NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 89 



" India " is the only locality I have for this species. 



Head, pro- and mesothorax closely, somewhat strongly, punctured ; 

 the post-scutellum and metanotum smooth, shining, bare. Head a 

 little wider than the thorax ; the clypeus wider than long, its apex 

 transverse. The pubescence on the face and front is long and dense. 

 Abdomen not quite so long as the head and thorax united, the basal 

 four segments shining, distinctly but not very closely punctured, the 

 last opaque, much more closely punctured, its apex with a broad 

 white hair-band. Except on the under side of the tarsi, where it is 

 tinged with rufous, the hair on the legs is white ; the calcaria white, 

 the posterior darker coloured than the others. The second abscissa 

 of the radius is not much longer than the first. 



Of the Indian species known to me the present comes nearest 

 to M. elfrona, Cam., which may be known from it by the opaque, 

 aciculated, almost punctured metanotum, by the first recurrent 

 nervure being received nearer the transverse cubital, and by the 

 rufous tarsi. 



NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 



Trichoptilus paludum Z. in East Devon. — Whilst collecting 

 last September in East Devon, I took several specimens of a small 

 plume-moth, which subsequent investigation proved to be T. pallidum. 

 It was flying in the afternoon over a boggy piece of ground, and its 

 short flight of about a yard, from tuft to tuft of stunted heather, made 

 it difficult to see. The most westerly record given in Barrett's ' Lepi- 

 doptera ' is Dorset, but the species evidently exists over the borders 

 of this county. — Archibald Sharpin ; Bedford, March 14th, 1908. 



Example of Protective Mimicry in male Hepialus humuli. — 

 On July 16th, 1907, whilst walking in one of the lanes near here, I 

 was struck by the large quantity of " Cuckoo spit " on the grass which 

 was growing on the lane side, and was led to make a closer exami- 

 nation. To my surprise, I found that several of the white lumps that 

 I had thought in the first instance to be " Cuckoo spit " were in 

 reality males of Hepialus hwmili, which were clinging to the grass 

 stems with the wings folded along the body. This appears to me to 

 be clearly a method of protection, and the idea is emphasized by the 

 fact that the moth was only to be found where the " Cuckoo spit " 

 was. This example of the protection of H. humuli was entirely new 

 to me. — G. Gibson-Robertshaw ; Gordon Bank House, Luddenden 

 Foot S.O., Yorkshire. 



Lyc^na zephyrus var. lycidas. — Referring to Mr. Prideaux' 

 article in the March number of the ' Entomologist,' I note that the 

 above butterfly was taken in a " slightly ragged " condition at 

 Berisal as early as June 15th. It may be interesting to mention that 

 in 1886, about August 15th, I took two perfect specimens of the 

 female on a high grassy plateau of the Gemmi just before commencing 

 the ascent of the Pass. The altitude would be about the same as 

 that of B6risal ; this capture therefore may be considered a striking 



ENTOM. — APRIL, 1908. H 



