SCOP ARIID.'E— SCOP ARIA. 309 



Pupa without any peculiarity of form, pale red with 

 •yellowish wing cases. In a cocoon of a short oval shape 

 with blunt ends, formed of gnawings of root mixed with 

 particles of soil and attached to the root on which it has fed. 

 (Dr. Wood.) 



The moth is jjarticularly fond of rough stony hill-sides, 

 and waste places where coltsfoot is plentiful, also of quarries, 

 field-walls, and rough rocky surfaces. It seldom sits upon 

 tree trunks, but greatly prefers walls and rocks, sitting with 

 its head straight up and also a little raised, and the wings 

 closed tightly down in a narrow triangle — as is the general 

 habit of this grouj) — though this habit needs to be varied 

 . when, as occasionally happens, it sits on a flat rock oi* the 

 . bare stony ground. From any resting-place it is easilj'' dis- 

 turbed and flies very swiftly off to settle at some distance on 

 a similar spot. At dusk it flies close to the ground and 

 . often settles on jDlauts. Later at night it has been known to 

 come to sugar. Quarries seem to be especially favoured 

 haunts, and to one such place I paid repeated visits in search 

 of the larva, arguing to myself that where the insect was so 

 common it iiimt be found. As I searched only in moss — in 

 all sorts of situations, but to no jjurpose — my disappointment 

 was fully and satisfactoril}' explained when Dr. Wood dis- 

 covered the true food of the creature. Plenty of Picris 

 grew in that quarry ! 



In localities such as I have indicated it is found through- 

 out England, and doubtless Wales, since it is very common in 

 Pembrokeshii'e ; also in many parts of Scotland, in Perthshire 

 attaining an elevation of 2500 feet above the sea-level ; and 

 being recorded from the Edinburgh district, Hawick, Renfrew, 

 Dumbartonshire, Aberdeen, ]\Ioray, and, as before remarked, 

 the Orkneys. In Ireland it has been found on the coast near 

 Dublin, and Cork ; and in Armagh, Antrim, and Derry. 



2. S. basistrigalis, Knaggs. — Expanse % to | inch 

 (18-23 mm.). — Fore wings broad with a much arched costa ; 



