20G [August, 



common at Wicken, where he obtained it by sweeping at night, by 

 which means it has been taken there regularly since that time. 



It was described in the Ent. Mo. Mag. for August, 1883, by 

 Mr. Buckler, and is figured in vol. iv of the Larv?e of British Butter- 

 flies and Moths, in process of publication by the Kay Society. I 

 l3arn that this larva was rather more plentiful than usual last autumn 

 in Wicken fen, but a considerable proportion of them were affected 

 by Ichneumons. 



Norwich : Juli^, 1892. 



ON THE HABITS OF STAUROPUS FAGL 

 BY W. HOLLAND. 



Last year I thought it was accidental to find Stauropus fagi 

 resting so often on small trees, because we have a large proportion of 

 small trees in our close cut beech woods. This year, how^ever, it has 

 been my fortune to see more of this species than I have ever seen 

 before, and I find it is not a matter of accident where they rest. They 

 decided!}'" make a selection of the smaller trees and saplings to sit 

 upon. It is unusual to find them — the males in particular — on any- 

 thing larger than a small scaffold-pole, and the more favourite tree is 

 from the size of a hop-pole to that of a w\alking-stick. The small 

 tree need not be a beech, a young ash, thorn, nut bush, dead stick, in 

 fact anything which stands upright in the beech wood will do for 

 fagi, so that it is not too large. The females are not found quite so 

 constantly on young trees, perhaps because they are less active than 

 the males ; but when once they have flown these also seem to prefer 

 the smaller trees. This selecting of trees may be a protection to the 

 moth. The trunks of the large beech trees are very smooth and 

 clean, and a large moth like this is conspicuous on them, but the little 

 trees are rugged, and covered with knobs, large in proportion to the 

 size of the tree, where branches have been taken oft* to make the tree 

 grow shapely ; Siudfagi, as it sits closely pressed to the tree, carefully 

 balanced to the perpendicular, with its wings folded in a triangular 

 shape, the hind-wings projecting beyond the fore-wings, after the 

 fashion of Gasti^opacha quercifolia, looks wonderfully like one of these 

 knobs. The blackish variety, in particular, is so like a knob on the 

 tree that a close examination is needed to detect it. The moths 

 generally rest comfortably within reach ; sometimes, however, they are 

 high up, but a touch with a stick brings them tumbling to the ground ; 



