i89i.] 



THE BRITISH NATURALIST. 



224 



Mollusca. 



MoLLUscAN Captives. — Extracts from my note book. Avion atev. — 

 August iith, 1888. Brought home 46 eggs from a clustf^r of about 60 

 found in a hedge bottom, opaque, white, oval, 4.5 mm, by 3.5 mm.' 

 these proved to be the eggs of ^. ater. On the loth or nth ol Sept. 

 th ese hatched, the young were of a pale fawn colour and 6 mm. in 

 length when extended, on the 23rd they were slightly darker and more 

 red in colour, on the gth of October they had reached 14 mm., some 

 showed dusky lateral lines and similar lines round the shield, one had 

 the back from line to line dusky as well as the shield, another the 

 shield only of this shade. In the following year ten of this species 

 were hatched on the 3rd of October, these were all pale fawn color 

 without a trace of lateral lines, which were distinctly visible on the 6th 

 of the following month. These slugs attack their weaker brethren, 

 gnawing the skin and not unfrequently devouring the greater part of 

 the victim. 



Avion siihfusciis. — On the 5th of September, 1888, an individual of 

 this species deposited on the surface of the earth in one of my cases a 

 clump of about 30 eggs glued together in a mass of irregular shape. 

 Each egg was 2.5mm. in diameter, globular, milky white and semi- 

 transparent, afterwards becoming yellowish. On the 23rd a second 

 mass of between twice and three times the size of the first was 

 deposited by the same slug, which had been isolated since the 26th of 

 August. One young slug was seen on the 15th of March following 

 and on the 31st two, the length when extended being 9 mm. 



Avion hovtensis. — On the 9th of September, 1888, I found a cluster 

 of about 20 of the eggs of this species glued together under a small 

 stone in one of my flower-pots, they resembled those of A . siibfuscus 

 except in size, measuring 2 mm. in diameter 



I have examined the eggs of this species very frequently and at 

 all stages but have never seen them phosphorescent, as described by 

 some writers. 



Avion minimus. — On the 27th of August last, two clumps of eggs 

 were deposited by this species, one in a small crevice in the earth o^ 

 the pot, the other on the under side of a lettuce leaf, each clump 

 contained about 15 eggs adhering to each other, globular, white and 

 semi-opaque diameter 1.7 mm. to 1.8 ram. 



k OCT. 91 



