PACHYGASTRIA TRIFOLII. 23 



June 29th, 1857. Gregson observes the larvae as very common on the 

 Crosby and Wallasey sandhills on May 3rd, 1856, and Gascoyne 

 states that at the end of May, 1856, on the Sussex coast, he collected 

 300 in less than an hour, and could have taken a thousand more ; 

 they fed well on various grasses, but would not touch trefoil or 

 plantain. Galliers reports larvae as abundant at Wallasey in June, 1859. 

 Harker observes that he found the larvae common between June 23rd 

 — 30th, 1873, a ^ round the coast of Alderney, but most abundant 

 close to Fort Turaille, where fifty specimens were taken in about two 

 hours, feeding on a tough, wiry grass growing among the sand. Bacot 

 has taken them on Whitemoor before breakfast in several different years, 

 and considers the early morning, with the sun shining on the short 

 heather, the best time to obtain them ; yet Hewett observes that the 

 larvae (half-grown and fullfed) feed only in the evening on the heaths 

 near Lyndhurst, crawling up from their hiding-places among the roots 

 about sunset (earlier if there has been a shower) and sitting on the dead 

 shoots or twigs of Erica tetralix. Bowles states that the larvae were 

 more plentiful than usual at Lyndhurst in 1896 j they drink freely, and 

 like moistened food. Reaumur (and several later observers) has stated 

 that only a small proportion ever reach full-growth in captivity, and of 

 those that pupated and emerged almost all were cripples. Adkin says 

 that the larvae, in the Scilly Isles, usually feed many close together, 

 but isolated ones are often seen ; on bare sand they lie stretched out 

 on the ground, but roll into a ring when anyone approaches ; on thick 

 heather they usually lie exposed. The larvae are exceedingly local, 

 not always found in the same place, nor even on the same island. 

 Ebrard notes {Bull. Soc. Ent. France, 1868, p. xc) that he has had good 

 success in rearing P. trifolii, feeding the larvae on Spartium scoparium 

 in a perforated metal cage, the food being placed in water, and 

 frequently renewed to keep it fresh. Zeller records (Isis, 1847, p. 421) 

 larvae as abundant at Messina, on the sandy peninsula forming the 

 " Haven ; " they were found amongst Juncus acutus feeding on soft 

 grasses. On Feb. 24th they were of varying sizes, but none full- 

 grown. When there had been rain in the night, they sat on the upper 

 parts of the plants and were very easy to find, but by April they had 

 disappeared (presumably for pupation). The following dates as to 

 larvae have been collected : larvae, June and July, in Pomerania 

 (Hering) ; larvae, fullfed in New Forest in June (Edelsten), fullfed, 

 in July in Guernsey (Luff) ; common, June 1st, i860 on sandhills near 

 Liverpool (Gregson) ; June 12th, i860, from near Liverpool (Fenn) ; 

 June 24th, 1893, in Guernsey (Hodges) ; June 13th, 1894, about three- 

 quarters grown in South Devon (Prideaux) ; April 21st, 1895, May 

 4th — nth, 1897, small, at Formby (Freeman); May 23rd — 26th, 



1896, at Lyndhurst (Bowles) ; May 29th — 30th, 1896, on Whitemoor, 

 Lyndhurst (Lane); almost fullfed larvae at Digne, April i5th-3oth, 



1897, and fullfed larvae in Fontainebleau Forest, June 2ist-2 9th, 1897 

 (Tutt); June 17th, 1899, several larvae on Longy Common, Alderney 

 (Luff), common in the Island of Malta from March 26th, 1901, 

 onwards (Fletcher), &c. 



Larva. — In the first stadium , the head is large, black, shiny, with 

 traces of white markings on clypeus, inclining to be trapezoidal in 

 shape, a few scattered black hairs. Body short, rather thick and 

 stout (well raised from resting-surface), prolegs rather large, anal 



