SOME NOTES ON REARING EREBIA EPIPHRON. 59 
eating very little. This led me to expect an autumnal emergence, 
though I had not heard of it being recorded in connection with 
E. epiphron. At the end of August one larva laid up for pupa- 
tion, and assumed the pupal state on September 2nd; from this 
pupa a @ insect emerged on September 11th. A second larva 
pupated on September 9th, producing a g imago on September 
28th. A third larva pupated on September 16th. I sent this 
pupa to Mr. Main for photographic purposes, but it probably 
received some injury while travelling, as it died soon after 
arrival. A fourth larva pupated on September 18th, and produced 
a 2 insect on October 5th. It will thus be seen that the first insect 
passed nine days in the pupal state, the second nineteen days, 
and the third seventeen days. ‘This variation was probably due 
to the difference in the temperature between September 2nd (the 
first date of pupation) and October 5th (the last date of emergence). 
At this stage the remainder of the larve were (and had been 
for some weeks) feeding very little, and were about =®; to $ in. 
in length. On October 18th I placed two of the larve in a 
glass-topped metal box, and put this on the kitchen mantel-piece 
in order to see whether the increased warmth would induce them 
to feed up. I kept them there for about a fortnight, but these 
larve ate no more during this period than they did under normal 
conditions, so I did not carry the experiment further. By the 
end of October the remaining larve were feeding very little, and 
as I had been losing several about this time by the method of 
close-rearing in tumblers, I decided to alter the treatment and 
keep them under more natural conditions during the winter. 
My stock of larve had now been reduced to eighteen, and on 
November 1st I placed these on some Poa annua which I had 
growing in a flower-pot. I confined the larve by means of a 
glass cylinder with a leno covering to the top, and placed the 
whole in the garden in the open air. The larve took up their 
positions on the grass-stems, and moved about very little, and 
then only in mild weather. In early January I made a close 
search for the larve; I found several dead ones, but only one 
living one, so, although others may be hidden at the roots of 
the grass, I have little hopes of being able to carry any beyond 
the hibernating stage.* 
I must here express my regret that I did not take careful 
notes with regard to the larval habits and the different larval 
changes, and that the larve were not in hands more competent 
to work out the full life-history of this species. The few notes 
that I offer with regard to larval habits, etc., are jotted down 
entirely from memory, and will, I am afraid, possess little value. 
Except at its first instar, the larva throughout is of a bright 
grass colour, assimilating perfectly to the green blades of Poa 
annua. It is, on this account, difficult to locate even in the 
* None of these passed the hibernating stage.—J. A. 
