﻿THE LIFE -HISTORY OF DECLANA FLOCCOSA. 



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Var. 5. — Has these two' lines joined by two others running parallel to 

 inner margin and costa. 



Var. 6. — Has curved lines and black spots (nigrosparsa and junctillnea). 



Var. 7. — Has fore wings suffused with dark greyish black, except two 

 broad bands of the original light colour extending from costa to inner 

 margin ; hind wings also darker than usual. 



Var. 8. — Has a broad dark central band on fore wing. 



The moths which resulted from the above-described larvae 

 only belonged to three of the varieties. The following table, 

 showing the dates of emergence, sex, and variation of the insects 

 from each lot of larvae, may perhaps be of some scientific interest. 



Results of a batch of ova deposited by a female Declana 

 floccosa of var. I, and divided into two equal lots : — 



Cage 1. 



Fed on Aristotella racemosa. 



12 males and 16 females of these — 



1 male belonged to var. 2 



1 female „ ,, 



11 males „ ,, 



5 females „ „ 



10 females ,, ,, 



Date of first emergence, Dec. 

 „ last ,, ,, 



4 

 8 

 8 

 1 

 10 

 25 



Cagk 2. 



Fed on Leptospermwn ericoides. 



15 males and 9 females of these — 



2 females belonged to var. 4 



6 males „ ,, 8 



5 females „ ,, 8 



9 males „ ,, 1 



2 females ,, ,, 1 



Date of first emergence, Dec. 1 8 

 „ last „ Jan. 3, 1890 



From this table it will be seen that there was a much greater 

 mortality among the larvae fed on Leptospermum than those on 

 Aristotelia, and also that the proportion of males was much 

 greater in the former group, but the variation does not appear to 

 have been materially effected. A large number of both sexes 

 belonged to var. 1, and evidently inherited the characters of the 

 female parent ; while from the great preponderance of var. 8 over 

 the others, I think we may fairly assume that the male parent 

 belonged to that form. Of course I am aware that such experi- 

 ments as these should be carried out on a much larger scale to 

 give really reliable results, and also extend over several gene- 

 rations ; but this I have not at present the opportunity to do. In 

 the meantime I offer the above in order to awake more interest 

 in such observations, which are, I think, much needed at the 

 present time, when the laws governing the formation of species and 

 varieties are attracting so much attention among entomologists. 



Wellington, New Zealand, May 30, 1890. 



S 2 



