114 OHGEROCAMPA ELPENOR. 



to August 22nd ; these were generally found in gardens 

 feeding on fuchsia leaves. I never captured the larva 

 myself, and never saw eggs or young larvae. 



In 18S6, August 9th, Mr. G. T. Porritt sent me 

 three larvse ; they were nearly full-fed, and began to 

 spin about August 13th ; they ate fuchsia and vine 

 leaves, and flowers of Galium mollugo, but of course 

 Mr. Buckler's notes give the food-plants of the species 

 when at large ; these plants grow by the water, and 

 Albin notices " something in this caterpillar very 

 remarkable, viz. his dexterity in swimming; for com- 

 monly feeding in or near the water, if at any time he 

 happens to fall in, he turns himself on his back, and 

 swims with his head and tail turned together till he 

 gets hold on some part of the plant, by which he helps 

 himself up again." One hardly sees how this proceed- 

 ing can be called swimming ; it is more like floating, 

 unless there is any movement to and fro of the head 

 and tail. I noticed that the frass was excluded in 

 some seven or eight very large pellets during the 

 twenty-four hours. The full-grown larva is nearly 3 

 inches, or about 70 mm. long, stout from segments 5 

 — 12, stoutest about 5 and 6, the front segments taper 

 rapidly to the head, which is small and round ; the 

 head and segments 2 and 3 can be retracted into 4, 

 which is then puffed ; there is a small, curved, roughish 

 horn, 2 mm. long, on segment 12 ; the skin generally 

 smooth and plump. In colour there are two main 

 varieties ; one has the ground a sort of mouse-brown, 

 buff at the folds, covered with a network of blackish 

 freckles except on segments 2 — 4; these front seg- 

 ments have a subdorsal line of dusky buff, enclosed in 

 a blackish border which on the fourth segment swells 

 out into a blacker blotch ; 5 and 6 have each at the 

 subdorsal level a large blackish blotch enclosing in its 

 upper half a lilac kidney-shaped spot, the centre of 

 which is olive in colour, and at the commencement of 

 each segment at the subdorsal level, the black freckles 

 are more distinct and deep in tint ; the head and horn 



