492 BRITISH LEPIDOPTERA. 



represented by light blue spots. Van Leeuwen describes and figures 

 (Tijd. v. Ent., xxii., p. 195, pi. 12) some varieties of the larva. Fenn 

 describes two forms of the larva as : 



(1) Hairy, elongate, cylindrical, sooty-black in colour, the sides greyer and 

 paler ; the whole body covered with fulvous hairs not sufficiently dense to obscure 

 the markings ; a broad irregular and whitish, interrupted with orange, subdorsal 

 stripe, having a black dash below it on each segment ; two orange dorsal spots on 

 each segment ; a threadlike fulvous line above the spiracles, which are black edged 

 with white; beneath them a waved fulvous line ; the hairs emitted from the pairs 

 of dorsal spots are longer and darker than those on the other parts of the larva. 

 Head and legs black, prolegs yellowish. 



(2) Black on the back and sides ; a brilliant white subdorsal stripe, composed 

 of numerous blotches ; beneath it an ill-defined series of small yellowish spots ; two 

 orange dorsal spots on each segment (May 21st, 1875). 



He later, June 30th, 1876, described three forms of the larva 

 obtained at Eannoch (not on the heaths) as follows : 



(1) Velvety black ; the sides with a series of cream-coloured blotches con- 

 spicuously produced transversely, interrupting the black ground colour ; the blotches 

 alternate with smaller lateral silvery-white spots ; upper part of each of the larger 

 blotches shaded with orange ; hairs pale greyish-brown. 



(2) Back black ; sides dark bluish-grey; a broad and much interrupted orange- 

 tawny subdorsal band, and a transverse dorsal similarly coloured stripe on each 

 segment ; below the tawny band is a broad white stripe much interrupted with 

 black spots and shading into the grey ground colour of the sides ; this form is a 

 variation of the English type by the suffusion of orange-tawny in the vicinity of the 

 subdorsal spots. 



(3) Sooty black ; the back with broad velvety-black, transverse bands ; one on 

 each segment ; a series of very conspicuous orange subdorsal dashes (two on each 

 segment) alternate with small whitish blotches ; the latter are only visible when 

 the larva is curled up ; hairs yellowish-brown ; head and legs black ; prolegs dull 

 orange. [When moving the back appears velvety-black with numerous transverse 

 orange dashes, below them a row of white dots.] 



Borkhausen notes the larva as bluish-black, covered thinly with 

 hairs, some of which are rather long. Each segment has, next the 

 incision, a yellow or white semicircular band, beside Avhich, on each, 

 stand two dark red tubercles with stiff bristles. Varieties occur in 

 which only four of the middle tubercles have the reel colour, the rest 

 being darker coloured. On one occasion a larva was found in which 

 all the tubercles were dark. There is a broken white longitudinal line 

 running the whole length of the body on either side of the larva. 

 Briggs observes that from 80 eggs that hatched April 6th-7th, 1867, two 

 forms of larvae were produced in almost equal numbers ; the difference 

 was most striking and there were no intermediate forms: (1) A "banded" 

 form, resembled at first glance, the early stage of the larva of J\I. rubi 

 and was like Albin's pi. xxxiv., fig. a, and Buckler's pi. xlix., fig. 2c. 

 (2) A variegated form. These produced only 24 pupa?, the imagines 

 from which gave three pairings — (1) Between $ and ? moths from 

 larvae of the " banded" form. (2) Between a <? and ? from larva? of 

 the variegated form. (3) Between moths, one from a banded and the 

 other from a variegated larva, sex not observed. The larva? obtained 

 in due course from these, were entirely of the variegated form, and 

 in the third generation were darker, and the linear markings much 

 bolder, than in the first brood. 



Cocoon. — The larva spins a tolerably hard cocoon of an oval (tend- 

 ing to oblong) form, and compact in texture. We have seen two distinct 

 forms of the cocoon : (1) Dark brown in colour, spun among moss, 

 dead leaves or twigs on the surface of the ground. This usually has 



