1865.] 115 



Note on the food of Gnophos ohscnrata.— In Vol. Jll of the Weekly Intelligencer, 

 there is a note on the larva of this species by Mr. Crewe, suggesting tliat Poterium 

 sanguisorba and HeUcmthemv/m vulgare are its food- plants. In Vol. IV, p. 52, there 

 is a note by Mr. Vaughan, giving Helianthemum as its only food. For years I have 

 felt sure that there must be some other food-plants, because the perfect insect is 

 rather common in this neighbourhood, whilst neither Poterium or Helianthenmm 

 grows within many miles of it ; and this season I have been able to satisfy myself 

 that my guess was correct. On the 1st and 2nd of May last T took eight or ten 

 larvas on or near plants of Potentilla reptans, one of them being in the act of feeding 

 on the leaves. It is satisfactory thus to take the species on the food of its own 

 choice ; but of course I do not mean to say that it by any means follows that 

 Helianthemum is not the favourite food-plant in other localities. — Id. 



Capture of Sterrha sacraria at sugar near Exeter. — On the evening of the 5th 

 or 6th inst. Mr. D'Orville captured, at sugar, in his garden a very perfect male 

 specimen of this species. At first he took little notice of his capture, thinking it 

 to be a very small Aspilates gilvaria, as he had noticed many stunted moths during 

 the present hot season ; but a day or two since, on removing the braces from its 

 wings, he saw at once how lucky he had been. Next month, if no accident 

 intervene, I hope to have more to say of this species. — Id. 



Description of the larva of Agrotis ravida. — By the kind efforts of Mr. Doubleday, 

 to whom I feel deeply indebted, I have had the great satisfaction of rearing and 

 figuring larvae of this species. They are to be found in soils congenial for their 

 burrowing, just below the sui-face, chiefly at the roots of thistles and dandelion 

 plants ; being full fed from the beginning to about the 20th of May. I found them 

 feed freely on the large milky leaves of dandelion, and change to pupse in loosely 

 constructed cocoons of earth from the 6th to the 20th of May. The larvae presented 

 three varieties of markings on the back, of a character such as I have never before 

 met with. 



Var. 1. Larva yellowish-brown, slightly tapering near the head, but almost 

 of uniform thickness, and cylindrical ; a thin dorsal line slightly paler than the 

 ground colour, and running through a dusky V-like streak at the end of each 

 segment after the fourth. At the commencement of the fourth segment, on each 

 side, and close to the division, is a sub-dorsal ochreous yellow spot, which, on the 

 fifth to the eleventh, inclusive, has an almost confluent yellow wavy curved streak, 

 extending along two-thirds of each segment, becoming less curved towards the 

 twelfth, on which they are straight, and slightly converging at the end of that 

 segment, where they are margined above with dusky brown wedge-shaped streaks 

 pointing forwards, and a dusky edging above to the curved yellow streaks, but 

 gradually less intense towai-ds the head on the other segments. 



The sides and belly, vnth legs, brownish-grey ; a paler greyish stripe freckled 

 with dusky atoms above the feet ; immediately above that are the spiracles, minute 

 and dirty white in a dusky blotch, which emits an obliqiie dusky streak, extending 

 to the sub-dorsal marking of the segment in advance. Head grey, mottled and 

 streaked on the l^bes and face with dusky brown ; a dull brown plate on the second 

 segment, with slight indications of dorsal and snb-dorsal faint lines through it. 



I 



