1884.1 43 



Fenthina dimidiana, Tr. — Larva short, stout, and wrinkled, slightly 

 tapering at the extremities, but otherwise cylindrical, dark smoky-grey 

 or smoky-black, spots large, raised, jet-black with rather long bristles. 

 Head, plates, and feet shining black. Feeding in August and September 

 in the tops of Myrica gale (bog myrtle) joining together the edges of 

 the leaves so as to make a round, somewhat balloon-shaped habitation, 

 eating out the heart of the shoot, and gnawing the upper surface of 

 the joined leaves. When full-fed, leaving the habitation to spin up 

 among fallen leaves, when it becomes a black pupa, and lies in that 

 state through the winter, the moth emerging in May. Found in 

 Scotland, and, also, near Keswick, Cumberland, by Dr. Algernon 

 Chapman, who kindly spent some of his very limited time in collecting 

 them for me. His remarks on it are interesting : — " It is a short, 

 thick, stumpy, inactive, nearly black larva, and feeds from August to 



i October on Myrica. It selects a shoot that has done growing for the 



' season, and fastens together the leaves at the top into a very spacious 

 dome-topped nest, by joining them edge to edge, and eats the inner 



! surface of the leaves, filling the bottom of the nest with frass. 

 The larva of Melanippe hasfata has a precisely similar habit on the same 

 plant, and, till you open the nest, you cannot say which you have, 



I s except that there are fifty dimidiana to one hastata. I have seen 

 one or more to every plant of Myrica on hundreds of acres. The 

 young larva makes a very imperfect balloon, it is only in the lant 

 skin but one that it makes the complete article." 



Hofmann's description of the larva (from Gartner) must refer to 



some other species : — " yellowish-green with dark grey warts, head 



1 yellow, dorsal plate (neckshield) yellow-green spotted with black, in 



I J August on hirch and alder ;" — perhaps sororcidana (prcslongana) . 



Hypermecia cruciana, L. — Larva active, rather flattened, pale 

 yellow, wnth indistinct greenish dorsal vessel. Spots invisible. Head 

 light brown, plates yellow. Plentiful in the young shoots of sallow, 

 drawing together the terminal leaves in May and June. Pnpa light 



I brown, in a snug little oval cocoon in a fold of a dead leaf. Moth 



n emerging early in July. 



M 



Ditula angustiorana, Haw. — Larva cylindrical, slender, active, 



pale yellowish tinged with reddish behind, and with greenish dorsal 



' region. Head and dorsal plate light brown, both darker on the posterior 



i edge. Pupa pale brown. The larva from which this description was 



taken, was sent me by Mr. Buckler, who found it feeding in a top of 



D 2 



