14 AGROTIS CTNEREA. 



each spiracle is larger than other warts. The larva 

 was now 9 mm. long when walking ; it fed readily 

 on Thymus. By the next day it had regained its depth 

 of colour, a dingy pinkish-brown, with the details 

 much less noticeable. On the 16th it moulted a fourth 

 time, and became a dingy grey-brown ; it moulted a 

 fifth time on the 28th, and was then a very dark slaty- 

 grey, though with greenish tinge on the belly. I 

 figured it on the 7th, 8th and 9th August, when it was 

 an inch and a quarter long. On the 13th August it 

 was laid up for another moult, and by the evening of 

 the 15th it had moulted a sixth time ; it was at first 

 dark slaty bluish-green ; the front margin only of the 

 plate on the second segment was then black, the rest 

 of the plate was green, and the fine pale dorsal and 

 subdorsal threads ran through the black as well as the 

 green ; the next day it was more dingy than ever — 

 quite a blackish-green ; the spiracles rather large and 

 black, spots dark brown, plate growing darker, the 

 skin with loose folds (it had not yet fed since moulting). 

 On the 18th it again began to feed, though sparingly, 

 and by the 27th had much increased in thickness, and 

 a little in length ; the dark brown tubercular dots on 

 the back were largest on the thoracic segments ; at 

 this date it appeared to be sweating, and its coal-black 

 " frass " to be softer than heretofore, so I gave it some 

 older growths of Thymus to eat, and allowed it plenty 

 of exercise ; when I again portrayed it on the 29th 

 it measured, when fully stretched out, an inch and a 

 half, and was stout in proportion. The lobes of the 

 head were shining jet black, and between them, above 

 the upper lip (also marked with black), was a triangulaar 

 black spot; the papillse greenish, tipped with black; 

 the plate on the second segment was jet-black, with a 

 very fine pale dorsal division ; all other details as 

 before. 



By the 14th of October it had gradually become less 

 dark in its general colouring, which now appeared of a 

 dingy greenish-drab hue ; it still fed a little at intervals. 



