OEGYIA ANTIQUA. 11 



ORGYIA ANTIQUA. 



Plate XXXIX, fig. 1. 



Eggs laid on a cocoon-like web upon a spray of Acacia 

 dealbata, in the gardens of the Crystal Palace at 

 Sydenham, sent me by Mr. George Thomson, March 

 18th, 1879. 



The eggs laid close and evenly together side by side. 

 The egg is rounded, having near the top a slight rim, 

 which swells out a little, the flat top having a central 

 depression. Colour of the egg shining reddish-brown. 

 These eggs never changed colour. They began to hatch 

 June 21st, 1879, a few at a time. 



The newly-hatched larva was dark brown, with 

 segments 5 to 8 darker brown, a paler triangular spot 

 on the back of the ninth, a darker brown spot on the 

 twelfth ; the tubercles dark brown, one on either side of 

 the front of the second segment longer than the others, 

 with longish brown hairs, some longer than others. 



After its first moult it grew to a length of three- 

 sixteenths of an inch, it had then a pale patch on the 

 back of the fourth segment, which rather divided in 

 front, encroaching a little on the third segment; another 

 distinct pale patch was on the back of the ninth, and 

 a palish dorsal spot on the back of the tenth and 

 eleventh, and a transverse pale mark on the front of 

 the thirteenth segment ; a pale but rather interrupted 

 subdorsal line was visible from the fifth, faintly to the 

 ninth, and thence to the twelfth segment distinctly. 



By the 19th of July a great many had completed 

 their third moult, and had now assumed the character- 

 istic tufts of hairs like shaving brushes on the back, on 

 the fifth and sixth segments blackish, on the seventh 

 and eighth whitish, and on the tenth and eleventh a 

 pinkish tubercle, a longish tuft of black clubbed hairs 

 on the twelfth, slanting backwards ; on each side of 

 the front of the second segment, at an angle laterally 

 pointing forwards, a tuft or fascicle of longer hairs, 



