isrc;.] . 213 



Eotli moths were out on August 7tli, — a male aiul female : on examining the 

 pnparia, I found the tissues of the Sparganium hivd shrunk so much, that the oval 

 form of the enclosed cocoons stood out in rounded relief on the outer surfaces, while 

 within, the entire space spun over with silk was ahout one and a quarter inches long 

 b\- three-eighths wide; and in the middle of this was the cavity of the cocoon five- 

 eighths long by quarter inch wide, smoothly lined with the same greyish-white silk 

 as the rest ; that which was below the cavity was more thickly spun than that above 

 it, but both united the flat surfaces close together. The pupa skin remained with 

 the head uppermost, and the shrivelled-up larval skin at the lower end of the cavity ; 

 the dimensions of the pupa skin were half an inch in length by nearly three-sixteenths 

 in diameter at the thickest part of the body across the ends of the wing-covers, the 

 abdomen tapering from thence to the anal tip, which is bluntly rounded off without 

 any projecting boss or spike, but having, instead, a horny wart, cleft and bilabiate — 

 not raised above the rest of the surface — and furnished also with a few small bristles ; 

 the wing-covers long, the antennae and leg-cases very long, projecting at their ends 

 free from the abdomen. . The colour a light warm brown on the wings and ventral 

 surface, which, with the abdominal tip, are shining, while the thorax and back of 

 abdomen are a little darker, and rather reddish-brown, without gloss ; the spiracles 

 projecting conspicuously large, like nipples, each on a slight eminence, were darkish- 

 brown in colour, and shining, surrounded by a paler ring at the base, three of them 

 being near the margin of the wings oia the sixth, seventh, and eighth segments, and 

 a smaller one, less defined, on the twelfth, but on the intermediate segments none 

 arc to be seen. 



To complete my notes in chronological order, I must here add that, on August 

 11th, 1875, I received, from the Rev. A. Fuller, a female moth of this species, cap- 

 tured by him, a few days before, while it was flying about a pond at Harting. This 

 moth was boxed and forgotten for a day or two, and when the box was opened it 

 contained a batch of eggs, some of them still adhering to the abdomen of the insect^ 

 The eggs were laid on the chip in clusters, with some in a string that were 

 attached to the tail of the moth, all firmly glued together on the surfaces of the chip. 

 The shape of the egg roundish ovate and much flattened, without gloss, and of a 

 very deep yellow amber colour. I placed the chip with the eggs to float in water, 

 and on the 19th August two eggs were turned black ; a few daj's later they had all 

 become black, but none of them hatched, and I threw them away late in September. 

 — William Buckler, Emsworth : October 22nd, 1875. 



P.S.— After preparing the above notes for the press, Sfr. ifcLachlan has most 

 kindly given nie the opportunity of reading Keaumur's wonderfully interesting 

 " Memoire des Chenilles Aquatiques," by far the greater portion of which refers to 

 JI. nt/mphceal is ; and I should like to quote his observations on a few points which 

 I liad not myself the opportunity of observing. 



Reaumur found, near the edges of the Potamogeton leaves, many little clusters 

 of I he eggs, and he seems to think the moth covers them with bits of the leaves, 

 but as he never closely watched a moth laying its eggs (and it is hard to under.stand 

 how she could effect the concealment in the way he supposes), he cannot say how 

 she managed to cover them. 



As soon as ever tiio larva) arc hatched — at the end of July, or beginning of 

 August — he Bays each makes a little case for itself, and as it grows, continually makes 

 fresh cases adapted to its increasing size. 



