NOTES ON LEPIDOPTERA FROM THE MEDITERRANEAN. 83 



plant within a hundred yards of thern; in many instances again 

 I have seen several small larvae upon a diminutive plant, while large 

 robust plants close at hand had none on them. They suffer a good 

 deal from the attacks of enemies ; centipedes aud carnivorous beetles 

 prey upon them at night. I used to watch certain larvaa to note their 

 rapidity of growth, &c, and often when I visited them again nothing 

 but their shrivelled-up skins remained. 



Macroglossa stellatarum, L. — Abundant. One afternoon in the 

 Floriana Gardens I saw more than a hundred flying before the flowers 

 of a small evergreen privet. It was a very pretty sight. They are 

 also very partial to the flowers of the lantana. 



Emydia grammica, L. — One specimen. 



Deiopeia pulchella, L. — Not common. 



Arctia villica, L. — One crushed larva upon a road near Zurrico. 



Euprepia pudica, Esp. — This is a common species. The perfect 

 insect appears from July to September, and I have taken it sitting on 

 walls, &c. The larvaa feed on various kinds of grass, and may be found 

 in waste places under stones from the beginning of December until the 

 middle of March, when they are full-grown. The larva is pale smoky 

 brown tinged with red ; upon each segment there are six raised shining 

 black spots emitting fascicles of stiff bristles, those in the centre dark 

 brown, the outer ones reddish ; three of these spots are situated above, 

 one just behind, and the remaining two are just below the spiracles ; 

 the dorsal stripe is rather broad and pale yellowish brown, and is 

 followed by a pale smoky stripe mottled with darker blotches, and 

 below this a pale straw-coloured stripe which includes the spiracles, 

 and extends to the ventral surface ; head dark brown with a paler 

 V-shaped mark above the mouth, which is black ; legs and prolegs 

 reddish brown. The skin is shining, and the larva feels hard to the 

 touch ; it curls into a ring when annoyed, and remains in that position 

 for a considerable time. When full-grown the larva spins rather a 

 tough cocoon composed of whitish silk and pieces of grass, and does 

 not change to a pupa until a week or two before the moth emerges. 

 When we left Malta on April 1st I had about thirty cocoons, and the 

 first moth appeared on July 19th, at which time the larvaa in the 

 remaining cocoons were still unchanged. 



Spilosoma fuliginosd, L. — Not uncommon. A full-grown larva, 

 taken on Dec. 31st, produced a large dark female on Jan. 30th. On 

 March 8th I took a female sitting on a stone ; on the 13th of the 

 same month another female flying in the hot sun; and I have upon 

 several occasions noticed the remains of the moths lying on the roads. 



Cossus ligniperda, F. (?). — I have smelt the larvaa of this species 

 frequently, though I have not as yet met with the perfect insect. 



Psyche sp. ?. — Larva-cases abundant, but I have not succeeded in 

 breeding any of the moths. 



Bombyx trifolii, Esp. (?). — Larvaa of what I take to be this species 

 were abundant from January to March, but I did not breed any, 

 though several of my larvaa spun cocoons. On Oct. 25th I took a 

 male at rest on a wall. It is certainly not like our English species, as 

 it is of a uniform brown, with very indistinct fascia, and is probably 

 referable to Guenee's iberica. 



Ay rot is upsilon, Rott. — One specimen. 



