306 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



first plume, well pronounced along the costa towards the 

 apex, having an ochrey inside, and apjjearing obliquely 

 across the second plume ; on this plume there is a bright 

 silvery hook-like mark at the lower angle ; posterior wings — 

 two upper plumes dull fuscous-brown ; the third plume lighter 

 silvery, terminating with a dark blotch, and tlie extreme 

 point light with a dark dot. The eggs are hatched in 

 autumn, and the larvae eat small round holes in the upper 

 leaves of Teucrium Scoiodonia growing in sheltered places. 

 They appear in winter as small oval tufts of whitish hair, 

 attached to the under side of the leaves. Pearly in spring 

 they move, and eat into the young shoots of the food-plant, 

 and in a few days afterwards, if the season is fine, they may 

 be seen on the uj^per side of the young leaves casting their 

 skins, and then they appear like oblong pinkish bundles of 

 hair. They now begin to eat freely, previous to the next 

 change, and may be easily found, often two or three, some- 

 times more, upon each spike of their food-plant, always on 

 the upper side of the terminal leaves. In a i'ew days they 

 move down the stem, and eat a small romid hole into the 

 stem, about two joints down, which soon car.ses the tips of 

 the plant to droop, and near this cover they remain for some 

 weeks, eating the yoinig growing leaves around them, until 

 they appear as stout whitish green hairy larvae, with a re- 

 tractile head, attenuate to the anus, four to five lines long ; 

 and change in May and June to a pinkish and green, 

 eventuall}' brown pupa, hanging by the tail upon anything 

 near, appearing as imago in June and July. The species 

 flies freely in sheltered })laces, when the sun shines, from 

 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., on mild evenings. That this species has 

 remained in our collections as P. Hieracii so long, is perhaj:)S 

 only in consequence of our want of good specimens to work 

 with ; but that it differs from O. Hieracii of continental 

 authors Mr. Gregson was quite satisfied. It was taken freely 

 at Pettypool Wood, many years ago, by N. Cooke and 

 others; since then he had met with it in Wales, in Ire- 

 land, in the isle of Man, and in company with Mr. Hodgkin- 

 son in Westmoreland, and at Humphrey Head, in North 

 Lancashire. He had therefore called it Oxyptilus Britanuio- 

 dactylus. — Kindly communicated h\j Mr. C. S. Grc(/son. 



