18S3.] 77 



wrinkled ; the moveable and lower rings of the abdomen have on the 

 back transverse rows of stout and sharp hooks pointing behind ; the 

 colour is a sooty or dingy brown, black in the abdominal divisions. 

 Erasworth : June 18th, 1883. 



NATURAL HISTOEY OF BANKIA BANKIANA. 

 BY WILLIAM BUCKLER. 



This pretty and active little Noctua, of which nothing had been 

 heard for a long interval of time, was last season re-discovered by Mr. 

 G-. H. Eaynor, who found it in some abundance near Ely, and suc- 

 ceeded in obtaining a good number of eggs, and most kindly sent a 

 liberal supply of them to my friend the Eev. J. Hellins and myself ; 

 those I received, were laid within a glass-topped box, to which they 

 adhered, as well on the glass as on the paper, being sprinkled over 

 both surfaces singly, with occasionally two together. 



The eggs arrived on 7th of June, 1882, and began to hatch on the 

 9th, while yet the exact nature of the proper food-plant for the larvse 

 seemed somewhat uncertain ; a low plant had indeed been suggested 

 to me by Mr. Eaynor for trial, since although Guenee had distinctly 

 stated grasses to be the food, he had not mentioned any particular 

 species of grass ; I soon found, however, the low plants refused, and 

 then tried a small Carex ; they fed a little on this and on coarse 

 grasses, but the little larvse began to die off ; when, fortunately, before 

 all had hatched out and died, it was found that Poa annua, a common 

 grass growing almost everywhere, was quite to their taste, and the fact 

 was at once kindly imparted to me both by Mr. Hellins and Mr. 

 Eaynor. 



The larvse throve very well on the Foa up to the third week in 

 July, M^hen, as often happens with this grass indoors, it was attacked 

 by mould, which caused the death of almost all my larvse ; however, 

 Mr. Hellins most kindly sent me several of his, which had been kept 

 in the open air, so that I was able to continue my observations 

 until the end of the month, when the larvse reached full growth. 



I kept my pupse alive through the winter, but suppose I mis- 

 managed them during the month of May, 1883, by keeping them too 

 much exposed to rain, as I bred only one specimen, a male, on 29th 

 of last June. 



The egg of lankiana is globular in shape, with a slight depres- 

 sion at the base, about sV in width, and sV in height, with about 



