382 ALUCITA POLYDACTYLA. 



ALUCITA POLYDACTYLA. 



Plate CLXIV, fig. 10. 



On the 7th of July, 1882, I received from Mr. W. 

 H. B. Fletcher several full-grown larvse feeding on 

 the flowers of honeysuckle. 



The body of the full-grown larva is very plump and 

 the head small ; the thoracic segments taper to the 

 head ; the skin is soft, smooth, and very glossy ; a 

 deep transverse wrinkle is across beyond the middle 

 of each segment, and the divisions are well defined ; 

 it tapers a little also at the last two segments ; the 

 legs on the belly are rather short and well beneath 

 the body. In colour it is of a deep reddish-pink, 

 showing a thin and faint subdorsal line on either side 

 the back, and a spiracular line equally thin and pale ; 

 these are transparent and light greenish ; the head is 

 pale pinkish-green with dark brown mouth ; the 

 ventral legs are colourless fringed with dark hooks ; 

 it measures 8 J mm. in length. 



The larva, in its general aspect, looks very much 

 like a pink maggot. 



The pupa is suspended by the tail, head downwards, 

 hanging with a free lateral movement at will ; it is 

 about 6 mm. in length ; it is of moderate substance 

 and is not remarkable for any peculiarity of form, 

 save that the wing-covers are rather long, extending 

 to within three segments of the abdominal tip, the 

 ends of the leg-cases projecting free. At first the 

 colouring is pink, but it gradually changes to a pale 

 greenish ochreous, and the eye-pieces assume a brown 

 colour (this was on the 24th of July). 



Some of these larvss did not suspend themselves, 

 but spun themselves up in horizontal positions within 

 slight silken cocoons of open-meshed reticulation. 



On the 27th of June, 1883, Mr. Fletcher sent me 

 many more larvse of this species ; most of them were 



