ACANTHOPSYCHE OPACELLA. 391 



if fertilised, until her eggs are deposited (unless quite by accident). 

 On emergence, she just thrusts her head out at the end of the funnel 

 to await the arrival of the male, retiring into the case at night, or if the 

 weather be cloudy, or if she be disturbed. She appears at the top 

 again when the conditions are suitable and when a male discovers her, 

 goes down the case and raises the lower extremity of her body. The 

 body of the male is somewhat similar to a telescope, lengthening out 

 between every joint or segment. The male introduces his body into 

 the funnel and copulation takes place. Having completed the process 

 of oviposition the female falls through the aperture of the funnel to the 

 ground and dies (Weaver). Near Bournemouth Mrs. Cowl observes the 

 insect as occurring in a country covered with Callnna vulgaris. Barrett 

 notes the larva on grasses and the fully grown cases on the trunks of 

 oaks, alders, or other trees in woods and on rocks and boulders on open 

 moors ; he reports full-grown cases as found attached to outcropping 

 boulders and rocks on the mountains of the Rannoch district. Cases 

 found in considerable numbers from mid-April to May by Bang-Haas, 

 at Jaegersborg and Rudehegn, spun up at the foot of birch-trunks 

 always on the south side. Speyer notes cases singly in dry sunny 

 places at Arolsen and Wildungen, in some years locally abundant in 

 the former locality. The male cases are generally spun up near the 

 ground, the female cases usually on oak-trunks 1ft. -4ft. from the 

 ground. Schiitze notes the cases abundant at Holbendorf, partly on 

 birch-trunks, partly on moss and lichen (Cladonia rangiferina) and 

 twigs lying on the ground. Caradja obtained cases in numbers in 

 May, 1893, in Roumania, on grass and trunks in a light birch wood 

 which produced the Bulgarian var. senex, Staud. Wocke says that in 

 Silesia it is sparingly distributed in the woods of the plains and the 

 lower mountains, whilst on the Stilfser-Joch it reaches nearly to the 

 tree-limit. Peyeritnhoff says that in Alsace, it occurs in the woods on 

 the mountains, but is rare in the plains. In Andalusia, Rambur found 

 the species in arid and sandy woods. Hofmann says that at Erlangen, 

 it occurs with Ptilocephala angmtella (atra) and P. villosella. The 

 male cases are, with few exceptions, spun up on the grass at the side 

 of the road-ditches, lie very much on one side, but sometimes upright ; 

 the female cases are generally found from one to four feet from the 

 ground on the trunks of the oaks that form the road avenues, often 

 as many as six or eight on a tree-trunk. At Ratisbon A. opacella only 

 occurs very rarely on the southern slopes of the chalk. 



Time of appearance. — The end of April and May (possibly June 

 in Scotland). Larva near Wellington College station, pupated April 

 16th, 1895, ? emerged April 30th (Hamm) ; larva) April lst-15th, 

 1857, at Rannoch (Harding) ; Barrett notes the larva from June to 

 February and March, and for the imago gives "end of March and April 

 and probably May " for Britain. We suspect " March and April " as 

 being altogether too early here, and also for the continent except for 

 Spain, Italy, &c, and then rarely in March, although cases obtained at 

 Locarno in March, 1899, produced imagines early in April (Chapman). 

 By the end of April the larva? have generally spun down their cases 

 for pupation at Erlangen the imagines first appear in May, sparingly at 

 first and more ? s than $ s, then J s and ? s in about equal numbers, 

 whilst later only males appear. The last males emerge in early June 

 (Hofmann) ; in Andalusia it appears in March (Rambur teste Bruand) ; 



