BOTTS LANCEAL1S. 127 



one side to the other, the fore -part of its body at each 

 movement describing a segment of a circle ; occa- 

 sionally it paused a moment to advance a step ; and 

 then began spinning again, and so on until satisfied 

 that it had spun enough ; then it changed its position, 

 and laid itself to rest along the midrib of the leaf. 

 This web was more than half as long again as the larva 

 itself, and about half an inch in width, excepting just 

 at the ends, which were a little less and both open ; 

 the silk of which it was spun was rather fine in 

 texture, and whitish. After a short rest the larva 

 crept a little way out of the web, and began nibbling 

 the edge of the leaf it had chosen to reside under. 

 At this moment, in order to have a clearer view, I 

 cautiously ventured to turn aside the tip of another leaf 

 adjacent; but so timorous was the larva that it sprang 

 instantly backwards into its web, where in alarm it 

 remained for a long time with its length much con- 

 tracted. In the course of a few hours after this it had 

 firmly fastened its leaf to two or three other leaves 

 close by, and J did not disturb it again until the 18th 

 of the month, when I found it had just moulted, and 

 not only increased somewhat in size, but assumed a 

 different dress, together with the usual proportions 

 that characterise the genus. On the 23rd I saw it was 

 full-grown, and took the following description : 



Length seven-eighths of an inch, the body tapering 

 at each end, and thickest in the middle, especially when 

 viewed sideways ; the head small and rather flattened ; 

 the segments plump and well defined on the back and 

 sides, and more particularly on the belly, where they 

 are deeply cut, and very tumid at the setting on of all 

 the legs, especially the ventral ones, which are rather 

 long, slender, and spreading a little at their hooked 

 extremities, the anal pair extending backwards and a 

 little outwards ; the anterior legs very well developed. 

 In colour the glossy head is light drab, speckled with 

 dark brown, and having the papillae tipped with brown ; 

 the second segment, also glossy, is green above, with 



