THE RUSTY WAVE. Ill 



wings have a central dot, and three or four dark grey wavy 

 lines, the space between the first and second darkened, and 

 appearing to be a continuation of the fore wing band. The 

 thick set, pale ochreous-brown, or grey-brown, caterpillar (Plate 

 48, Fig. I, drawn from a skin) has three more or less distinct 

 pale lines along the back, and a series of darker diamonds 

 along the central area ; head, brown. In the open, its food 

 probably consists of decaying or withered leaves, but when 

 treated in captivity it will eat and thrive upon growing knot- 

 grass, groundsel, dandelion, etc. August to May. Mr. Mera 

 mentions that some caterpillars he reared on dandelion 

 produced moths that were larger in size than most captured 

 specimens. 



The moth is out in July, and specimens have been bred in 

 September from eggs laid in July of the same year. To obtain 

 this species, a journey will have to be made to one or other 

 of its special haunts in Kent, lying between Greenhithe and 

 Sheerness. Other localities from which it has been recorded 

 are Kingsdown, Dover, Folkestone (Kent) ; Brighton, Lewes, 

 West Horsham (Sussex) ; Isle of Portland (Dorset) ; Rame 

 Head, Torquay (Devon) ; and single specimens have been 

 reported from Stowmarket and Felixstowe (Suffolk). 



The Rusty Wave [Acidalia {Ptychopodd) herbariata). 



In The Entomologisfs Annual for 1856, two species of 

 Acidalia were brought forward as new to the British list. One 

 of these has been referred to under A. contiguaria^ the other 

 was the present species, which at the time was wrongly referred 

 to circuitaria, Hiibner. The specimens depicted on Plate 45, 

 Figs. 7 and 10, are of continental origin. 



Although other specimens were then known to exist in at 

 least two British collections, the first recorded example was that 

 mentioned above. This was captured in Bloomsbury Street, 



