84 PARAPONYX STRATIOTATA. 



longer intervals, and within webs of more contracted 

 space. 



By January, 1875, the Anacharis had lost nearly 

 every leaf, and the stems all vitality, and a rapid 

 decay ensued, which destroyed all the contents both 

 of the globe and the bottles by the end of the month ; 

 and so I was not able to find out whether a second 

 year would have brought out the rest of my stock in 

 the perfect state. 



The general figure of the cocoon of silk in which 

 the pupa of Paraponyx stratiotata is spun up is a 

 long oval, about five-eighths of an inch in length by 

 three-sixteenths in width, and gradually widening to 

 the upper end, which is not rounded, but sloped off 

 from above at an obtuse end, thus presenting a some- 

 what truncated appearance; it is attached for its 

 whole length, by the back, to a piece of the stem of 

 the food-plant, which affords a strong support, besides 

 being further moored by strong outlying threads 

 from the upper part to the stem ; it is but a little 

 tapered towards the hinder end, which is generally 

 involved amongst some leaves. I saw some cocoons 

 fixed to two stems. The colour of the silk is either 

 pale pinkish or flesh- colour, inclining to olive ante- 

 riorly, and darker greyish-olive behind ; its surface is 

 very shining, but it is very opaque, and the pupa 

 cannot be seen through it. 



The pupa itself is half an inch in length, rather 

 slender in proportion, widest from behind the thorax, 

 from whence the abdomen tapers to the rather blunt 

 tip ; the thorax rounds off towards the squarish head; 

 the eyes are large and prominent ; the wing-, antenna-, 

 and leg-cases are well developed, the last extending 

 free from the eighth to as far as the end of the 

 twelfth segment ; only three spiracles on each side 

 are distinguishable, viz. on the sixth, seventh, and 

 eighth segments, but these are large, circular, and 

 projecting considerably like knobs or warts from the 

 side ; at first the pupa is unicolorous, of a delicate 



