
AND THEIR TRANSFORMATIONS. 17 
has a slender edge of white; the hind wings are darker rose-coloured, having the base, and a bar running parallel 
with the hind margin, black. The head and thorax are dusky olive-green, with the sides whitish ; the hind part 
of the latter paler ; the two basal segments of the abdomen with a black patch on each side, and the remaining 
segments margined at the sides with white. The tint of the livid or rosy portion of the wings is very variable, 
as well as the width of the submarginal fascia of the hind wings. The females have the hind wings more strongly 
marked with black than the males. 
The caterpillars, when full grown, are as handsome as the perfect insect, being then of a black colour, with a 
vast number of minute whitish raised spots arranged t ‘ansversely in rows, and with a large pale yellow spot on 
each side of each segment, beneath which is a smaller one; whilst the head, a dorsal stripe, the base of the caudal 
horn, a spot on each side of each joint above the feet, and the prolegs, are bright red : when first hatched, however, 
they are dark black, subsequently gaining the red head, tail, and spots. They feed upon Euphorbia Cyparissias 
and Paralias (the cypress-leaved and sea spurge), but will not touch some of the other species of the genus. The 
§ 
chrysalis is of a light ochre-brown colour, with the wing-cases somewhat elongated. 
In the time of Drury, this insect had not been ascertained to be a native of this country ; and Moses Harris 
figured the moth which he had reared from a French pupa, together with the larva of the next species, which he 
considered to be that of the present insect. Mr. Haworth, however, gave Devonshire as the locality of this’ 
species, in which county it has been discovered by William Raddon, Esq., the celebrated engraver, by whom a 
beautiful series of figures of the insect in all its states, and an interesting account, has been published in the 
Entomological Magazine. The caterpillars feed upon the sea spurge (Euphorbia paralias), which grows in plenty 
on the sand hills in the neighbourhood of Barnstaple and Braunton Burrows. These sand hills are of great extent, 
and, as suggested by Mr. Curtis, must have been collected by the winds and storms to which they are constantly 
exposed. During the winter, the whole soil is frequently removed, so as completely to alter the surface of the 
country ; a great number of the pupz (which are ordinarily found at a short distance below the surface) must 
consequently be destroyed, or buried at a considerable distance below it, where they probably he hid until they 
are brought to light and life by the influence of the elements, and another change of the surface. 
yy 
— 
-) 
These circumstances account for the great irregularity in the appearance of the insects. In 1814, for instance, 
they were so plentiful that Mr. Raddon found not less than one hundred minute larvee upon an armful of spurge, 
which he had cut at dusk the preceding evening. The rarity of the insect is also increased by the conspicuous 
appearance of the caterpillars, which renders them an easily discovered prey to marine birds, and by the difficulty 
of rearing them; the late Mr. Fuseli, the Royal Academician, who was a most zealous entomologist *, having 
Sead ~ ~! Baie x 
been able to obtain only a single moth from twenty pupz. The larve are full-grown in September, and the 
oO 
. . my 1O - ne . | = ta ey - = . ca 
moth appears in the following June. The caterpillars have also been taken near Coventry. Sometimes 
a wise provision of Nature, to prevent the destruction of the 

the pups remain unchanged for two. seasons 
entire brood. 

. . ee ie ee edly ole Thea - nf + . = YE aa : a r 
* Mr. Raddon tells us that Fuseli once chided him for apathy, and concluded by saying, ‘‘ When I was of your age, I often went at two or 
three o’clock in the morning into the corn-fields and woods to collect for my brother, and many of the insects figured by him (in his Archives) 
were from my drawings;”’ and to show that his enthusiasm was not quite lost in the decline of his life, he adds that, on the conclusion of his 
, oes ere - Coover. the R yho is also an enthusiastic entomologist, and who kindly 
last lecture, and when descending the rostrum, Fuseli said to Mr. Cooper, the R.A., who is also an enthus Sac ho kindly 
: . 5 aes) eave OP ‘ . ete ea fe 
offered his assistance, ‘‘I thank you; O, is it you, Cooper? well, where is Raddon? Has he taken Atropos : He was then upwards 
re 11S assists 3 c a‘ 5 5 4 4 ; I 
of eighty. 

