NOTES ON SOME LEPIDOPTERA OP THE " BRECK " DISTRICT. 261 



To take the insects in the order in which they are mentioned by 

 Mr, Thornewill. Pianthoceia irrei/tilaris occurs over a fairly wide area, 

 but its presence is, of course, dependent upon its food-plant, Silenc 

 otites, being- able to flower and seed. This plant grows in certain 

 places by the roadside, on waste ground, and on sheep runs at wide 

 intervals over part of the district, but in order to obtain the larvre of 

 D. irrei/iilans it is necessary to find a place where the plant has not 

 been grazed off during its flowering stage by sheep or cattle. When 

 such a place is found, larvfB may be obtained in numbers by sweeping, 

 but nearly all are small, and m my experience about 90 per cent, are 

 ichneumoned. Occasionally large larva; may be seen or swept, or 

 found underground at the roots of the plant, and these, though few in 

 number, are not difficult to rear, as they will eat almost any kind of 

 S'dene or Lychnifi. I have never tried working for the imago, but it 

 may be taken occasionally at rest, or flying over the food plant at night, 

 and it is said to come to light. D. irregularis is less uncommon in 

 some seasons than in others; last year (1911) was an unusually good 

 year for the larvae, though from over 200 I only got two dozen pupae, 

 and from them I bred a little over a dozen moths. Some of the 

 remaining pupte may be still alive, and the moths may emerge next 

 year. The first fortnight in July is the best time to obtain the larvse ; 

 late larvfB are almost all ichneumoned. 



Aiirophila trabealis {stdphiiralis) is perhaps the most periodic of any 

 of the local species known to me. In some seasons it is quite abundant 

 in suitable spots, while in others, on the same ground, it is almost 

 entirely absent. About five years ago I came across the insect in con- 

 siderable numbers, and might have taken dozens, but since then I 

 have never taken more than half-a-dozen in a season, and during the 

 present year (1912) I came across only one worn specimen. Barrett 

 says it is double-brooded, but I very much doubt the correctness of 

 this. It occurs usually from about June 20th to July 10th, though an 

 occasional specimen may appear earlier or later. I may mention that 

 I have taken the species in some numbers in Baluchistan, and the 

 specimens obtained there are much more variable than is the case with 

 British specimens. 



Acontia luctuosa occurs all over the district, but not usually in 

 numbers. There is a spot near my house where I found it five years 

 ago ; for three years I looked for it in vain, but this year it again 

 appeared in some numbers in the same place. It is double-brooded, 

 and I think that both broods appear in about equal numbers. 



Acidalia rabii/inata {nibricata) is another double-brooded species, 

 but I have always found it more numerous in the second brood than 

 in the first. Although T know several spots where it is to be obtained 

 at the right season with more or less certainty, I had been collecting 

 constantly in the district for six years before I found, in August 1912, 

 a spot where it was in considerable numbers. The difficulty was not 

 to capture specimens, but to obtain them in a fair condition for the 

 cabinet, as the great majority were either worn or faded. I believe 

 this species fades at once when exposed to the sun ; on a cloudy day a 

 fair proportion of those obtained, if freshly emerged, show less signs 

 of fading than if taken on a sunny day. The specimens do not fade 

 when in the cabinet, and I have one taken in 1896 which retains its 

 beautiful fresh colour. I strongly suspect that its food-plant in this 



