224 [October, 



Raunocli, " far away in the woods, either at rest on the trunks of 

 the blaclv firs* or by lieating these trees," from the middle of June 

 until the first Aveek in July, and that they were not uncommon, and 

 were very frequently to he found on those trees at the feet of which 

 were situated the ant-hills that yielded " T. ocliroceeUa.'' But although 

 weaverella is far more local and uncommon than rusticella, especially 

 in England, both seem more or less at home in a strange variety of 

 natural habitats. In this country extensive woods and forests appear 

 to form the principal haunts of weaverella, though, in the Hassocks 

 district of Sussex, Mr. A. C. Vine finds it sparingly in lanes. In the 

 highlands of Inverness- shire, however, it has occurred to me, in such 

 fine condition that it was obviously at home, not only in Scotch pine 

 forests in the glens and on the mountain-sides, but also on the open 

 moor, where the only trees were some young birches, and even on 

 a bleak moimtain-top about 2330 feet above sea-level, where there was 

 neither a tree, nor even a vestige of one, anywhere near, but only heatlier 

 and other low- growing plants. Although I have never yet actually 

 taken the two insects together, rusticella either has lieen met with, or 

 might be expected to occur, in all such spots as have yielded me its 

 congener. The converse of this, however, would not be true, for, 

 although rusticella abounds in houses and outhouses both in England 

 and Scotland, I know of no single instance of weaverella having lieen 

 observed inside a building. This points to the probability of the 

 larvae, at least to some extent, favouring different foods, as also does 

 the fact, recorded by Mr. W. H. B. Fletcher (I.e.), that, whereas he 

 bred rusticella in abundance from birds' nests collected in Abbots 

 Wood, Sussex, he reared no " spilotella " {i.e. weaverella. — E. R. B.) 

 from them, although, as stated below, the latter is really not uncommon 

 in that locality. Scott's remark, referred to above, suggests the possi- 

 bility of weaverella feeding on the rubbish in the nests of the wood- 

 ants, but, in any case, it cannot, like Myrmecozela ocliraceella, always 

 do so, for, on various occasions, I have captured the moth far away 

 from any wood-ants' nests, and, I believe, from the nests of any species 

 of ants, though vegetable refuse has always been present. Both 

 rusticella and weaverella rest cjuietly by day, as a rule, and fly naturally 

 in the evening, and probably during part of the night. The only knowai 

 Dorset specimen of the latter, however, was netted by me at 2.40 p.m., 

 whilst hovering about two feet above the ground, in a large wood at 

 Bloxworth on Jtxne 8th, 1907 ; its deliberate oscillating flight was 



* I have little doubt that these were Scotch iiines {Pinus si/lveslris), and tliat they wore 

 popularly called " black " bccau.se of the darkness of the foliage as compared with that of certain 

 other .species. — E. R. B. 



