AND THEIR TRANSFORMATIONS. I 7 



lias a slender edge of white ; the liind wings are darker rose-coloured, having the base, and a bar running parallel 

 with the hind margin, black. The head and thorax are dusky olive-green, with the sides whitish ; the hind part 

 of the latter paler ; the two basal segments of the abdomen with a black patch on each side, and the remainino- 

 segments margined at the sides with white. The tint of the livid or rosy portion of the wings is very variable, 

 as well as the width of the submarginal fascia of the hind wings. The females have the hind wings more strongly 

 marked with black than the males. 



The caterpillars, when full grown, are as handsome as the perfect insect, being then of a black colour, with a 

 vast number of minute whitish raised spots arranged transversely in rows, and with a large pale yellow spot on 

 each side of each segment, beneath which is a smaller one ; whilst the head, a dorsal stripe, the base of the caudal 

 horn, a spot on each side of each joint above the feet, and the prologs, are bright red : when first hatched, however, 

 they are dark black, subsequently gaining the red head, tail, and spots. They feed upon Euphorbia Cyparissias 

 and Paralias (the cypress-leaved and sea spurge), but will not touch some of the other species of the genus. The 

 chrysalis is of a light ochre-brown colour, with the wing-cases somewhat elongated. 



In the time of Dmry, this insect had not been ascertained to be a native of this country ; and Moses Harris 

 figured the moth which he had reared fr6m a French pupa, together with the larva of the next species, which he 

 considered to be that of the present insect. Mr. Ilaworth, however, gave Devonshire as the locality of this 

 species, in which county it has been discovered by William Raddon, Esq., the celebrated engraver, by whom a 

 beautiful series of figures of the insect in all its states, and an interesting account, has been published in the 

 Entomological Magazine. The caterpillars feed upon the sea spurge (Euphorbia paralias), which grows in plenty 

 on the sand hills in the neighbonrhood of Barnstaple and Braunton Burrows. These sand hills are of great extent, 

 and, as suggested by Mr. Curtis, must have been collected by the winds and storms to which tliey ai-e constantly 

 exposed. During the winter, the whole soil is frequently removed, so as completely to alter the surface of the 

 country ; a great number of the pupa; (which are ordinarily found at a short distance below the surface) must 

 consequently be destroyed, or buried at a considerable distance below it, where they probably lie hid until they 

 are brought to light and life by the influence of the elements, and another change of the surface. 



• These circumstances account for the great irregularity in the appearance of the insects. In 1814, for instance, 

 they were so plentiful that Mr. Raddon found not less than one hundred minute larv» upon an armful of spurge, 

 which he had cut at dusk the preceding evening. The rarity of the insect is also increased by the conspicuous 

 appearance of the caterpillars, which renders them an easily discovered prey to marine birds, and by the difficulty 

 of rearing them ; the late ]\Ir. Fuseli, the Royal Academician, who was a most zealous entomologist *, having 

 been able to obtain only a single moth from twenty pupa?. The larvEe are full-grown in September, and the 

 moth appears in the following June. The caterpillars have also been taken near Coventry. Sometimes 

 the pupcB remain unchanged for two seasons — a wise provision of Nature, to prevent the destruction of tlie 

 entire brood. 



* Mr. Raddon tells us that Fuseli once eluded him for apathy, and concluded by saying, " When I was of yourage, I often went at two or 

 three o'clock in the morning into the corn-fields and woods to collect for my brother, and many of the insects figured by him (in liis Archives) 

 were from my drawings ; " and to show that his enthusiasm was not quite lost in the decline of his life, he adds that, on the conclusion of his 

 last lecture, and when descending the rostrum, Fuseli S!iid to Mr. Cooper, the R.A., who is also an enthusiastic entomologist, and who liindly 

 offered his. assistance, "X thank you; O, is it you, Cooper? well, where is Raddon? Has he taken Atropos?" He was then upwards 

 of eiirhty. 



