100 *''y. 



iu oue of the leaves, so that it is very clifBcuIt to follow, and in such 

 a ease I generally lost it. In one instance I missed one among 

 bracken, gravel and rubbish under the net, and believe that it feigned 

 death. 



Other places where the plant grows even more luxuriously have 

 yielded me nothing. I know of half a dozen such, and have searched 

 them carefull}'' for both imago and larva. There seems to be nothing 

 to account for its absence. I visited the original spot in September, 

 and found larvae commonly, almost one on every plant, but was not 

 successful with them. 



In 1893, a colder and consequently later season than 1892, 1 found 

 no moths before July 20th and larvae not till October, and then not so 

 plentifully. I obtained aboiit thirty, and sleeved them out on a pot 

 of growing balsam iu the garden for the winter. Probably as many 

 as 75 per cent, were ichneumoned, the parasite being a large fly for so 

 small a moth ; its cocoon is grey, with two parallel dark rings round it. 



I had no opportunity of getting either imago or larva in 1894-, 

 but bred three imagines from the previous year's larvae about July 

 20th. In October I found most of the balsam plants torn up by the 

 roots. Conferred with Mr. J. B. Hodgkinson, of Preston, on the 

 subject, and he and I wrote letters to Magazines on this apparent act 

 of vandalism. Mr. Gregsou has since suggested, and with great pro- 

 bability, that the balsam had not been torn up to exterminate reticulata, 

 but in order to find the larvae of the lovtv'w, Pentliina postremana ! 

 July, 1895, showed that my fears about its extinction were unfounded, 

 but there were certainly very few imagines of reticulata, and I did not 

 find a single larva in Octobei", which may have been too late. In 1896 

 I caught three of the moths and missed as many more. 



The larva shows a decided preference for the green seeds in the 

 pods over the leaves, though it will eat these also. It is very similar 

 in appearance to a long narrow seed-pod, and generally rests in the 

 same position under a leaf, holding on to the midrib, and the head 

 hanging down, though sometimes it is on a stalk. The seed-pods 

 bend when eaten into, instead of bursting as usual. The larva is of a 

 delicate green with a very faint red dorsal stripe, more noticeable at 

 the extremities than in the middle. It spins a rather tough cocoon in 

 the soil, and changes to a very small dumpy pupa. In this state I 

 have heard of its being found by collecting the loose soil and rubbish 

 round each plant, the larva not wandering far away, but I have never 

 myself taken it in this way, probably many would be destroyed in 

 the process. 



