THE GENUS XANTHIA. 95 



fulvago. The eggs are laid in rows of three to ten along the sallow 

 and willow buds, in tlie autumn, and they hatch in the spring as the 

 catkins begin to expand. They live inside the catkins, and although 

 the larva is to be generally distinguished from that of fulcago when 

 young, separation seems impossil)le when they get older. The larva 

 lives on the ground when nearly full-fed, forms a cocoon in May, and 

 remains unchanged until July, Avhen it })upates. Mr. Keid remarks 

 that this species and fulvago invariably emerge in the afternoon. 



It is widely distributed in Britain, occurring alnindantly in some 

 seasons both at sugar and flowers (especially those of certain grasses). 

 Its distribution in Scotland is practically identical with that of fulvago, 

 and it is abundant in certain Irish localities — Wicklow, Dublin and 

 Derry. The prettiest forms of var. ochreago I have ever seen came from 

 Morj^eth, where they were bred or captured by Mr. Finlay. Staudinger 

 gives as its range : — " Central Europe ; S. Sweden ; Livonia ; Finland ; 

 N. Italy ; S. Russia ; Armenia ; Altai ; Eastern Siberia." 



Xanthia gilvago. This appears to l)e a somewhat near ally to X. 

 fulvago, although its habits and the plants it affects make a duller 

 colour more useful for j^rotective purposes. Thus we find the speci- 

 mens of a much duller orange tint — almost brown, and the darker 

 shades on the wings are of a somewhat smoky hue. In one of the 

 Continental forms the ground colour is reddish yellow and there is no 

 smoky shading : this is the jxilleago of Hiibner, and Guenee very aptly 

 compares this form with the Jiavescens form of fulvago. On the other 

 hand, there is a form in which the whole central area of the wing and 

 even the basal area and inner margin are decidedly smoky in colour ; 

 this is known as var. sufftisa, and appears to be more common in 

 Britain than the type, which has the central area simply shaded with 

 fuscous spots without being developed into banded form. Guenee 

 refers to it as being " exceedingly variable, less, however, than ocellans." 

 He also differentiates it from ocellaris (vide, British Noduce and their 

 Varieties, iii., p. 14.) On the other hand gilvago and ocellaris are 

 united by Fuchs and Eossler (t'«We, British Noctuce, etc., iv., p. 122). My 

 ignorance of the latter species prevents me giving an opinion on the 

 matter. 



The egg is laid in the autumn, hatching the following spring. It 

 feeds at first on the seeds of wych-elm, and is exceedingly like the larva 

 of Melliniaferruginea (circellaris) when full grown. Buckler describes the 

 larvaj in the Eiit. 3Io. Mag., iv., p. 156. The Rev. G. H. Eaynor records 

 a very depraved taste in the species, some larvee he beat eating those of 

 Thecla iv-albma kejjt with them, but it is probable that the pangs of 

 hunger makes many larvae cannibal, even although this be not their usual 

 custom. The young larva? of this species can be beaten in June, and 

 tliese appear to live in a state of nature differently from citrago (between 

 leaves) or fulvago and flavago (in catkins). The species frequently 

 abounds in the larval state in different })arts of Yorkshire and Derbyshire. 

 At Cambridge, the imago sometimes swarms at the gas-lamps on the 

 outskirts of the town. At Reading, it frequently comes somewliat freely 

 to sugar. Of their attraction to light, Mr. Holland suggests that they 

 come to gas-lamps in the town more than any other Xanthia, probably 

 not because they are more easily so attracted than their brethren, but 

 rather because of the avenues of elms among the lamps in the suburbs 

 of the town. It is recorded from Flintshire, but I know of no Irish 



