TRIFIDM. 361 



prei'ereuce, hide itself under ground, like most of its con- 

 geners. 



In confinement, whether reared from the egg, or swept up 

 from the heather, or found by searching it at night either in 

 autumn or spring, it seems almost impossible to bring this 

 larva to maturity. The only way in which it can, so far as 

 I know, be reared, is by confining it upon growing plants of 

 heath or heather in the open air. This can be managed by 

 using a large flower pot and covering the whole plant with 

 gauze. Mr. Gregson says, '"you should keep them separate 

 as much as possible. On no account let them crowd one 

 another. Cut a very large sod of peat with heather growing 

 on it and get it brought home in a sack. Always sprinkle 

 the food with water — many larvae are lost when full-fed for 

 want of a drink of water. The larvas of this species are 

 almost the most sluggish things I know ; often they will 

 remain on one twig for two or three days." 



Pupa undescribed — probably hardly known. 



The moth is never seen in the daytime ; doubtless it 

 conceals itself on the ground among heather. It flies at 

 dusk, usually at rather late dusk, and settles upon the 

 blossoms of heather {Calluna vulgaris). It has, I believe, 

 been taken at sugar, but very rarely, and no other blossom 

 except that of heather seems to have any attraction for it, 

 not even those of the two heaths. Erica tetralix and cinerea. 

 When flying at dusk about its favourite plant it may partially 

 be discriminated among the commoner species by its very 

 dark appearance, arising from the darkness of its hind wings. 

 Its flight is very short, and the best method of obtaining it 

 is to search the great masses of heather-bloom with a 

 lantern. Sometimes it seems to prefer the shelter of trees, 

 more especially Scotch fir. 



Almost wholly confined to sandy heaths, though there is 

 a single record of its capture at Whittlesea Mere, and it is 

 still found rarely in the Cambridge fen and chalk districts. 



