104 THK KVTOMOT.nrrT^T's RFCORP. 



:i^OOTES ON LIFE-HISTORIES, LARY^, &c. 



FoEa.NG Agkotis ASHwoKTHii. — During a short visit to Wales last 

 July (1902), I was fortunate enough to have the plpasure of taking 

 Ayroth ashuorthii ior the fii'.st time in its natural hiibitat. ^tfy wifo 

 also found two batches of ova laid on the face of the bare rock. I pro- 

 ceeded to force the larva; resulting from these ova, and Kucceeded in 

 getting about 20 moths through, the last emerging on November 25th. 

 Some of the larvae absolutely refused to feed beyond the hybernating 

 stage, and they are now gradually dying off. The larvaE; thrive well on 

 {'olyiji/nuin aiiculare, and will also eat many other plants, including 

 Hallow and dock. — G. 0. Day, F.E.S., Knutsford, BevonLer Isi, 1902. 



Notes on the i.ii-e- history of Melit;ea didyma.— Mr. T. B. Fletcher 

 was kind enough to forward me ova of Melitaea didyma, which he saw 

 laid by a female at (Jorfu on July 2Gth, 1902. I found, however, on 

 opening the packet that they had hatched en route, and that the larvje 

 had made a meal of all but a few fragments of the eggshells. Only 

 four of them started to feed on the narrow-leaved plantain that I 

 offered them, and I did not rear them beyond the second moult, pos- 

 Hibly owing to the number being too few to spin a proper web. 

 Larva, — Jst imtar (August 5th).— The larvic spin a little silk on the 

 Hurface of the leaf, and from their habit of keeping close together would 

 appear to live gregariously, but there are too few of them to form a 

 web. They eat the upper cuticle of the leaf only, at present. After 

 u few days' feeding they are plump and full-bodied, with clearly- 

 marked segmental incisions, and black polished-looking rounded heads, 

 with the face carried more or less vertically. They have small raised 

 tubercles, whaped like a low cone, each giving rise to a single long black 

 hair on dorsal area, but on the head and lateral area the hairs are pale. 

 The hairs are long, curved, and minutely thorned. The skin is semi- 

 transparent, and shows patches of a yellowish pigment or fat bodies 

 that lie beut^ath it, as do some Notodoutid larvie. In some aspects the 

 lurvu' remind one of young Notodontids, in others of young first-skin 

 Aictiidsor sluggish Noctuids. The skin hears a sparse coat of minutr 

 spicules. Tubercles i and ii are in transverse line on the meso- and meta- 

 thorax, on tb(! abdominal segnuuits they are set trapezoidally ; iii (supra- 

 Kpiracvilar) is twin- haired (one dark hair and one light) on the meso- and 

 inetathorax, but is single-haired on the abdominal segments; iv, slightly 

 below and posterior to spiracle ; v, far below and prespiracular. The scu- 

 tellum on prothorax is poorly nuirked. :^7ul instar (August 11th). — A 

 most completechangc takes place with thetirst moult as regards hairs and 

 tubercles, the primitive tubercles and their seta; being either set aside, 

 uB it were, or merged in and obscured by secondary developments, 

 consisting of tall raised processes bearing several hairs. These are, 

 m many respects, similar in appearance to the tubercular pillars 

 of some .\merican Attacids {e.y., 1 1 ypeichina iu), but, of course, 

 proportionately snuiller. There are four of these processes on 

 the meso and metathorax, and seven in a transverse ring round the 

 abdominal segments. On the meso and metathorax one is dorsal 

 and one is lateral on either side ; on the abdominal seginents one is 

 sjtuate centrally on dorsum, one other dorsal one outside this, oueinsupra- 

 spiracular position, and one in subspiracular position, on either sidt. 

 /■/ma/.- -Jet-black and polished. Body.- The positioju of seuteiiuin 



