250 C^^P"!' 



EPHESTIA SEMIRUFA (HAW.?), STN. 

 BY JOHN" n. WOOD, M.B. 



Just opposite one of my windows stands a fine old ivy bush, and 

 one dark night in September, 1886, when Noctuas were coming freely 

 to a light in the room, there flew in along with them a rather worn 

 knot-horn, that did not quite look like the common EpTiestia elutella ; 

 so, instead of being dropped there and then into the ammonia bottle, 

 it was put on one side with the hope that, as it was a female, eggs 

 might be obtained. A few were fortunately laid, and they soon 

 hatched. The larvae fed up the same autumn on nut-kernels, spun 

 their cocoons in rolls of paper, and pupated some time in May, the 

 perfect insects {2 ,^,2 $) coming out in June. Specimens were 

 recently sent to Mr. Barrett, who at once pronounced them to bo 

 semirufa ; but I cannot do better than give his own words : — " Tou 

 cannot easily know how delighted I am to see genuine fresh Eph. 

 semirufa such as these unquestionably are, I had almost given up the 

 species as hopeless ;" adding, " my notes on this species in the Magazine 

 ten years ago are quite insufficient as a description of it. "Will you, 

 therefore, amend them by sending a full description." This I now 

 venture to do : — 



<J . ochreou9-grey, dusted with dark grey. First line, starting from the costa at 

 junction of inner with middle third, reaches the hind margin just heyond the 

 middle ; dark grey, broad and strongly marked as far as the fold, thence to the hind 

 margin, faint and obscure ; edged internally by a pale band, rather lighter than the 

 ground colour. Second line rather nearer the hind margin at its inner than its 

 outer extremity ; double, enclosing a nearly straight whitish line ; dark grey, and 

 strongly marked as far as the fold, and then becoming fainter. The two discal spots 

 are minute, but well defined, and immediately below them are indications of a third 

 spot, a spur apparently from the second line. A row of dark grey crescents along 

 the hind margin. Costa slightly dilated at the base, and with a distinct lappet of 

 hair-like scales. $ has almost the appearance of another insect, being much 

 suffused with red, especially at the base, inner, and hind margins. Moreover, the 

 pale included line in the second line has a distinct bend below the costa, equally 

 noticeable in the captured and bred specimens. Hind-wings in both sexes pale grey. 



Perhaps the most obvious feature in looking at these bred 

 specimens, and compai'ing them with elutella, is the striking beauty 

 and richness of their colouring, and the singular resemblance of the 

 red females — except for the absence of white scaling — to Fejnjjelia 

 adornatella. At the same time the characters, that have usually been 

 relied on to distinguish it from elutella, are evident enough, such as 

 the larger size, more arched costa, greater relative breadth of fore- 

 wing, and the narrower, more wedge-shaped, central area, due to the 



