389 



or two of the allied South African genera are coloured like Anthrocera, 

 from which they differ, however, in the structure of their antennae. 



The Adscitid larva and pupa show considerable resemblance to 

 those of the genus Anthrocera. The egg, however, appears to differ 

 essentially from that of Anthrocera, the latter being usually smooth, 

 whilst the surface of the Adscitid egg is distinctly reticulated ; the eggs 

 of some Anthrocerids, however, appear to be covered with a faint re- 

 ticulation, if examined with a sufficiently high power. Dyar also notes 

 the Pyromorphid egg (Pyrotnorpha dimidiata) as being covered with a 

 regular rounded reticulation, resembling a series of contiguous circles. 

 The larva, Newman notes, in general appearance, and some of its 

 characters, resembles that of Cocldidion avdlana (testudo). 



The imagines of the three British Foresters bear considerable 

 resemblance to each other, the fore-wings of all being of a bright 

 bronzy-green or -blue. They all appear in the imago state in May 

 and June, varying slightly according to the season, each species rarely 

 extending over more than three weeks in the same year, A. yeryon, 

 generally appearing a little later than R. ylobidariae. They are 

 exceedingly localised, and haunt the flowers which are in blossom in 

 their various localities at the time of their emergence, flying only in 

 the bright sunshine. Although so local, they are usually exceedingly 

 abundant where they occur. 11. ylobidariae, so far as our present 

 knowledge goes, appears to be far more localised than either A. yeryon 

 or A. staticen, the latter being the most widely distributed species. 

 Nicholson says that all the three British species occur on the downs 

 (Cliffe Hill) near Lewes, A. statices being there by far the rarest. The 

 imagines all have much the same habit, the males booming along in 

 the sunshine like Burnet moths, whilst the females are very sluggish, 

 and fly but little. The female of It. ylobulariae frequently rests on the 

 flowers of Poteriuin ttntguiwrba, and that of A. yeryon on those of the 

 same plant, and Hi'eraciuni pilosella. The females of these two species 

 are somewhat difficult to distinguish, but the antennae of E. ylobulariae 

 are longer, thinner, and more pointed towards the tip than are those 

 of A. yeryon. On the Sussex Downs these species are very uncertain 

 in their appearance, both It. ylobuldriae and A. yeryon being very 

 abundant in some seasons, while, in others, it would be difficult to 

 find a specimen. Weir, speaking of the same locality, says that " all 

 the species may be found within the space of a rnile and a half, 

 occurring in their restricted haunts in great abundance, each being 

 confined to its own food-plant. It. ylubulariae and A. yeryon are 

 mixed together, and It. ylobulariae and A. statices are also mixed, but, 

 from the totally different positions in which Heliantheinum vulyare 

 and Ittuite.r acetosa grow, A. yeryon is never found mixed with A. statices." 

 The females are to be obtained by sweeping the grass or searching the 

 flowers on which they rest. Zeller says that A. statices and It. ylobu- 

 lariae differ in habit, for whereas the former flies freely in the 

 sunshine, he had, in spite of fine still weather, to start the specimens 

 of It. ylobulariae out, and he found that after a short flight they 

 settled again on the grass or Centaurea flowers. Vaughan records (Proc. 

 Sth. Lond. Knt. Soc., 1890, p. 39) the capture of two individuals in June, 

 1890, at Edlean High, Sound of Jura, which he considered to be 

 intermediate between A. statices and It. ylobulariae. The restriction of 

 the latter species in Britain, however, is suggestive that the specimens 



