1886.J Larva of Smerintlius ocellatus and its Food-plants, 141 



also that when several males were together in the same box with a 

 female, the former were distinguished from one another by small 

 notches in the wings. 



The inherited tendency was probably towards the intermediate 

 variety (arguing from the female parent only), because the parent 

 larva was almost intermediate after feeding on S. viminalis for its 

 whole life, although the group of larvae to which it belonged tended 

 strongly towards white. 



The larvae were examined on August 12th, with the following 

 results : — 



1. Salix viminalis. — Six larvae (hatched July 10th) of which four 

 were nearly full grown, and very similar, being good whitish varieties, 

 though not so strong as those produced by apple. The two others 

 are younger but apparently similar. By August 20th the four larger 

 ones had all ceased feeding without any change of colour. The two 

 smaller larvae died. 



2. Salix Smithiana. — Two larvae were well in the last stage and 

 were greener than those just described — perhaps intermediate varie- 

 ties. By August 16th one of these was decidedly intermediate, while 

 on August 20th it was well on the yellowish side of intermediate and 

 very nearly full grown. It ceased feeding without further change on 

 August 27th. The other larva died soon after August 12th. These 

 larvae were fed for a considerable time upon the upper twigs (bearing 

 large leaves) of the doubtful species of Salix mentioned in the note on 

 p. 301 of the paper quoted above. Such leaves were indistinguishable 

 from those of S. Smithiana. 



These results are certainly perplexing, for the larvae upon S. vimi- 

 nalis (No. 1) were whiter than the parent larva which was fed upon 

 the same plant (although the former probably represents the real 

 tendency of the food-plant), while the one upon S. Smithiana (No. 2) 

 was rather yellower than those which are generally produced by this 

 plant, although the data are insufficient. On the other hand, there is 

 nothing at all startling or violently opposed to the conclusions of 

 the other series in the above results, which in one case are those 

 normal to the food-plant, and in the other differ but slightly from the 

 normal result. It must also be remembered that there is complete 

 uncertainty as to the male parent (if any) of these larvae. 



Series III. 



The eggs which produced the larvae of this series were laid by the 

 female moth described at the beginning of Series II. It was bred 

 from a larva which had been fed upon Salix viminalis, and which 

 became an intermediate variety with some tendency towards the 

 whitish side. After laying the eggs which produced the larvae of the 

 last series, coitus was artificially induced with a male moth, bred from 



