ON LARVJE. 75 



instead of being round at the top, ascend in two 

 remarkable points. 



In many exotic species the head of the larva is 

 armed with spines of different kinds, which give 

 the creature a very formidable appearance. Madame 

 Merian, in her " Insects of Surinam," has engraved 

 some extraordinary forms of this kind. The Cater- 

 pillar of Morpho Menelaus, one of the most splendid 

 Butterflies known, is very remarkable in this parti- 

 cular ; the lobes of the head not only ascending like 

 those of the Purple Emperor, but acuminating into 

 positive horns. The larva of Brassolis Cassice has 

 three firm spines attached to its head, that of JPeri- 

 clromia Amphinome a crown of eight spines, and 

 that of Morpho Teucer seven rays or spines. Such 

 appendages, though rare upon the head, are not 

 infrequent upon the first segments, as in the case 

 of the larva of Phalcena Regia, in our Plate VIII., 

 the effect of which is as though they issued from 

 the head itself. In common British species similar 

 spines are found on that and other parts of the 

 body, to be spoken of when describing some of our 

 British Butterflies and their larvae. 



The Eyes of larvse are generally very minute, 

 and in some cases they are absent altogether, as in 

 the Lamecorn and Longicorn groups of Coleoptera^ 



