16 HERMINIA TAKSIPENNALTS. 



HERMINrA TABSTPENNALIS. 



Plate CXLVIII, fig. 7. 



My first acquaintance with the larva of this species 

 I owe to the kindness of Mr.. H. Doubleday, who sent 

 me one found at night on sallow in Epping Forest on 

 the 28th of April, 1868. It had sallow and other 

 kinds of food given to it, but did not appear to eat 

 anything, and on the 1st of May it spun a leaf down 

 to the bottom of its cage, beneath which it pupated, 

 after lining the cavity with a coating of silk. The 

 moth, a fine specimen, appeared on the 15th of June. 



My next opportunity of studying the larva was 

 most obligingly afforded me by Mr. J. R. Wellman, 

 who presented me on the 20th of August, 1871, with 

 three examples of the summer brood, about three 

 parts grown, which had been reared from eggs, and 

 were feeding well on Polygonum aviculare ; by the 

 25th of the month they had all spun up amongst the 

 Polygonum, and the moths appeared from the 10th to 

 the 14th of September. 



The full-grown larva is from six-eighths to seven- 

 eighths of an inch in length, moderately stout and 

 cylindrical, tapering just a little at the two last 

 segments, and also in front from the third segment to 

 the head, which is smaller than the second segment, 

 and globular. 



The ground colour is a dull brownish-grey, finely 

 freckled with a darker tint, both of which below the 

 spiracles become rather paler ; on the second segment 

 is a darker dull plate, and the head is darker still; 

 the blackish-grey dorsal line is somewhat interrupted 

 on the middle of each segment ; the greyish paler 

 brown subdorsal line, which is continuous on the 

 thoracic segments, is indicated only by a short dash 

 at the beginning of each of the others, and below this 

 dash there comes lower down the side a thick, short, 



