THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 241 



Deilephila Euphorbise, but without success, never having 

 seen the least trace of it. In fact I have found it to be 

 deserted by every creature, with the exception of a small 

 Toitrix'like larva, whose history I hear is not commonly 

 known, and for that reason the following life-history may not 

 be uninteresting to your readers: — The egg of Mixodia 

 Hawkerana is scale-like, about half a line over, very pale 

 brown in colour, and the surface of the shell is closely 

 granulated. In April, May and August the egg is laid, in 

 most instances singly, on a leaf of the Euphorbia; and in 

 eight days the young larva emerges from the shell, and 

 commences at once to eat its way through the leaf to the 

 stem of the plant. As it goes on feeding, it separates leaf 

 after leaf from their basis, and fastens them closely together 

 by silken threads, and so forms for itself a tunnel, closed at 

 the bottom but open at the top, and in this it remains 

 feeding, quite concealed, until it is full grown. It is then 

 about eight lines in length; colour of the head pale brown in 

 front, darker on . the crown ; a delicate black V-like mark 

 springs from the centre of the head and ends on each side 

 of the mouth ; plate on 2nd segment dark umber-brown, 

 pale in front, very glaucous, divided down the centre by a 

 milk-white dorsal line ; body stout, tapering to each end, 

 greenish brown in colour ; on each segment are about ten 

 black spots, from each of which grows a single hair ; legs 

 and claspers light green, striped with black. When the 

 larvae are about to change they spin close silken cocoons in 

 their tunnels, and turn to pupae there. In June the images 

 are on the wing, and may be seen by hundreds at dusk 

 flying about the spurge. A portion of the second brood 

 appears in autumn, but the greater part of them hybernate 

 in the larva state, in cocoons, on their food-plant. In April 

 and May the larvae are mostly found among the seed- umbels, 

 and this is no doubt owing to the rapid growth of the plant 

 breaking up their domiciles and forcing them upwards. In 

 autumn and winter the larvae are easily detected by the 

 connate appearance of the tops of the spurge. In some 

 seasons the larvae may be found feeding from April to 

 November. The spring brood is easily reared : gather the 

 infested tops when the larvae are nearly full fed, place the 

 tops in a glass- covered flower-pot, and leave them until the 



