io6 The Scottish Naturalist. 



L. llthargyrh,. — I have taken this species commonly, flying at 

 blossom and also at sugar. It varies in shades of colour, 

 some specimens being of a dark, rich tawny hue, others much 

 paler. 



Of the Leiicanice, conigera, comma ^ ^xid pat lens, ascend to 600 

 feet, the other two (impiira and lithargyria) attaining a much 

 lower elevation. They all come to light. 



Nonagria fulva. — I only know of one locality for this species, 

 at an elevation of a little over 400 feet. The type here is not 

 so dark fulvous as in the south, although specimens occur of 

 a ruddy wainscot. The usual form is pale ochreous. This is 

 one of those insects which had either escaped observation, or 

 has made its appearance in the last two or three years. It is 

 now plentiful in the spot where it occurs. 



Gortynaflavago. — I have never seen the imago of this insect 

 in the wild state, although the larva is abundant in the stems of 

 thistles, nettles, ragwort, and Angelica sylvestris, a proof that 

 many of the Lepidoptera may be overlooked, and an incentive 

 to the student of entomology, as well as to the collector, to 

 study the life history of the objects of his research. Mr. Herd 

 bred them last year from the young shoots of elder, in which 

 the larvae were burrowing. 



Hydrcecia nictitans is abundant everywhere, and may be 

 taken both by day and night on the blossoms of the ragwort, 

 which grows in profusion on those parts of Moncrei/fe Hill 

 which are not too thickly wooded. It varies considerably in 

 size and shades of colour, from bright-chesnut to tawny-brown. 

 In some specimens the orbicular, and also the claviform stig- 

 mata are peculiarly distinct. I cannot find that the latter has 

 been noticed in the descriptions of this insect. It comes 

 freely to light. 



H. petasitis. — Rare. I know of only three specimens having 

 been taken at Moncreiffe, and we have not been able to dis- 

 cover the larva. One of my specimens came to light, another 

 I took on ragwort blossom at night, and Mr. Herd took a 

 third by day on the wall of his house. It probably feeds here 

 on dock, as there is no Petasites near. 



H. micacea. — The type here is almost identical in colour 

 with petasitis, and I have found it difficult to obtain rosy 

 specimens. It is common and generally distributed, comes 

 freely to light and sugar, and is partial to flowers, especially 

 ragwort. 



