45 
pitted. Those of autumnata are, on the other hand, indistinguishable 
horn tilitjrammaria (vide, Ent. live., ix., p. 283 ; x., p. 95) ; on my first 
comparison of the two I fancied that jilii/rammaria was rather duller 
and deader, the pittings rather less deep, or the ridges surrounding 
them less pronounced; but further and more exact comparisons did 
not confirm this impression. When first laid, the eggs of the present 
species are of a very pale, indefinite green colour, less bright and less 
shining than those of dilutata. After about three days they entirely 
lose the green tinge, which gives place to a very pale straw-colour ; in 
another four days this changes again to a pale salmon-colour, which 
soon darkens slightly to the permanent winter shade. This varies a 
very little in different broods, but is always an opaque orange-red, 
duller and less polished than that of dilutata at the same period. The 
final colour change, on the development of the larva in the spring, 
takes place about nine to fourteen days before hatching, according to 
the weather. On one egg which I had under special observation, I 
noted as follows: February 15th, 1898, changed to red-purple; 
February 16th, nearly the final dark slate-colour ; February 17th, 
final dark slate-colour; February 26th, somewhat lighter and more 
bluish, doubtless owing to the final separation of larva from contact 
with the egg-shell; February 27th, hatched. In this last stage, the 
egg is, as indicated above, bluish slate-colour; dilutata at the like 
period is of similar colour, but much more shining, and indeed almost 
metallic in appearance. The material on which my studies of the egg 
stage have been based up to the present time is as follow’s : dilutata, 
one batch from Epping Forest, one from Cheltenham, five from 
Mucking (Essex), one from Scarborough, one from Glasgow, three 
from Rannoch and one from Schwerin (Germany); jilii/rammaria, one 
batch from Bolton and one from Huddersfield ; autumnata, one batch 
from Aberdeen, two from Kincardine, four from Rannoch and one 
from Enniskillen. I have one other comparative note, but it is only 
founded on very partial observation ; some of the eggs of dilutata 
from Mucking certainly changed from green to orange-red in only two 
or three days, and it is quite possible that it may prove that this 
colour change normally occurs more rapidly in this species than in 
autumnata, which seems to require about a week. The entire duration 
of the egg stage in autumnata certainly varies considerably, as is the 
case with nearly all hibernating ova. Eggs laid about September 28th, 
1897, commenced hatching February 2nd, 1898, but the bulk appeared 
between February 13th and 28th, one of the batches of October 25th 
commenced hatching February 27th, and the last appeared on March 
11th; the other commenced March 17th and continued till March 
28th. 
Larva.— When first hatched the larvte which I have examined are 
decidedly larger (as 5 : 4 or even 4 : 3) than those of dilutata, and 
possibly slightly darker, but entirely agree with those of fili;/ ram maria ; 
in form, &c., as would be expected, all three are identical. The newly 
hatched Epirrita larva may be roughly described as follows : Head 
rounded, not large, surface granulated ; black with a few scattered 
hairs of medium length; somewhat retractile within 1st thoracic 
segment; mouth parts yellow. Body not true cylindrical, the 
sectional form showing a slight protuberance on either side ; skin 
appears granular; colour brown, varying somewhat with different 
