COLLECTING BRITISH CLEAR-WINGED LEPIDOPTERA. 99 



had at our disposal, secured some twenty or thirty specimens 

 in lovely condition. Lousewort flowers {P. sylvatica) are much 

 frequented by these moths. Ireland seems to be more favoured 

 than Great Britain by this moth, for I note (Entoni. v. 81) the 

 late Mr. Edwin Birchall records its capture somewhat abundantly 

 in Connemara in 1869, by the Hon. Emily Lawless, who found 

 fresh specimens in May, worn ones in June, and other fresh 

 specimens in July. There seems, in this instance, to have been 

 a retarded development for some reason. Inverurie, in Scotland, 

 has also been given as a locality (Entom. v. 349). Nearer 

 London, Newbury, in Berkshire, has been mentioned (Entom. 

 xvi. 209) by Mr. Sladen, who took a dozen in May, 1883, at 

 flowers of lousewort (Pedicularis sylvatica). 



The larva has been found upon the under sides of devil's-bit 

 scabious {Scabiosa succisa), 9^nd, like its neighbour last mentioned, 

 it also has a tail or horn on the anal segment. The general 

 colour of the larva is dark green, with large spiracular pinkish 

 spots or dashes. It feeds in July, and is well worthy of search. 

 I should think that if a plant of scabious were placed in a large 

 flowerpot, covered by a large-sized bell-glass, in the morning sun, 

 the females of M. homhyliformis might be induced to deposit ova, 

 which if reared into imagines would be of great interest, for it is 

 said that before the wings are dry they are thickly coated by 

 scales, which shake oif at the time of the first flight. This 

 seems a very suggestive process in the natural history of these 

 fast-flying moths. 



Trochilium apiformis. — This moth is more southern in distri- 

 bution than the following species, and appears in June and July 

 in wooded districts. They are best found by searching for 

 the newly-emerged imagines. The instructions given for taking 

 those of T. craboniformis may be followed, though of the two 

 species this one is less active than the next. 



The larvae feed in the solid wood of poplar and aspen for two 

 years. The mines are generally just above the ground and below 

 it into the roots. Woodcutters in spring expose larvee of all 

 ages, which can otherwise be traced by the sawdust-like frass 

 thrown from the holes bored by the grubs. A curious instance of 

 these larvae adapting themselves to their surrounding circum- 

 stances is mentioned (Entom. vi. 79), where some ova, deposited 

 by a female in June upon the setting-board on which it was left 



