PLUMB-MOTHS OF CEYLON. 
29 
Early Stages. — Larva .—The earlier larval stadia are as yet un¬ 
known, but the older larvae and pupae are to be found commonly on 
Boerhavia repens. 
The following description was made from a larva found at Galle 
on May 10, 1907 :—“ The larva has just cast its skin (which remains 
alongside it, uneaten), and is probably just commencing its final 
instar. Length 5*5 mm. Breadth in thickest part (about middle) 
1*5 mm. Hairs about 1 mm. long. In shape it is cylindrical, 
moderately stout, tapering at either extremity. When crawling the 
thoracic segments, especially the prothoracic, are greatly extended 
and appear very slender and flattened. The head appears to be 
uniformly jetty-black, but under a high-power lens the central portion 
and jaws are seen to be yellowish with a few short yellowish hairs. 
The ground-colour along the side is a pale yellowish shade of dirty 
gray with a tinge of red (this last colour is more pronounced in some 
specimens). There is a narrow medio-dorsal stripe of a shade 
rather darker than the ground-colour and a little redder. On the 
metathoracic segment the two warts edging the medio-dorsal line 
are faintly marked with dark reddish-fuscous ; the four succeeding 
segments have these warts distinctly marked with the same dark 
reddish-fuscous, and therefore show up like spots. (In other larvae 
all these dorsal warts are more or less marked with dark fuscous, 
shading off at either extremity of the larva.) A broad but indistinct 
fuscous subspiracular line. A rather broad ventral pale-greenish 
stripe. The prolegs are very long and slender and are of a pale 
grayish greenish-yellow, the hooks dark ; the legs are similarly 
coloured. The long hairs appear dark, but there are numerous 
minute white knobbed glandular secondary hairs scattered over the 
segments, and these appear to secrete a viscous fluid.” 
The following is a description of two full-fed larvae found at 
Colombo on October 18, 1907 :—“ Stout, stoutest about fourth 
somite, decreasing thence rapidly towards the head, anally gradually. 
Colour a pale yellow with a faint tinge of fuscous green. There 
is a broad dull reddish longitudinal spiracular stripe, on which the 
spiracles stand out as pale longitudinal blotches. The medio-dorsal 
stripe has a faint tinge of red in it, making it a little darker than 
the ground-colour. On either side of this, bordering the darker 
brown latero-dorsal tubercles, is a series of whitish longitudinal 
dashes, forming two interrupted dorsal lines—these markings 
absent in one larva. Head dark brown. The long hairs are black 
and obviously sticky, v 
“ A younger larva, about half-grown, is dark brown without any 
obvious markings, the hairs very distinctly clubbed at the apex.” 
The figure (Plate F, figure 2) will show the disposition of the 
setigerous tubercles better than any verbal description. 
The larva is generally rather sluggish but can be quite active, e.g., 
if searching for food. If it loses its foothold, it drops by a silken 
