EDWARDSIA W- ALBUM. 155 



(McDunnough) ; in the second and third stadia the larva prefers resting 

 on the leaf-buds, to which it clings most tenaciously, using its long neck 

 for the purpose of burrowing, thus clearing out a bud whilst it remains 

 immovable on the outside, to which its mottling of red on the green 

 ground colour bears a considerable resemblance. Rayward observes 

 (in litt.) that ova taken on wych-elm, on October 27th, 1906, were kept 

 during the winter in a warm room, that the first larva emerged on 

 March 14th, 1907, followed on March 21st by the second, March 23rd 

 by the third, and on March 31st by the fourth, and that, on April 28th, 

 three ova still remained unhatched. The first larva, On being placed 

 on the flowers of wych-elm, disappeared between the buds, and, on 

 March 18th, was found to have eaten a hole in the side of a bud, 

 though it made no attempt to bury itself, and, on the following day, 

 was found exposed on the outside. Flower-buds and flowers were given 

 as long as obtainable, followed by green seed-pods, through which the 

 larva ate small round holes. It was afterwards provided with expand- 

 ing leaf-buds, on which it fed without apparently making any attempt 

 to burrow amongst them. The similarity in colouring between the 

 larva after the second moult and the purple-tinged expanding leaves is 

 remarkable and would appear to show that the larva is at this stage — 

 as it probably is from its hatching — an external feeder. The time 

 occupied by the larva in escaping from the egg after the shell has been 

 pierced is about 24 hours, and sometimes longer. The work is not 

 continuous, however, and the actual process of eating a way out is 

 varied by long periods of repose. Bird says : " The larva of w-album 

 is found on the underside of a leaf of wych elm, and seems to prefer 

 the young ones, and, when at rest, it holds by its anal claspers to 

 the midrib at the bottom of a leaf growing at the end of a twig, the 

 body resting on the leaf alongside the midrib, which is exactly the 

 same position as that taken by a young folded leaf of the wych-elm, 

 and, at first glance, you can hardly tell one from the other. The oblique 

 lines on the larva look like the depressions between the veins, and the 

 ridges divided by the dorsal line resemble the serrated edges of the 

 young folded leaf." In the same year (1905) he further notes (in 

 litt.) that, by May 20th, the larvae were half-grown at Llandogo and 

 Tintern, and that, by May 26th, the smallest larvae were at least 

 15mm. in length; of eighteen found on the afternoon of May 25th, 

 fourteen were at rest in the position, or very nearly in the position, 

 described in the above note, but several of these were round the other way, 

 that is to say with their heads close to the base of the midrib. He also 

 noticed that when the larvae were on a large leaf they preferred to hold 

 on to a vein, no doubt finding the midrib too large to grasp comfortably, 

 and adds, "Ithink these larvae mustfeeclat night, as all were found resting 

 quietly, and very often some way off any signs of eating. Pupation of 

 the latest this year took place by June 17th." Our own observations 

 lead us to believe that, in nature, the larva always rests on the under- 

 side of a leaf, but Newman says that, " in the middle of June, when 

 it is fullfed, it rests indifferently on the upper- or underside of the 

 leaf, or on the twigs which are then young and green, with its head, 

 legs, and claspers entirely concealed ; nevertheless, in crawling or 

 rather gliding, for its motion exactly resembles that of a slug, the 

 anterior part of the head is just visible peeping from beneath the 

 shield-like margin of the prothorax." In June, 1904, we observed of 



