50 CYNTHIA CARDUI. 



Here there was an enigma, to settle whether this 

 larva was car did or not. 



In the last week of September, 1868, the Rev. E. 

 Horton sent me some of a number of larvse he had 

 recently taken, varying considerably in growth, but all 

 quite similar to the one above described, and found 

 also on the same food, Malva sylvestris. The mallow 

 plants were growing chiefly on the top of a hilly grass 

 field near a hedge, and some in a clover field on the 

 other side of the hedge, all within a radius of fifty 

 yards ; and Mr. Horton' s attention was arrested by 

 the mixed-up appearance of certain of the leaves. 



On examination, he found the edges of some were 

 drawn together by threads, into a kind of purse, each 

 containing a larva ; and he noticed that in every case 

 but one, the larva was eating away the upper surface 

 of the leaf within the purse. The youngest of those I 

 had the pleasure to receive from Mr. Horton on the 

 25th of September, was precisely like the figure taken 

 in 1865, but had attained nearly an inch in length, and 

 showed indications of a narrow, short, oblique-yellow 

 streak, from near each spiracle backwards, and the tips 

 of the yellow spines were black. 



After moulting the change in its appearance was 

 very great, and its manner of constructing a kind of 

 tent by spinning three or four mallow leaves together, 

 with its habit of feeding concealed therein until its 

 ravages had partly exposed it to view, and then 

 abandoning its ruined abode and making another with 

 fresh leaves, reminded me so much of Atalanta, that I 

 now began to think I had been quite wrong in suppos- 

 ing the species to be cardui. 



The growth was very rapid, the primrose-yellow and 

 the black spines were replaced by others uniformly of 

 a dirty greenish-yellow tint ; the whole skin of the 

 upper part of the -body was now black, but the extra- 

 ordinary and puzzling feature now assumed was a dense 

 covering of pale grey hairs, nearly as long as the 

 spines, and almost hiding them ; such a combination 



