Progressive melanism on the Riviera. 163 



attacked at Taormina, but then it was not observed 

 except when cultivated.* Two larvae were found on the 

 unopened flower buds of a Bcilki ? {Scilla sicula ?). As the 

 plant was rarely seen (being inconspicuous till the flowers 

 appear), it probably finds this plant of similar attractiveness 

 to the asphodel. 



Most curious of food-plants, I found two larva:' amongst 

 those of Acrodita consequana collected from Euphorbia. 

 At Capri the plants were a little more vigorous and succu- 

 lent than at Taormina, but equally on open exposed slopes 

 (top of cliffs near the sea), and, though their depredations 

 were a little more visible than at Taormina, they might be 

 described as having substantially the same habits as at 

 Taormina. On April 20th some had already gone off 

 full-fed to make their sestivating cocoons. 



On April 15th at Paestum one larva only was found, 

 with traces of perhaps a score of others that had already 

 left full-fed. These larvge also fed singly and cryptically, 

 although the plants here (in the enclosures round the 

 temples) were very large and vigorous, with leaves four 

 feet or so long, and the flowers making a brave show. 

 They were (counting empty domiciles as larvse), however, 

 exceedingly rare, having regard to the luxuriance and 

 abundance of the plant, and in most places no traces of 

 the larva could be found amongst great thickets of the 

 plant. 



About Albano, acres of the plant were looked over 

 without seeing a trace oi H. hyerana; looking to its rarity 

 at Paestum and the difficulty of finding it there, I should 

 hesitate to say that the moth is absent in the Roman 

 district, and even if absent near Albano, it would probably 

 be found to occur nearer the coast. I have, in fact, never 

 met with it as far from the sea as Albano is. 



I noted (E. M. M., /. c.) having reared certain larva? to 

 spinning up, from eggs laid by moths that emerged from 

 my Hyeres stock. These were two or three months in 

 advance of their cousins of the same generation at large 

 at Hyeres, and spun up in January and February. 



These emerged as moths during July and August 1905, 

 their parents having emerged in the beginning of October. 

 These presented hardly any typical pale forms, and might 



* In captivity I tried the larvoe with the leaves of two cultivated 

 species ; they readily ate the broad rteshy leaflets of a white-flowered 

 one, but refused the narrow curled ones of a kind with blue flowers. 



