EPICHNOPTERIX PULLA. 363 



Habits and Habitat. — The males fly in the morning sunshine, 

 being very active between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on still quiet days, 

 threading their way (like soot-flakes) rapidly through the long grass 

 occasionally resting on the grass culms, with their wings drawn down 

 roof-wise, or assembling to a newly emerged female. The vermiform 

 female does not leave the puparium, but, having emerged from the 

 pupa, she opens the end of the puparium by means of the pupal head 

 which she carries on the imaginal head as a protection during the 

 process. Whilst within the case she is fertilised by the male and lays 

 her eggs in the empty pupa- skin, only dropping out herself when ovi- 

 position is quite completed, the last eggs being often laid about the 

 mouth of the case. Hofmann notes that the case (of var. sieboldii) is 

 generally spun up on a grass culm or fallen leaf so that it lies' 

 horizontally, the ? s pushing themselves forward so that the head 

 opens the free end of the case, whilst the dark brown pupal head-plate 

 hangs on the head of the ? imago. He notes that the males usually 

 emerge in the evening or morning, fly neither far nor high, but 

 immediately seek out a ? , pairing taking place as in the Psyches, the 

 act of copulation lasting about a quarter of an hour, during which the 

 $ sits with wings folded together on the case of the ? , which im- 

 mediately afterwards withdraws into the pupal-shell, packs this full of 

 eggs, and finally emerges from the free end of the case as a mere 

 shrivelled-upskin. The species is abundant in the damp meadows both 

 within and just outside the woods at Chattenden, and almost equally 

 so along the drier rides. It sometimes abounds in the marshes along 

 the banks of the Medway, as in the fields in and around Chattenden 

 woods, and is almost equally common on the steep chalk hills at 

 Cuxton among the rough grass. The species also occurs on the slopes 

 at Kingsdown and in the Warren at Folkestone. Bankes notes that at 

 Purbeck, the insect is restricted to a spot at the inland edge of a salt- 

 marsh on the coast, where the males fly over the tops of the rushes in 

 the sunshine on calm days, and may be taken at rest on the stems after 

 flight is over; their active period appears to be from about 12.30 p.m.- 

 2.0 p.m., and he has never taken them later than 5 p.m. Whittle ob- 

 serves that the imagines may be found in Epping Forest, but most 

 abundantly on the river- wall of the south and south-east Essex coast 

 and the edges of the salt-marshes adjoining. In the Eiviera it 

 occurs almost everywhere, on the seashore, on all waste ground, and 

 on the wooded slopes. At Golfe-Jouan, Milliere says the cases are to 

 be found freely on the stone walls as also at Cannes, the species being 

 very common. We ourselves found many here, almost all, however, 

 empty, in April, 1898. In the Netherlands it is most frequent in moist 

 meadows (Snellen), but Zeller has taken it up to 7200ft. on the Albula 

 Pass. Hofmann says that at Eatisbon the species frequents dry sunny 

 grassy spots, especially in the neigbourhood of woods where the male 

 is often to be found in the early morning hours, sitting on the grass 

 culms as if drunk. Bruand notes that in the Doubs dept., it generally 

 occurs in fields and is especially abundant in mountain meadows ; he 

 says that it also occurs in damp meadows near Besancon, where the 

 cases are large, the larva? here pupating at least eight days after those 

 of other districts and producing imagines of larger size. 



Time of appearance. — The imagines generally appear in May and 

 June, in early seasons, however, they occur in April and May and, in 



