NOTE ON THE LIFE-HISTORY OF NEMEOBIUS LUCINA. 91 



appearance when on the wing to ours ; and the specimen of 

 Acronycta leporina was of the palest South of England form, 

 whereas Yorkshire specimens are all of the dark variety brady- 

 porina. The only A. psi taken was also an exceptionally pale 

 one. In the Hudderstield wood alluded to, Cidaria jjopidata 

 occurs plentifully, and on the near moorlands is in the greatest 

 profusion, but I have never yet seen one at all approaching the 

 dark unicolorous Highland form. 



Eannoch is a charming collecting district, but to those in- 

 terested in Lepidoptera only I should recommend the last week 

 in June and through July as likely to be much more productive 

 than the time of our visit. 



Crosland Hall, Huddersfield : March 3rd, 1899. 



NOTE on the LIFE-HISTORY of NEMEOBIUS LUCINA. 

 By Rev. A. M. Moss, M.A. 



While taking Nemeobius lucina last summer at Witherslack, 

 I captured a pair "in cop.," the female of which I preserved 

 alive in a glass-topped box, kept in the sunshine. After providing 

 her with a couple of primrose leaves laid on soil, I was pleased 

 to find that she fell in with my suggestion and laid me a score of 

 eggs. They were deposited at intervals, about half a dozen at a 

 time, spotted about the leaves, and all on the under side, the 

 furry and uneven texture of the leaf being well adapted for this 

 purpose, and affording an excellent shelter. From pale green 

 they changed to pink ; and in a fortnight or more, previous to 

 emergence, the shells which had become semitransparent re- 

 vealed little leaden-coloured larvae curled up within. 



Never had I less difficulty in breeding any insect ; and I 

 would strongly recommend any who are in want of a good 

 series of N. lucina, to remember the story of the goose that laid 

 the golden egg, next time a female turns up. Only one larva 

 died in moulting, and one I preserved. I kept them in a flat 

 biscuit tin on soil, very slightly moistened, and all I had to do 

 was to supply them with a fresh primrose or cowslip leaf once a 

 week. They pupated in due course, attached with the usual 

 silken band, some to the leaves and some to the sides of 

 the tin. 



Having seen several records of the autumnal emergence of 

 this species in captivity (vide Entom. xxviii. 338), I experimented 

 with three or four pupae during the last ten days of September, 

 placing them beside a kitchen boiler. At the end of that period, 

 no longer possessing any facility for forcing, I replaced them 

 with my other pupas in the more or less normal temperature of 



