18b3.] 271 



NATUEAL HISTOEY OF PETASIA NUBECULOSA. 

 BY WILLIAM BUCKLER. 



On 6th of May, 1S81, 1 received from Mr. H. McArthur while he 

 was collectiug at Rannoch, a dozen eggs of this species, laid loose, and 

 on small morsels of bark ; of these, two proved infertile ; the first egg 

 hatched on May 16th, being one I had previously sent to the Rev. J. 

 Hellins ; with me two were seen to be hatched in early morning of the 

 17th, two at midnight, three by next morning, one near midnight 

 following, and the last one by morning of the 19th. 



All my young larvae took to birch readily, but the one Mr. Hellins 

 had chose oak, and fed on it until its third moult, and from that time, 

 the 4th of June, it would eat birch, and not oak ; after feeding their 

 growth was very perceptible, and when six days old they each in turn 

 lay up for moulting ; this operation occurred five times in all before 

 their full growth was attained ; generally they agreed very well 

 together, — though two individuals during the earlier stages while 

 helplessly laid up waiting to moult appeared to have been inconveniently 

 in the way of some of the others, and so got fatally bitten behind ; 

 afterwards, with more space, they proved to be very contented and 

 well behaved. 



They became full-fed from June 26th to 29th, and retired to earth ; 

 over the earth, at the end of June, I placed a thick covering of moss, 

 and found afterwards that only two had elected to remain below in the 

 earth, and that the other five were lying in the pupa state on its surface 

 beneath the moss ; the larva, with Mr. Hellins, had buried itself four 

 or five inches deep in the loose leaf-mould furnished for its retreat. 



I bred three male moths and one female in March, 1882 ; the 

 single pupa of Mr Hellins stood over until the present season, and 

 disclosed a fine male imago on 15th of February ; my remaining pupae 

 produced fine male and female specimens on the 1st of this month of 

 April. 



It has been pointed out before that the egg of nulecuJosa (as well 

 as those of P. cassinea and D. cceruleocephala) does not follow the 

 Notodonta so much as the Noctua type, — being circular, and convex 

 above, with a largish central space covered with irregular reticulation, 

 and on the sides from forty to forty-five blunt ribs, with somewhat 

 coarse transverse lines, in height about sV", in width about ^V" ; the 

 shell rather glistening, the colour at first dirty drab-green, but soon 

 becoming closely and tortuously streaked and blotched with blackish- 

 green ; a few hours before hatching these marks become indistinct and 

 clouded, and the shell looks somewhat shrivelled. 



