18 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



A single hibernating example, about lo mm. (about four-tenths of an inch, 

 which would be after second moult), was detected in withered grass upon 

 the barren sand-banks near Jacobsely, and here later in the year a second 

 almost thoroughly matured specimen of the same species was captured. 

 As was to be surmised from the abundance of the butterfly in grassy spots, 

 the larva feeds upon different species of grasses, especially Festiica ovina, 

 with which the level reaches about Jacobsely are everywhere overgrown. 

 The theory broached by W. M. Schbyen in his " Oversigt over de i 

 Norges arktiske Region hidtil fundne Lepidoptere, Kristiania, 1879," and 

 which is founded upon the observations made by Prof. C. Berg, of Buenos 

 Ayres, in the case of another species of the genus, viz., Oen. Gutta Hb. , 

 viz., that the larva feeds upon lichens, has, in consequence, not been 

 established. 



The caterpillars which had been collected attained their full develop- 

 ment about the end of August, and ceased then to feed, and sank into a 

 lethargic condition. As they gave no evidence of a disposition to pupate, 

 I buried them toward winter, at the end of September, in the ground. On 

 the 15th May of the following year their winter quarters were opened, and 

 one of the caterpillars was found to be dead, the other, on the contrary, 

 appeared to be in a very healthy condition, and crept around lustily with- 

 out, however, taking any nourishment. Its good health was unfortunately 

 only apparent, for the little creature in a former stage of its larval existence 

 had been stung by an ichneumon-wasp, the larvae of which were ready 

 to pupate upon May 23rd, and in the end, as they broke through the 

 outer integuments of their host and emerged into freedom, gave the 

 deathblow to the unfortunate victim of misplaced hospitality. These 

 little larvae transformed speedily, and presently the caterpillar was 

 enveloped by about fifty greyish-white cocoons, which, after the 

 lapse of five weeks in the latter days of June, disclosed the imagines. 

 Thus all the hopes I had built upon these larvae were brought 

 to an end, and it was not my good fortune until in the spring of the 

 following year, when I again visited Jacobsely, to find fresh specimens. 

 The caterpillars at this time appeared in numbers scattered throughout 

 the grass, so that in the course of a few hours I succeeded in collecting 

 about fifty full-grown examples, among them, unfortunately, not a smgle 

 example which could be used, inasmuch as they all appeared to have 

 harbored guests during the winter, and were all decorated with from forty- 



