NOCTUA UMBROSA. 43 



darker and darker till they were blackish-brown. A 

 few entered the earth, the rest went into moss, where 

 they assumed the pupa state, but without forming any 

 cocoon in either ; though those in the moss appeared 

 to be steadied in their positions by a slight thread or 

 two. The moths appeared from June 8th to 13th. 



The egg is circular, domed above and flattened 

 beneath, finely ribbed and reticulated. When first 

 laid, it is of a yellowish- white colour, and changes in 

 six days to a glistening pink, and finally to pinkish- 

 grey. * 



The young larva, when hatched, had at first a pale 

 brown head, and greenish-grey body, paler and pellucid 

 at the segmental divisions ; in eight or nine days they 

 were pale, semi-transparent, yellowish-green, with 

 distinct black dots. At their next change, at the end 

 of another week, they were three-eighths of an inch 

 long, and not translucent, but with a suffusion of 

 opaque-brown over the back and sides, giving them a 

 velvety brownish-green look ; and there then appeared 

 dorsal, subdorsal, and lateral lines, paler than the 

 ground ; between the lateral line and spiracles the 

 space was filled with a darker tint of the ground 

 colour, forming a broad dark stripe. At this stage 

 the character of N. umbrosa is very distinct from its 

 congener, and remains so until the length of about 

 five-eighths of an inch is attained ; but the next moult 

 introduces the design that at once recalls the well- 

 known N. xanthographa, and continues throughout 

 their future larval career. 



There were three varieties of the general colouring 

 in each of the three broods, some being yellowish, 

 some brownish, and others of a greyish-brown, but in 

 the detail of their markings they were all very constant. 

 The individual from which the following description 

 was drawn was one of the yellowish varieties : 



The full-grown larva is from one and a quarter to 

 one and three-eighths inches in length, moderately 

 stout and cylindrical, though tapering a little at the 



