NEW BRITISH SPECIES. 



113 



7ion mixta^^ whereas the female, at any rate, of Dr. White's 

 insect is j3retty liberally supplied with ochreous scales; as 

 Dr. White remarks, it appears to be intermediate between 

 the two, the female partaking more of the character of exu- 

 Icnis, the male of vanadis. 



Dr. White has kindly placed at my disposal some further 

 notes respecting the subject of his discovery. He says: 

 " The locality for exulans in Braemar is an ancient shore 

 of the glacial sea, and the same agencies that deposited there 

 various boulders and arctic plants, probably, at the same 

 time, brought the Zygcena. The insect is extremely local in 

 its habits, for not a specimen was to be found except in one 

 grassy and rushy place about 200 yards long and 50 yards 

 broad; in this spot the moths were not uncommon, flying 

 about in the sunshine, sitting on the flow^ers of Gnaphalium 

 dioicuinj or hanging, in cop., on to the stems of grass. 

 Females were much scarcer than males, and frequently had 

 defective wings. The other Lepidoptera frequenting the 

 same place were Cramhus furcatellus, Sericoris irriguana 

 and Coenonympha Tiphon, var. Laidion, No other species 

 of Zygcena is to be found in Braemar, so far as I am aware; 

 in fact, I have never seen any other species of the genus on 

 any of the Highland hills, since, though all the Briti-^h 

 species (save the typical Minos) occur in Scotland, they only 

 inhabit the maritime districts." 



'^ The larva of Z. exulans is polyphagous, preferring how- 

 ever, I believe, Erica and Vaccinium. Some larvs which 

 I had, fed up readily, however, on Trit'icum I'ejjens and 

 Polygonum aviculare, plants that do not occur within some 

 miles of the station for exidans. I found cocoons attached 

 to various plants. Erica, grasses, Carex rigida, k,c. The 

 habitat of exulans in Braemar is probably covered with 

 snow from November to April each season." 



1872. I 



