November, 1887.) 121 



LIFE-HISTORY OF SCOPULA DECREPITALIS. 

 BT a. T. PORRITT, F.L.S. 



We are indebted to Dr. T. A. Chapman, of Burghill, Hereford, 

 for the discovery of the larva of this species. In June, last year. Dr. 

 Chapman captured specimens of the moth in Scotland, flying among 

 Asplenium Jilix-fcemina and Lastvea spinulosa, and from some of the ? 

 was fortunate enough to obtain eggs. These duly hatched, and after 

 seeing that the young larvae fed and were making satisfactory progress, 

 Dr. Chapman most kindly shared them with myself, Mr. Jeffrey, and, 

 I believe, also the late Eev. J. Hellius. Those entrusted to my care 

 fed on well, but, unfortunately, they apparently reached full growth 

 during my absence from home, and evidently from mismanagement at 

 this time, on my return I found some of them dead, and the others 

 nearly so, having probably been drowned by the excess of moisture 

 which had accumulated inside their glass, in their wanderings to find 

 suitable places in- which to spin up. Some of Dr. Chapman's and 

 Mr. Jeffrey's larvae did spin up, but the images not emerging in the 

 early summer, it was found the larvae had died without changing 

 to pupae. At the end of last month (August) Dr. Chapman was 

 again in Scotland, and after a long search managed to find three 

 larvae in slightly spun webs under leaves of L. spinulosa, exactly in 

 the position he expected to find them, and on the fern which he had 

 become convinced was really the natural food. 



Dr. Chapman and Mr. Jeffrey each took notes with a view to 

 publishing the history of the species ; but as they have both ex- 

 pressed the wish that I should do the writing of it, I have undertaken 

 to do so ; although as Dr. Chapman really knows so much more about 

 the species than any of us, I was most anxious that it should come 

 from his pen, in preference to my own. He very kindly placed his 

 notes in my hands to be incorporated with my own, and as I find he 

 has noted some details I had omitted, such as the position of the 

 hairs, &c., besides giving description of the egg, and the first stages 

 of the larvae, the history is thereby rendered much more complete 

 than would otherwise have been the case. 



The eggs were laid about June 20th, on leaves of Teucrium 

 scorodonia, and Dr. Chapman described them as 



Amorphous-looking objects, nearly colourless, flat, and approximately round, 

 fitting accurately into tlie grooves and rouglincsscs of the leaves of the Teucrium, as 

 if at the time of laying they had been fluid, and really not looking very solid still. 

 The surface is not, however, smooth, but faintly and irregularly rough and shagroened. 



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