knowing the difference 

 between these two species in the larval state, and, for this reason, I never till then 

 had both at the same time, but only one or two of either at long intervals, so that 

 in my recollection they had somehow got to be so much alike as not to be known 



