NOTES ON LUFFIAS. 93 



On the other hand not one 3 appeared amongst a total of several 

 hundreds. Too much importance must not, however, be attached to 

 this circumstance, since it is very common with many Psychids, and 

 maybe the case here, that towards pupation the male and female larv;c 

 are apt to separate themselves into dift'erent places, so that we may 

 happen to gather a number of cases, all males or all females owing to 

 this habit, and not at all to the other sex being really less abundant. 

 I had hoped by this to have had the male of this form, and will relate 

 immediately how I failed to get it. Meantime I have described this 

 form as a distinct species as iiianiiiella (see, antea, vol. xii., p. 117; vol. 

 xiii., p. 80) ; this ought perhaps puristically to be inajorella, but I prefer 

 the former form. The name of the valley it inhabits is " Val Maggia," 

 and this seems the right name to start from, although the original 

 name of the valley may have been " Vallis Major," and may at any 

 rate be so latinised. 



LuFFiA MAGGiELLA, Kilt. Jicc, xii., p. 117; xiii., p. .SO. — A L ((//iff, (f unknown, 

 J has all the characters of Ij.fi'rcli(iultellii,exce])t that it is not parthenogenetic. 

 Case, larva and pupa as in L. fercJiaitltella. Habitat : The Val Maggia near 

 Bignasco. 



In the spring of 1900 I searched in the Val Maggia for cases of 

 Luffias, and met with a great many, as well as empty cases of the previous 

 year with male pupa-cases protruding. Most of these appeared to me 

 to be smaller than they should be if they were L. lajmhlla. I sent 

 some very small cases, as many as I could collect, they were very small 

 and hidden away in cracks of the stones, to Mr. Bacot. Nothing came 

 of them ultimately, but their history was that they kept slowly growing, 

 until, being apparently full-grown, Mr. Bacot handed them over to my 

 tender mercies at some date in August last. In my care they fed on 

 for a time and then gradually died oft' during October and November, 

 two or three living into December, but none changed to ]nipa\ It is 

 certain thai none go over a second year in their native habitat, but 

 these obviously commenced an attempt to do so, but failed, either 

 because they constitutionally could not do so, or because my care of 

 them was against their well-being. 1 arrived, however, at the con- 

 clusion, before they perished, that they must be L. lajiiddla and not /,. 

 iiiaiiijidla, on account of the great size to which they grew. This was 

 to be accounted for by the fact that I had not got them at the habitat 

 whence I got L. mai/tiidla, but 10 or 12 miles lower down the valley, 

 at a very similar station, and at a lower level, though only by about a 

 hundred feet. The place was, however, only a few miles from Lake 

 Maggiore, round which at Luino and Brione, /-. lajndclla occurs. 

 Brione is, indeed, at an elevation above the lake, nearly equal to 

 Bignasco, so that elevation is not the most important point of ditterence 

 in the habitats of L. lajiiddla and /.. iiniiii/idla. It so happens, how- 

 ever, that Mr. Bacot reared from these cases before he gave them to 

 me two $ s, probably in the week ending July 27th, his note on that 

 date says : " One is calling, one is ovipositing, no males or male pupa- 

 cases showing as yet." These were the only moths that appeared from 

 the whole batch. Why did the others remain as larvje ? Probably 

 because tiiese two were L. iitai/;/idla and L. forliaultdla respectively, 

 Avhilst the remainder were />. lajiidd/a. 



One point in connection with these groups of individuals from the 

 continent may be now uientioned. Besides these supposed L. inuijijidla 



