14 ACRONYCTA ALNI. 



grey. Rather long, blackish hairs are on all the seg- 

 ments, except the pale eleventh, which appears desti- 

 tute of them. 



In a couple of days after feeding on the cuticle of 

 an alder leaf the paler translucent parts of the larva 

 are tinged with olive greenish, and the middle seg- 

 ments of the body are banded transversely with dark 

 purplish-brown, and very shining. 



By the 9th they were all feeding well on the cuticle 

 of the underside of alder leaves, eating out little hollow 

 patches which turn brown ; resting always in a curved 

 posture, and, when waiting to moult, with the head 

 turned round near the tail; the darker parts of the 

 larva were purplish-brown, or crimson, the pale seg- 

 ments semi-transparent whitish, showing purplish- 

 brown tubercular dots, the whole surface very glossy, 

 as though varnished ; always resting with the head 

 bent round on one side. 



In the meantime two of the earliest had moulted the 

 first time, and on the 10th were feeding well on the 

 cuticle of tbe underside of the alder leaf; the pale 

 parts were more opaque, but very glossy ; they bad 

 distinct black-pointed hairs. 



On the 13th it seemed that the two oldest had 

 moulted the second time, as the arrangement of the 

 colours had changed as follows : head black, second 

 segment dark crimson-brown, third and fourth seg- 

 ments creamy- white, with a broad stripe of crimson- 

 brown each side of the back, and lower down with a 

 narrow stripe of the same colour ; tubercles black ; 

 segments 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 dark crimson-brown, inter- 

 sected by a fine creamy-white dorsal line ; segments 

 10 and 11 creamy- white, the twelfth dark crimson- 

 brown, the thirteenth creamy- white ; all the skin ex- 

 tremely glossy ; they were now beginning to eat the 

 entire thickness of the alder leaf. 



On the 16th and 17th the most forward had spun 

 some silk, and was laid up on it for its next moult, which 

 occurred on the afternoon of the 18th ; the larva now 



