176 r January, 



DESCEIPTION OP THE LARVA OF APAMEA FIBROSA. 

 BT WILLIAM BUCKLEE. 



After fruitless researches at various times during a quarter of a 

 ceutury by many skilful collectors, desirous to find the larva of this 

 species, — reputed to be abundant in fens and similar places — my hope 

 of obtaining it had almost died out, but revived towards the end of 

 last year with encouragement fi'om Mr. W. 11. B. Fletcher, when he 

 made known to me that very strenuous efforts had been devoted to it, 

 and would be continued until the mystery of its habitat was cleared up. 



The success that crowns pei-severance has in this case been 

 happily exemplified by Mr. Albert Houghton, of Wicken, who deserves 

 great credit for his praiseworthy efforts in bringing this larva to 

 light, after it had so completely baffled all who had before searched 

 for it in this country. 



Without calling in question the accuracy of Treitschke, who 

 assigned to Jibrosa the flower stems of Iris pseudacorns, I yet may 

 venture to say there seems to me but little doubt that this conclusion 

 may have been drawn probably from an aberrant example, as latterly 

 in England there had come to be a consensus of opinion that it could 

 not be found in those stems. 



But, however that may have been, it is now certain that I had 

 the great pleasure to receive this larva from Mr. Fletcher on the 1st 

 of July, 1883, being one of several Mr. Houghton had a day or 

 two before sent to him, and these were supplemented with further 

 examples, and on the 21st, Mr. Fletcher most kindly presented me 

 with one of the pupae which had resulted from them. 



Of course, I tended the larva most assiduously with fresh, but 

 substitute food, from the most likely aquatic plants I could find, 

 including at first Spargaoiimn, Iris, and Carex, giving it the lower 

 parts of each next the root ; but it persistently refused the first two 

 named, and ate only of Carex paludosa, and very sparingly of that as 

 though not quite to its taste ; yet seeing it eat, I was hopeful the first 

 three or four days of rearing it, but was soon undeceived, as just within 

 a week it died of atrophy, after vainly wandering about in quest of its 

 proper food plant, the great fen sedge, Gladium mariscus. 



Mr. Houghton was led to his discovery of the larva by observing 

 that when the crop of this sedge had been cut and removed there were 

 some of these plants that had not pushed out fret^h shoots, and looked 

 as though dead in the middle ; these on being closely examined proved 



