NISONIADES TAGES. 271 



more than a hemisphere, the height a little less than the diameter, the 

 base somewhat rounded at the edges to the front of attachment, the 

 apex somewhat depressed ; pale yellow in colour, somewhat paler 

 on the projecting parts of the vertical ribs when first laid, but quickly 

 changing to a rich orange tint. It is conspicuously ribbed from base 

 to shoulder by thirteen clearly defined, rough-edged, vertical ridges, 

 which are reduced to seven from the shoulder to the edge of micro- 

 pylar area, and fade somewhat towards the base. These ribs are 

 crenulated and glassy in appearance, whitish-yellow in colour, owing 

 to reflected light, and look quite pale against the deep orange tint of 

 the egg ; the ribs are all equally well-developed, the six ribs that stop 

 short not failing gradually, but being cut off sharply at point of 

 termination. The seven ribs, continued to micropylar area, form a 

 slightly- raised rounded rim around latter, which is slightly depressed ; 

 the micropylar cells are circularly placed around a barely-raised 

 micropylar centre, the cells decreasing in size from without to centre. 

 The surface of the shell is shiny, and there is a distinct trace of a fine 

 transverse ribbing between the vertical ribs, from base to micropylar 

 area. The micropyle appears to form a tiny button at the base of the 

 apical depression (Tutt, June 2nd, 1905). 



Habits of larva. — The newly- hatched larvae leave the eggs about 

 the middle of June, and form little caves by drawing together three 

 leaflets of Lotus corniculatus with glistening silken threads, each cave 

 being made by the two outer leaflets being drawn almost close together 

 (leaving space enough for the ejection of frass), the middle one being 

 bent over them like a curved roof, so that the cave passes easily for a 

 not quite expanded leaf. In these they live, abandoning them and 

 constructing newer ones when needed, the young larvae meantime 

 feeding on the inner surface of the leaflets. They feed and grow 

 fairly rapidly, eating away the whole thickness of the leaflets forming 

 their caves, and, so soon as their ravages expose their bodies, they 

 move off and form new habitations, the change always taking place at 

 night, slowly and deliberately. Throughout July they continue to 

 hide themselves, and early in August are fullfed, when they spin a 

 silken hybernaculum, within which they pass the winter, resting quietly 

 until early April (Buckler). Chapman observes that the very young 

 larvas make a small nest between several young leaflets, sometimes as 

 few as two, which they spin firmly together ; in the 3rd instar the 

 larvae make a nest of small leaves, little larger than themselves, lining 

 it with a rather close carpet of silk. At all stages the larvae jerk the 

 faeces to a distance. Sich observes (in litt.) that he received, on July 

 15th, 1905, several larvae from Dr. Chapman. They were in, or 

 entering on, the third stadium, and feeding up well on Lotus corni- 

 culatus. They were, at first, kept in a tin box with sprays of the 

 foodplant, but as they did not appear to exactly flourish, he placed 

 some Lotus in a bottle with water, putting the whole in a soda-water 

 tumbler, with the larvae on the plants, and covering the mouth of the 

 glass with muslin. In this manner they fed up well. Having some 

 difficulty in obtaining a good supply of L. corniculatus, the smaller 

 and generally smoother species, he tried the larvae with L. uliginosus, 

 the long sprays of which were more convenient to keep in water. 

 This they took to easily, and later ate it in preference to the smaller 

 species. Once the caterpillars were tried with Trifolium repens, but 



