is:« 133 



In conclusion, I will mention a few of the species of wliich 

 melanic varieties occur in the northern and western parts of the British 

 Islands : — Sepialus humuli (var. hethlandica, H.-S., 784), Arctia fuli- 

 ginosa, Odonestis potatoria, Crocallis elinguaria, Biston hirtarla, Siston 

 hetularia, Pliigalia piJosaria, Tliera juniper at a, Sypsipetes eJutata, La- 

 rcntia ccesiata (var. glaciata, H.-S., 2646), Melanthia ruhiginafa, 

 Mdanippe tristata, JSIelanippe jiuctuata, Gidaria rtcssata, Cidaria sujfu- 

 mata (var. piceata, H.-S., 2635), Cgmatopliora duplaris, Cymatophora 

 dlhita, Leucania pudorina, Xylopliasia poloyodon, Aqrotis lucernea (var. 

 latens, Guen., i, 305), Noctua ccantliographa, Tr/phcena orhona (var. 

 Cio'tisii), Ortliosia suspecta, Cirrhcedia xerampelina (var. renicolor, 

 Gruen., i, p. 402), Diantlioecia carpopliacja, Dlanthoecia capsophila 

 (Pmelanic var. of carpophagd), Dianthoecia Barrettii ( ? melanic var. 

 of conspersd) , Dianthoecia ceesia, Polia chi (var. olivacea, Guen., ii, 

 35), JEpunda lutulenta (var. luenehurgensis, Guen., ii, p. 45), Aplecta 

 occulta, Aplecta nebulosa. 



Douglas, Isle of Man : October, 1876. 



DESCEIPTION OP THE LAEViE AND HABITS OP HBULEA 

 STACSYDALIS AND SAMBUCALIS. 



BY WILLIAM BUCKLEE. 



Yov my justification in now publishing what follows, I must refer 

 to Vol. xii of this Magazine, pp. 158 & 159, and to p. 93 of the current 

 Vol. ; and I think I can so refer with confidence. 



On the 11th of last September, whilst gathering some Angelica 

 sylvestris, I accidentally fell into a deep ditch, and whilst there made 

 acquaintance with a large plant of Stachys sylvatica, the leaves of which 

 bore unmistakable marks of the work of some sort of larva ; this in- 

 cited me to pull up the plant, and on examination I found thereon five 

 larva? of a Pyraloid form. Remembering what I had read of the new 

 Ehulea, I formed hopes immediately that I had taken its larva, and fur- 

 ther investigation with the help of books and figures, turned my hopes 

 into such certainty as can exist, until the moths have been bred. 



Further search in more ditches was rewarded by the capture of 

 several other examples of the larva, and after that I set to work to 

 get samlucalis in the same stage for comparison, and I took five and 

 twenty of this species also. And I may say briefly at once, that al- 

 though at first sight the two larvae are not unlike, they possess ample 

 and satisfactoi'y points of distinctness ; samhucalis is longer in pro- 

 portion to its stoutness than stachydalis, it is not so glass-like in 

 appearance, and it has always on the third segment, and often on the 

 fourth also, a black lateral spot, which is wanting in stachydalis. I now 

 proceed to give other points at greater length below. 



