390 BRITISH LEPIDOPTERA. 



bosses, is a pair of small blunt points anteriorly, whilst a little inside 

 each boss is a rounded eminence surmounted by a raised ring, defective 

 externally and posteriorly. These look very much as though they 

 represented the claspers of the larva, and if so the anal hooks 

 cannot be the claspers but must represent the corneous plates 

 clothing their bases. On 9, which is not very definitely marked off 

 ventrally from 8, is a median depression with a rounded mammilla on 

 either side. The wings are strongly marked by nervures, and the 

 inner nervure is very prominent, sending two branches to margin of 

 wing (Chapman). ? . The empty female pupal-skin is about 12mm. 

 in length and 3mm. in thickness at the widest part, 6th abdominal 

 segment. It tapers gradually to head, and rapidly to the broad 

 rounded anus without armature. The scars of the prolegs are very 

 distinct and the sexual organs also distinct. The anterior margin of 

 the dorsal area of abdominal segments 6-7 bears a short row of recurved 

 hooks pointing backwards, not particularly strong or prominent. The 

 2nd-5th abdominal segments bear on the posterior margin of the dorsal 

 area a row of small curved hooks pointing towards the head ; these 

 latter rows extend much farther transversely than those on the anterior 

 edge of 6 and 7. There are slight indications of the posterior row of 

 hooks on the 6th abdominal. The spiracles are small, almost level 

 with the surrounding surface. The two subspiracular hairs iv and v 

 are present, at least on one segment, but small and weak. The dorsal 

 hairs are apparently present, but most difficult to clearly distinguish. 

 The skin of the pupa is much wrinkled in places, and granular or 

 finely shagreened in others, giving it a dull appearance. The envelope 

 is semi-transparent and contains numerous empty eggs and many 

 young larvae moving about (Bacot). 



Dehiscence. — $ . The dehiscence of the male pupa of A. opacella 

 is not distinguishable from that of P. villosella (Chapman). 



Habits of Pupa.- — The female pupa-is thin and pliable, unlike that 

 of the male, and with energetic twists of its body it is enabled to go up 

 and down its gauze-like funnel with astonishing rapidity. The funnel 

 serves for a weather-guage for both male and female ; it serves for the 

 female both in the pupal and imaginal states, for the male only in the 

 pupal state. The female pupa moves to the top of the funnel when 

 almost ready for emergence and if mature and the sun is sufficiently 

 brilliant she emerges. The funnel of the male case is considerably 

 longer than that of the female, and it is astonishing how fast the 

 pupa travels up and down the funnel. The pupae will sometimes thrust 

 their bodies half-way out of the silken tube and return again if the 

 sun be not shining, as they only emerge when the sun shines 

 (Weaver) . 



Food-plants. — SalloAV (Cowl), Vaccinium and Calluna (Hoffmann), 

 grass, heath, furze (Merrin), grass (Speyer), sallow, willow, especially 

 fond of Polygonum aviculare (Bacot). 



Habits and Habitat. — The males usually emerge in the morning espe- 

 cially in the sunshine (Speyer), but Zeller notes a $ example that emerged 

 in the afternoon of June 6th, from a pupa obtained at Weissenstein. The 

 male flies in the sunshine, and Holland says that a specimen captured by 

 himself near Reading looked unexpectedly pale on the wing ; he also notes 

 that "when captured the motion of the wings is continued with such 

 swiftness as to render them invisible." The female never leaves the case, 



