120 



by having the white band more or less suffused and hidden by black scales. 

 When the band is altogether wanting the variety is called lole. 



The egg is of great size, its shape cylindrical, of about equal height and 

 diameter, adhesively fixed in an upright position on its flat base, domed on 

 the top, its surface strongly ribbed, the ribs varying in number from twelve 

 to fourteen. When laid it is of a yellowish olive green, having near the base 

 a zone of purplish black, the green portion semi-transparent, the surface glis- 

 tening. Afterwards the lower portion changes to a paler green, and the upper 

 to a black. — Buckler. 



The caterpillar when just hatched has a large rounded head, and two dis- 

 tinctly separated anal points • its colour is a light dirty greenish-yellow, with 

 three faint darker lines down the back, the head of a dark chocolate brown. 

 When full-grown and stretched out, the caterpillar attains the length of two 

 inches, is rounded, and tapering towards both head and tail, the anal seg- 

 ment being prolonged into two points, instead of the usual claspers, and two 

 horn-like processes (not retractile) spring from the crown of the head. It is 

 covered with warts, and is of a pale green colour, with a yellow spiracular 

 line, and oblique yellow lines on the sides. It is totally different from any 

 other caterpillar we have, and its shape is very much like that of the common 

 black slug (Arion aier), but not so large. When full-fed, the caterpillar spins 

 a large quantity of silk on the underside of a leaf of willow or poplar, on 

 which it feeds, and then attaches itself to it by the anal pro-legs, and slightly 

 with the anterior pair of ventral ones, and remains motionless for about four 

 days, it then relaxes its hold by the ventral pro-legs and hangs down, sus- 

 pended only by the anal pair, and within an hour the transformation to a 

 chysalis is complete. 



The chrysalis is of a very pale whitish-green, with whitish oblique lines on 

 the sides, also with nervures on the wing-cases and dorsal ridge. The form 

 of it is broad and flattened on the sides, the outline of the abdomen and wing- 

 cases nearly straight, while that of the back forms a very obtuse angle, 

 having a thin and rather sharp ridge, projecting to a point about half-way, 

 from which it slopes off to the anal point and to the head, which has a short, 

 pointed, flattened, forked pair of appendages. — Buckler's " Larvae of British 

 Butterflies." 



The Purple Emperor is to be found on the wing in July, and the eggs are 

 laid the same month. They hatch in about ten days, and the caterpillars feed 

 slowly until they retire for the winter. They do not conceal themselves, but 

 remain exposed. In May or June they are full-fed, and remain about a 

 month in the chrysalis state. It is found in Central Europe, in France, Italy, 

 and Southern Russia, but does not seem to extend further. It is unknown 



