SATURN I A PAVONIA. 319 



a distinctly gregarious habit, but also persistently sought the side 

 of their cage which was turned towards the light. Kane obtained 

 a batch of larvae (about 6mm. long) at Leenane, Connemara, on 

 July 3rd, feeding on Myrica gale ; they were quite social, but spun 

 no silk web on which to rest. Hoffmann states that the larvae are 

 gregarious until after the third moult in the Upper Hartz, and are 

 fullfed there about the beginning of July, the adult coloration being 

 very protective on Calluna vulgaris, and, in spite of their large 

 size, their green tint and reddish or yellow bristle-bearing warts 

 render them inconspicuous. Holland observes that, when young, 

 the larvae prefer thick cover, and are found low down in the willow- 

 beds, where the long grass and herbage grow around the small 

 willows, whilst the larger larvae are found higher up on the large 

 bushes, occasionally fully exposed, but usually even these are most 

 abundant in the densest part of a bush. Bankes sweeps the larvae 

 from heather in Dorset and Hants, and has sometimes met with 

 the fullfed larva on heaths wandering about in search of a suitable 

 place in which to spin. Porritt observes that, in Yorkshire, the 

 larvae prefer the lower shoots of whitethorn bushes on or at 

 the edges of heaths, and we have seen them in abundance on the 

 plants of Spiraea ulmaria that abound everywhere in Wicken Fen. 

 Occasionally they are very abundant — Christy notes them as being 

 exceptionally so on the moors of south Argyllshire in August and 

 September, 1894, with larvae of Lasiocampa quercus var. callunae and 

 Pharetra menyanthidis. The following notes relating to the capture 

 of larvae have been collected : larvae fullfed in mid-August in the 

 valleys of the Upper Engadine (Bischoff) ; July 19th — 23rd, 1890, 

 at Tancarville, Normandy (Leech) ; June 29th, 1878, at Barmouth 

 (Sheldon); July 22nd — August 3rd, 1878, June 14th— 26th, 1880, 

 at Wicken (Porritt) ; September 13th, 1879, fullfed larvae at Chat 

 Moss (Auld) ; larvae from June 16th — August, 1880, at Eltham 

 (A. H. Jones); larvae June 24th, 1885, at Abbott's Wood (Hanes); 

 larvae feeding on elder, August 3rd, 1888, at Groombridge 

 (Blaber) ; July 21st, 1889, 69 on sallow and willow, August 31st, 

 1890, at Southstoke, May 28th 1893, at Pamber Forest (Holland); 

 larvae August, 1889, at Felixstowe, August, 1889 and 1890, at 

 Brantham (Buckell) ; larvae July 12th — 19th, 1890, at Brockenhurst 

 (Ogden); May 1st, 1892, June 8th, 1896, at Benfleet (Whittle); 

 June 9th, 1892, at Hartley Wintney (Claxton); June 6th, 1893, on 

 oak, June 1st, 1896, at Chattenden (Bower); July 15th — 24th, 1893, 

 at Wicken (Mitchell); July 29th, 1894, at Haverthwaite, larvae on 

 heather (Arkle) ; July, 1894, at Abersoch (G. O. Day); August 

 1st — September 22nd, 1894, June 5th — August 31st, 1895, at Penrith 

 (Varty) ; August 30th, 1894, September 8th, 1896, on a heath at 

 Heswall (Freeman); June 7th, 1896, near King's Lynn, on birch 

 (Glenny) ; larvae June 8th, 1896, at Benfleet (Mera); July 18th, 



1896, in North Devon (Cowl) ; fullfed larvae August 4th, 1896, at 

 Wicken (Kaye) ; August 1st, 1896, at Ringwood (Fowler) ; June 6th, 



1897, at Denny Bog (Tremayne) ; larvae June 22nd, 1897, also 37 

 young larvae at Loch Chesnay, June 5th, 1898, fullfed larvae on Septem- 

 ber 4th, 1898, &c. (Gordon) ; July 10th — 24th, 1897, at Barmouth 

 (Imms) ; larvae July 31st, 1897, in Glen Mallon (Dalglish); 

 larvae fullfed on August 19th, 1897, very small, in web, June 17th, 



