148 f-^""^' 



The $ lays some fifty to seventy ova ; the date last year with me 

 being the 15th May ; they hatched on the 11th June, the first to 

 pupate did so on August 15th. The larvse are extremely easily reared, 

 but care is necessary to avoid their being thrown away with the food- 

 plant during their moults, which take place between united leaves 

 of the beech, where they seem to spin a w^eb-like cocoon ; the period 

 of change lasting two to four days. They feed at all hours of the day 

 and night, which, I think, accounts for one's being able to beat several 

 larvse from the same bush that a few hours before yielded none; when 

 not feeding they are almost invariably between leaves, and are then 

 most difficult to dislodge. 



Stunted beech bushes in hedges I have found much more prolific 

 than beech trees, and a bleak and exposed situation, at an altitude of 

 500 to 700 ft., much more so than the sheltered lower ground. 



Newman, p. 40, British Moths, says : " The chrysalis is hairy, and 

 may be found under the moss about the roots of beech trees." It 

 may be presumptuous on my part to differ from such an authority, but 

 the chrysalis appears to me to be smooth. In the breeding cages I 

 have never seen the larvse change on or under moss, although placed 

 there for the purpose ; all that I have reared during the last two 

 seasons have changed between united leaves, of course, in the wild 

 state this may be different. 



It has been noticed by many collectors that the imrigo is seldom 

 seen on the wing, and, certainly, as far as my experience goes, I have 

 only seen it so on one or tw^o occasions, w'hen 1 beat out a worn female 

 from beech ; my impression is that the insect flies late at night or 

 early in the morning. If a perfect insect is left in the hatching box 

 all night, it is invariably in a most damaged condition in the morning, 

 whereas they will rest perfectly quiet all day. 



Mr. Parfitt, in the Fauna of Devon, Lepidoptera, says : " very rare 

 in the Exeter district," but having taken the larvae on two sides of the 

 city, and last season forty dozen within twelve miles of Exeter, I 

 feel sure that where the beech thrives, there coryli will be found, if 

 thoroughly looked for. The imagines vary much in markings, and 

 what I have always considered the type seems this year to be the 

 most uncommon form. 



In penning these few remarks, I have made no attempt to be 

 scientific, but have simply put down a few facts in the life-history of 

 this handsome species that have come under m}^ immediate notice. 



Seaton : April, 1892. 



