122 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



ON THE LARVAE OF CERTAIN BRITISH MOTHS. 

 By J. Arkle. 



Tephrosia crepuscularia (bistortata) = T. biundularia. — A scarce 

 form of the larva of this species is inky-black, except in the ever- 

 present pale (in this case whitish) blotch above and upon the 

 claspers of segment 10. I put six of these in a pot by them- 

 selves, to see if the resultant moths turned out to be the black 

 variety of the imago (Entom. xxxi. 27). These larvae unfortu- 

 nately failed to produce moths. 



Hybernia marginaria (progemmaria) var. fuscata. — " The 

 larvae are nearly full-grown. They vary in colour very much — 

 perhaps most are an ochreous-hazel, with a series of paler dashes 

 of that tint along each side, and a dorsal configuration or stripe 

 of diamond pattern stretching centrally along the back ; others 

 are a reddish purple and unicolorous, without pattern ; others 

 are sooty black, unicolorous, and without pattern. Finally, there 

 are intermediate colour forms of larvae between these types" 

 (Note-book, June 16th, 1897). These larvae were pure de- 

 scendants of moths dating 1895. Some of the imagines of 1897 

 showed a disposition to revert to the type (marginaria). About 

 half of those for 1898, whether from black larvae or not, were 

 midway in colour between the variety (fuscata) and the type — 

 the rest were true fuscata — all of which does not increase my 

 faith in the evolution of species. I have observed a still more 

 rapid and complete reversion to the typical insect, that is, in the 

 space of a year, in the following varietal forms, — olivacea back 

 to Polia chi, and gothicina to Tceniocampa gothica. I am very 

 curious to know if doubledayaria behaves similarly in reverting 

 to the typical Amphidasys behdaria — both parents, of course, to 

 be true doubledayaria. 



Asteroscopus nubeadosa. — A few eggs from Rannoch moths 

 hatched on April 25th, 1897. The larvae should be sleeved out, 

 as the species is difficult to rear ; but I decided to try them (1) 

 after hatching in a glass tumbler with muslin over the top fastened 

 by an elastic band, a piece of glass nearly covering the muslin so 

 as to allow for ventilation, whilst preventing the food (birch) from 

 withering ; (2) afterwards, a well- ventilated cage with the twig of 

 food in a little water ; (3) lastly, a good-sized flower-pot three 

 parts full of soil, with net over the top, food-plant and other 

 arrangements as in (1). The young larvae, ten all told, nearly 

 all died off under the treatment marked (2). The disease was 

 diarrhoea, owing, I believe, from past observations, to the food 

 having to be placed in water. My survivors were three. One 

 met an accidental death, and the remaining two pupated June 

 30th in the soil of the flower-pot. The first moth emerged 

 March 18th, 1898, but the wings failed to fully develop. The 



