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openly eacli day for eigM or nine hours on a table near a window, with 

 the afternoon sun frequently shining on it during that time : in all 

 those hours its position was but little changed, merely adranced 

 farther along the stem by slow degrees, with perhaps a turn to the 

 right or left in order to get at the leaves in their order on the stem ; 

 so that three or four inches would represent adequately the extent of its 

 day's progress ; another proof of its very lethargic demeanour at this 

 stage, at least, of its growth is given by the fact, that each morning I 

 found it almost invariably on the same part of the food plant, and in 

 a similar posture as when placed in its cage the previous evening ; nor 

 did it seem to be a nocturnal feeder, of which, I had fair presumptive 

 evidence by finding usually in the morning only one pellet of frass : 

 throughout the day it fed frequently, taking rest in the intervals, and 

 its meals were deliberate, never made ravenously or hurriedly, nor did 

 it consume much at a time ; the number of pellets ejected during the 

 day-time averaged about five ; and they were large in proportion. 

 "With a view of testing if it had any inclination to hide or burrow, 

 I placed the larva once during the day-time, and once also at night, on 

 some fine mould, but it seemed unwilling to stay on the earth, and 

 soon crawled up through the Convolvulus which had been placed over 

 it, and took up its position as usual on the stem of the plant. 



Such were the habits of this individual on its approach to 

 maturity, and they perfectly coincide with the account given by 

 Mr. J. Boswell Syme, of those which he once reared (see E. M. M., 

 vii, p. 139) : the opinion therefore expressed at pp. 161-2 of vol. v, 

 that this species may hide itself by day under the soil is proved to be 

 erroneous, and my friend Mr. Hellins is very glad to be so clearly 

 set right on this point. Why, however, the moth should in some 

 seasons swarm in this country to such a prodigious extent as it does, 

 and yet the large-sized open-feeding larva be so seldom found, seems 

 strange ; Boisduval says, in France the larva " is sufiiciently common," 

 feeding especially on Convolvulus arvensis in fields of potatoes and 

 kidney beans, sometimes also on C. sepium, and in gardens on 

 C. tricolor and IpomcBa coccinea ; and, in a letter to Mr. Gr. C. Bignell, 

 Mr. Gr. P. Mathew, R.N., mentions that in Madeira it is said to be com- 

 mon in gardens, feeding on all sorts of Convolvulus, on lettuce, and 

 other garden plants. 



Potato fields in soils which Convolvulus arvensis affects, would 

 seem to be the most likely hunting grounds in England ; July ? 

 August, and September, would be the proper months in which to look 

 for it ; and, if any of the readers of this Magazine should be lucky 



