VANESSA ATALANTA. 179 



very beautiful ichneumons ; all my examples that 

 became pupa3 produced butterflies. As mentioned above 

 it was when about half grown the larvae were killed off 

 by parasites. (J. H., 29, 10, 85.) 



Vanessa Io. 



Plate VIII, fig. 3. 



On July 7th, 1881, I took some larvae on stinging 

 nettle, Urtica dioica, which moulted for the last time 

 July 10th, and became pupae July 16th — 20th. In 

 1885, July 4th, I found some larvae as yet without 

 spines, but they presently moulted before I took any 

 notes of their appearance. On July 6th I found another 

 family just passed the same moult; after this they 

 moulted twice, viz. July 7th and 8th, and July 12th 

 —14th; they became pupae July 20th — 22nd, and I 

 bred the butterflies August 1st — 3rd. I know nothing 

 of the egg, but the whole batch must be deposited 

 together, for the larvae are found feeding together in 

 families ; they are irritable when disturbed, both walk- 

 ing quickly and flinging about their heads, and ejecting 

 from their mouths a dark greenish fluid. When the 

 larva is about 13 mm. long, before the last moult but 

 one, it has the full complement of six rows of spines, 

 but they are very short, the spiracular and subspiracu- 

 lar rows being scarcely more than high warts ; the skin 

 is shining, dingy brown, showing reddish at the seg- 

 mental divisions, with faint indications of the white 

 dots. With the last moult but one the spines grow 

 much longer and stronger, and the colour becomes 

 velvety black, and the transverse rows of little white 

 dots become distinct. When about 22 mm. long the 

 larva moults for the last time, but does not then change 

 its appearance much ; the full-grown larva is about 36 

 mm. long, rather slender, the segments well marked, 

 head wider than the second segment, and set with 



