1868. 1 75 
no meution of yellow spots. This description, however, agrees to some extent with 
Hiibner'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 cui'ves 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 lai'vse of this species, as well as for furnishing some interesting details 
concerning their earlier stages. 
I'he eggs were laid on the 7th and 8th of June, 1868, and hatched on the 16th 
and 17th of the month. 
The young larvae at first appeared to be veritable loopei-s, twelve legs only 
being visible ; but, as they grew larger, the other legs became apparent, 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 embi'acing 
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 blacky 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, rather thicker than those 
that outline the stripe, appear at the beginning of each segment, almost forming 
B V> pointing forwards. 
The pale region of the back assumes a kind of chain pattoni from being 
bounded on each side by a rather broad sinuous border of dark 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 dai-k 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 lines, the lowest of which is the spiracular, and is thicker 
