256 THE entomologist's record. 



gata, also called Digraph's arundinacea) . Mr. Gates: among other in- 

 sects, Gortyna ochracea, and the stems of burdock from which they had 

 emerged. Mr. Battley : '2 bred males of Lasiocampa quercifoUa from 

 Wicken ; also Apatura iris (2) and Geometra papilionaria from the New 

 Forest. Mr. Bayne : Noctua dahlii from the New Forest and Aberdeen. 

 Mr. Tutt remarked that this species is sexually dimorphic at Aberdeen, 

 the males being chestnut broAvn and mottled, the females, dark purplish 

 in tint, and that a similar phase of sexual dimorphism occurred at York 

 and in Essex. In Sligo, on the contrary, both males and females were of 

 the dark purplish tint, and the mottled chestnut males a})peared un- 

 known, whilst at Morpeth in Northumberland the females were of the 

 iisual purplish coloration, but the males were sometimes chestnut coloured, 

 at other times dark purple like the females. He further remarked that it 

 was a species well worth studying, both from the points of geograpliical 

 and of sexual variation. The red form exhibited by Mr. Bayne he con- 

 sidered very peculiar and certainly very rare. Mr. Bell : young larvaj 

 of Cerigo matura, which Mr. Tutt stated fed throughout the winter on 

 grass. Mr. Nicholson then read a paper on " The Life-history of 

 Ocneria dispar.''f Mr. Tutt, in rising to propose a vote of thanks, said 

 that he would take the queries suggested by Mr. Nicholson seriatim. 

 He considered that the reason why the species was extinct in this 

 country was because it was not a native. Its whole history proved it to 

 be an imported species even when it first became known. Thousands of 

 specimens in all stages had been set loose in various parts of the country, 

 but with the exception of an odd specimen here and there, no specimens 

 were taken wild. Its abundance in the Fens for a year or two simply 

 pointed to the care with which it was put out, and to the temporary exis- 

 tence of favourable conditions. There were thousands of acres of land, to 

 all intents and purposes fitted for its establishment here, but it — possibly 

 the agriculturists would say fortunately — will not establish itself. With 

 regard to the second point, he doubted the statements that the females 

 of this species did not fly in the ordinary way. Many moths were 

 known to pair and lay some eggs in the immediate vicinity of their 

 emergence, before flying away to lay the remainder of their eggs at a 

 distance from their place of birth. This was particularly noticeable 

 among the Arctiidte, and probably some similar habit prevailed here. 

 In looking over the mapsattached to the reports dealing with the 

 spread of this insect in America, one had to bear in mind that it 

 dealt with thousands of square miles, with an area much 

 larger than the British Islands, and presenting great variation 

 in physical features, and it was impossible to suppose that, how- 

 ever energetic the larvae were, they could surmount rivers or moun- 

 tains, or even spread over continuous large districts if their own special 

 food plants did not exist. For himself, he felt satisfied that their supposed 

 inability to fly was an error of (or rather want of) observation, and that 

 at present it simply meant that they had not been observed at the right 

 time, probably very late at night. The discussion was continued by 

 Mr. Clark, Mr. Gates and others. Mr. Nicholson in reply said, that 

 it certainly would seem diflicult for the species to have spread without 

 fli"-ht on the part of the female, until one was acquainted with the 

 crawling powers of the larvae. As would be seen from the Eeports on 

 the table, they travelled considerable distances, clearing the trees and 

 bushes of their leaves, and even devouring low plants when arboreal 



vegetation failed. 



tSee ante p. 236 



