64 rAugust, 



It may here be mentioned, that of Ccecilius Dalii, which had only occurred in 

 England (in Mr. Dale's garden at Sherborne), I possess an example found by Mr. 

 Stainton among leaves of Cratagus fyraeantha, mined by a micro -lepidopterous larva, 

 brought by him from Florence. Thus Dorsetshire and Florence are its only known 

 localities, exeejiting a doubtful specimen found in a hot-house in Belgium. — Id. 



Description of the larva of Dianthoecia cmsia. — Towards the end of June, 1867, 

 I received two small larviE of this species, scarcely half-an-inch long, from Mr. C. 

 Gregson, who sent with them a couple of flowers and a leaf or two of Silene mari- 

 tiina, and instructions to feed them on the flowers and leaves of that plant. Perhaps 

 for want of sufiicient air in their small box during the journey in hot weather, one 

 arrived in a dying state, and though much attention was paid to the survivor, that 

 also soon sickened and died. 



I noted that this little larva was of a grey colour, marked with a series of dorsal 

 diamonds of a darker brownish-grey, and the sides of the same brownish-grey, and 

 the tubercular dots distinct as dark rings. 



The next and only subsequent opportunity for studying this larva was generously 

 afforded me by Mrs. Hutchinson of Leominster, who, knowing ccesia (at that time a 

 comparatively recent addition to our list) was still one of my desiderata, very kindly 

 sent me, on July 23rd, 1869, some examples of larvae which her son, Mr. Thomas 

 Hutcliinson, had recently found on Silene maritima in the Isle of Man, in the hope 

 that I might find that species amongst them ; nor, indeed, was this a forlorn hope, 

 for on looking over the larvse — mostly familiar enovigh — I detected one which at once 

 recalled to mind the ccesia of 1867- This I kept apart, and carefully tended with 

 seeds of both Silene maritima and inflata, and it appeared to feed very well on both, 

 without any apparent preference. At its arrival, it was about five-eighths of an inch 

 in length, by the 31st it had increased to an inch", and by August 9th to one inch 

 and a quarter, perhaps even a little more when thoroughly stretched out ; it con- 

 tinued to feed for a day or two longer, and retired into the soil on the 13th for 

 pupation. 



Having but this one, I did not interfere with it to take notes of the pupa, lest I 

 might by some some accident destroy the chance of breeding the perfect insect, and 

 so lose the opportunity for proving the figures taken of the larva were rightly named. 

 Fortunately, the moth, a fine example, appeared on July lolli, 1870, evidently later 

 than its parents had flown in their native haunts. 



In several of the Dianthoecice, we are familiar with variations of the chevron 

 pattern, but from all its congeners, ccBsia is strikingly distinguished by these diamond 

 shapes of freckles, as well as by the absence of positive outlines in the sub-dorsal and 

 spiracular regions. The description given above of the larva of 1867 suits every 

 subsequent stage up to fidl growth. 



The fidl-grown larva was cyUndrical, of moderate stoutness and about equal 

 bulk throughout ; the head rounded, and the anal segment only slightly tapered, 

 and rounded off ; the segments and sub-divisions very well defined. The ground 

 colour on the back was pale greyish-ochreous, that of the sides, belly, and legs 

 similar, but a little more ochreous-brown, and deeper : on each segment, and co- 

 extensive with it in length and in breadth, extending to the sub-dorsal region, was a 



