SOME LEPIDOPTERA OF THE BRITISH LINE IN FRANCE, 59" 



I now decided to try even more drastic raeas)ires with the 

 remaining larvse. I did as before, and as luck would have it, 

 we had an exceptionally bard frost during the night. I have a 

 gas ring for cooking, and I commandeered this. I placed flower- 

 pots round it so that I could stand the cage on the top of them, 

 the bottom of cage being about three inches above the flame. 

 I now placed the cage thus, and also put a thermometer inside 

 the cage on the top of the moss and kept my eye on it ; very 

 soon it got up to 100° F., and amid a mass of steam the larv8& 

 were wildly crawling round and round the cage ; by turning the 

 gas lower I gradually got the temperature down to 80° F., and 

 at this I kej^t it for forty-eight hours, by which time I could see 

 larvae spinning, I then removed it to my mantelpiece, and in 

 due course carefully removed all moss. This final test gave 

 me twenty-five sound pupae, nine larvae dead in cocoons, and 

 remainder of larvae dead. 



An important point is to always spray the moss daily while 

 the larvae are being forced, as larvae will dry up in their cocoons 

 or produce mal-formed pupae if the moss is allowed to get dry. 



All cocoons as soon as removed were placed in a zinc cage,. 

 the bottom of which had wet sand about two inches deep, then a 

 layer of wet moss on which the cocoons rested ; the sand was 

 kept moist by pouring a little warm water down the sides of the 

 cage daily. 



Plenty of twigs were placed in the cage for the newly-emerged 

 imagines to crawl up on to expand their wings, and the cage 

 kept at the side of the mantelpiece, so that the temperature was 

 about 60° F. 



The total result of fine pupae was just over 50 per cent., and 

 this is the best result I have ever had in rearing this insect. 



Bexley, 



February, 1917. 



NOTES ON SOME OF THE LEPIDOPTERA OF THE 

 BRITISH LINE IN FRANCE. 



By Captain H. Douglas Smart, R.A.M.C. 



(Continued from p. 42.) ' 



Before going on to speak of the few micro-lepidoptera. 

 observed, I would like to add a few notes on the families already 

 dealt with. 



Since the previous notes were written I have added three 

 species from the Souchez area. 



I found two specimens of G. c-alhum in a wood there and 

 larvae of B. ruhi and P. bucepliala, the latter commonly. 



A visit in November to a well-wooded village near Doullens,^ 

 Somme, added several species to my list. 



A spider's web produced remains of Hahrosyne derasa and 



