HIPPARCHTA SEMELE. 29 



seen on the grass were always at night, and each 

 morning brought evidence of its doing well by the 

 diminished grass. 



About the 14th of June these indications ceased, 

 and on the 23rd I searched for the pupa, and found it 

 in a hollow space a quarter of an inch below the surface, 

 the particles of sand and earth very slightly cohering 

 together, and close to the roots of the grass, yet free 

 from them. The pupa was obtuse, rounded, tumid 

 and smooth, the abdominal rings scarcely visible, and 

 wholly of a deep red mahogany colour. The perfect 

 insect (a $ ) appeared July 24th. 



The larva, reared wholly in captivity from the egg 9 

 always remained on its rigid food, with its head upper- 

 most when feeding, which at first it did both day and 

 night till it was an inch long, from which time it fed 

 only at night, remaining all day at rest on the grass, 

 with its head downwards, in comparative darkness, 

 amongst the lower parts of the stems. It never showed 

 any disposition to burrow, though the soil was supplied 

 for the purpose, until it was full fed about the middle 

 of June. The butterfly (a $ ) appeared August 5th. 



No material difference existed between the two larvae, 

 excepting that the captured one was rather less bright 

 and distinct in colour and markings than the other. 



The full grown larva is an inch and a half in length, 

 tapering much to the anal forked extremity, and a little 

 towards the head, which is globular. The ground 

 colour of the back is a delicately mottled drab, with 

 longitudinal stripes broadest along the middle segments, 

 viz. a dorsal stripe of olive-brown, very dark at the 

 beginning of each segment, with a thin edging of 

 brownish-white. Along the subdorsal region are three 

 stripes, of which the first is composed of a double 

 narrow line of yellowish-brown, the second wider of 

 the mottled ground colour, edged with paler above 

 and with white below, the third of similar width is 

 of a dark grey -brown, edged above with black. The 

 spiracular stripe is broader and of nearly equal width, 



