508 BRITISH LEPIDOPTERA. 



straight position, but on being annoyed raises the anterior extremity 

 and tucks in the head, assuming a somewhat Sphinx-like attitude, 

 and if the annoyance be continued this attitude is aggravated, and the 

 larva finally falls from its food-plant forming a complete ring. Eussell 

 gives {Eat. Rec, xi., pp. 283-284) a most interesting account of a nest 

 of larvae that he found in an exposed position on the branch of a small 

 hawthorn tree at Polegate on May 21st, 1899. He says that " the 

 web of the nest was compactly and evenly woven. It was about six 

 inches in length, and was fastened to projecting thorns and to the end 

 of the branch. Ingress to and egress from the interior was through 

 one small opening only. A single larva was visible on the exterior, 

 the remainder, afterwards ascertained to be about 200 in number, being 

 snugly ensconced within. On returning home the following day the 

 nest was fastened to the branch of a large hawthorn tree growing in the 

 garden, and covered with a good sized gauze net, through an opening 

 in the back of which the larva? were afterwards supplied daily with 

 increasing quantities of their food-plant. The larvae when taken were 

 three-quarters of an inch in length, and had apparently undergone at 

 least one moult. Upon being placed upon the hawthorn tree they 

 constructed another and a larger nest, enclosing the old within the new. 

 The habits of the larvae were most interesting to watch. Their mode 

 of feeding was curious ; they seemed to make short and hasty snatches 

 at their food-plant, wasting a considerable portion of it in doing so. 

 As far as one was able to observe they fed in the day time only, prefer- 

 ably in the early morning and in the late evening. Generally after a 

 meal, at night time, and when very wet, they withdrew to the interior 

 of the nest. It may have been a coincidence only, but whenever they 

 so retired one of their number remained upon the exterior, a stationary 

 sentinel over those within. In addition to constructing a fresh nest the 

 larvae wove lines of webbing along the bare branch and branchlets 

 adjoining it, and when the sun shone they became most active, racing 

 after one another along the webbing at a surprising rate. Occasionally 

 first one and then another of them would take a hasty bite at a leaf of 

 their food-plant, but so long as the sun was shining brilliantly upon them 

 they seemed to prefer exercise to feeding. If disturbed at any time, 

 they fell from where they were lodged to the bottom of the net. The 

 larvae moulted twice after I had them, the first moult taking place 

 within ten days. They were then similar in appearance to the figures 

 1 and la, given in Buckler's Larvae, &c, though, of course, not so large. 

 They again moulted about the middle of June, and after this, their 

 final moult, they were most beautiful in appearance, and I deeply 

 regretted my inability to paint a true picture of one of them. Accord- 

 ing to Newinan the larvae pupate at the end of June, but although 

 quite one half of those I had were by this date fully two inches in 

 length, and apparently full-grown, they showed no inclination to spin 

 their cocoons, but continued to feed well until July 12th. They then 

 commenced to pupate, and by July 20th, all of them, with the excep- 

 tion of three or four, had formed cocoons. These were constructed 

 either within their nest or in a mixture of their own frass and dried 

 pieces of wasted food-plant. 



Larva.- — The newly hatched larva has the head not especially wide, 

 inclined to be tall, dead black, surface roughened, slightly notched at 

 crown, with a few scattered, rather short, white hairs. Prothorax, with 



