1868.] 



75 



no mention of yellow spots. This description, however, agrees to some extent with 

 Hiibnor's figure of one variety, represented by him as citron-yellow, with a sub- 

 dorsal row of brown spots, and a broad stripe of yellow paler than the ground 

 running just below them. Hiibner has also figured a whitish variety with blackish 

 spots, but placed on the hinder part of each segment. And Boisduval gives in his 

 figures the ground-colour as pale yellowish or citron-green, with two black dots 

 instead of one on each segment, and yellow spots above, not below them, a 

 black dorsal line and some black curves above the legs. — John Hellins, Exeter, 

 June 10th, 1868. 



Notes on the earlier stages of Acontia luctuosa. — I am greatly indebted to 

 Mr. Howard Vaughan for kindly giving me the opportunity of figuring and de- 

 scribing larvae of this species, as well as for furnishing some interesting details 

 concerning their earlier stages. 



The eggs were laid on the 7th and 8th of June, 1868, and hatched on the 16th 

 and 17th of the month. 



The young larvge at first appeared to be veritable loopers, twelve legs only 

 being visible ; but, as they grew larger, the other legs became appai*ent, though 

 still in walking they did not use the first pair of ventral legs. 



They appeared to be nocturnal feeders, eating the flowers and seeds, as well as 

 the leaves, of Convolvulus arvensis ; they reposed, lying along and closely embracing 

 the stems of the food-plant, close to the ground, and in this position would easily 

 escape observation. 



The full-grown larva is about one inch and a quarter in length, slender, and 

 stoutest in the middle, and tapering a little towards the head (which is smaller 

 than the second segment), and more to the posterior extremity; the folds and 

 divisions moderately indented on the first four or five segments, but hardly notice- 

 able on the remainder. 



The two hinder pairs of ventral legs more developed than the two preceding 

 pairs. 



The ground colour on the middle of the back is a pale greyish-ochreous, 

 brownish-grey, or reddish-grey, the sides being darker and browner; the dorsal 

 stripe tapers at each extremity of the larva, but is narrowest on the anterior 

 segments, the stripe itself being of the pale ground colour above-mentioned, but 

 faintly outlined interruptedly by short dots or lines of black ; sometimes towards 

 each segmental division it is delicately freckled with a slightly deeper tint of the 

 same, and, in some examples, two short black streaks, i-ather thicker than those 

 that outline the stripe, appear at the beginning of each segment, almost forming 

 a V> pointing forwards. 



The pale region of the back assumes a kind of chain pattern from being 

 bounded on each side by a rather broad sinuous border of dMrh grey-brown, on 

 which are placed the anterior pairs of tubercular dots, being large and very pale 

 greyish, delicately margined with blackish ; the posterior pairs small and black. 



The sub-dorsal stripe is but little paler than the dark ground colour of the 

 sides, and chiefly towards the head, and just a little at the beginning of each 

 segment, the stripe is edged with a line of dark brown ; beneath this, again come 

 three other dark brown Unes, the lowest of which is the spiracular, and is thicker 



