THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 177 



and scabrous appearance to the entire body, in addition to 

 which it is beset with many clavate processes, which might 

 be compared to the glandular hairs frequently occurring in 

 plants ; the extremity of these processes is flattened after the 

 fashion of the antennae of butterflies. The colour of the 

 head is black, the processes being dirty white ; the body is 

 dingy putty-coloured, freckled with smoky black; the ventral 

 is slightly paler than the dorsal surface. I am indebted to 

 Mr. J. R. Wellman for a liberal supply of this most interesting 

 larva. I am unable to state what is its natural food-plant, 

 but, like so many of its kindred, it feeds freely in confine- 

 ment on Polygonum aviculare (the common knot-grass). — 

 Edward Newman, 



Description of the Larva of Dianthoecia irregularis. — 

 On the 13th of August last I received, through the kindness 

 of the Rev. E. N. Bloomfield, of Guestling, near Hastings, 

 seven larvae of this insect. Unfortunately, perhaps from 

 having been too closely packed during the hot weather, four 

 of them were dead on arrival; another one appeared sickly, 

 and soon died, but the remaining two seemed to be quite 

 healthy. They were not full-grown, but had, I think, assumed 

 the markings of the adult larva ; were of average thickness, and 

 about three-quarters of an inch in length. Head considerably 

 smaller than the 2nd segment, and emits a iew short hairs. 

 Body nearly uniformly cylindrical, but tapering very slightly 

 anteriorly ; segmental divisions tolerably conspicuous ; skin 

 smooth and slightly glossy ; usual dots rather indistinct. 

 General colour pale yellowish brown, tinged with green ; 

 head wainscoat brown, sparingly dotted with black. Dorsal 

 line composed of a series of narrow V-shaped smoke-coloured 

 marks, one on each segment, and the apex of each pointed 

 posteriorly : these V-shaped marks are most conspicuous 

 from the 5th to the 9th segments ; on the others they appear 

 as an interrupted grayish line, bordered on each side with 

 srnoke-colour ; subdorsal lines inconspicuous, dull white 

 margined very narrowly with brown ; along the spiracles 

 extends a smoke-coloured stripe, dark on the lower part, but 

 shading gradually into the ground colour above. The ground 

 colour between the dorsal and spiracular lines is faintly 

 variegated with brown, and below the spiracles, which are 

 black, is a yellowish white stripe. Belly semitranslucent and 



