184 
NYMPHALIDAE 
on the eleventh day, when the crown becomes a dark leaden 
colour owing to the head of the larva showing through the 
shell; this finally turns blackish and the egg hatches on the 
fourteenth day. 
Occasionally, in a day’s search, one or more eggs may be 
found, completely empty , but otherwise quite perfect , not in the 
slightest degree shrunken as is often the case with infertile 
eggs. No puncture or other damage can be detected under 
the microscope. Another curious and unexplained peculiarity 
in connection with the eggs of A. iris is that regarding the 
precise site chosen for depositing. Out of fourteen eggs found 
(laid wild), on one occasion eleven were deposited upon the 
right side of the mid-rib on the upper side of the leaf and, as 
usual near the outer edge, only three were laid on the left 
side of the leaf. I noticed the same with other eggs of A . iris ; 
invariably the right side was chosen. The egg state lasts 
fourteen days. 
Larva. Upon hatching, the little larva eats round the egg 
just below the crown, leaving two or three ribs attaching the 
top to the rest of the shell and forming a lid. The larva then 
pushes it up, crawls out, and the lid falls into place again ; 
it then feeds upon the empty shell, devouring all except 
the base, which remains as a little disc. The larva, directly 
after emergence, is 3-20 mm. long. The head is disproportion¬ 
ately large and mostly black. On the crown of each lobe is 
an ochreous-yellow patch. The body is light greenish-yellow, 
with greyish-green mott lings along the side. During its first 
stage the little larva rests in a straight attitude along the 
mid-rib at the tip of the leaf, upon which it spins a layer of 
silk ; it feeds at the edge of the leaf, and returns to its 
resting-place after each meal. When nine days old, it prepares 
for moulting, a process which occupies three days, and after¬ 
wards it rests for another day. After its first moult, the 
head is furnished with two horns diverging at the tips in the 
form of a V; the tips are knobbed and cleft. The head and 
horns are ochreous-brown. When the larva is resting, the 
head is lowered so that the horns project straight in front, 
but while crawling it closely resembles a slug, carrying its 
horns elevated, and its tapering body is slug-like in shape. 
When fully grown, after the fourth moult, the male larva 
