516 BRITISH LEPIDOPTERA. 



rare (Hoffmann), Osterode, Neuhaldensleben, Rheingau (Jordan), Berlin district, 

 rare (Pfiitzner), Freiburg, Lahr, Wurtemberg (Reutti). Russia: Baltic Provinces 

 (Nolcken). 



Nickerl notes milesiformis as a form of the species with narrower 

 wings, the larvae and the foodplants being identical. Staudinger 

 writes: " Minor dilutior, gen. aestiva (?)." Bartel writes (p. 227) : u $ , 

 ? . Treitschke's types in the National Museum, Budapest, belong to a 

 somewhat smaller form of M. bombyliformis (fuciformis), which does 

 not even reach the expanse of (the on an average somewhat smaller) 

 M. fucifor?nis (tityus). The part of the wing at the immediate base is 

 thickly dusted with dark scales on both wings. The scaling on the 

 transverse nervure of the forewing is not so extended. In this respect 

 ab. milesiformis, therefore, forms the direct antithesis of var. robusta, 

 Alph. The outer margin of the wings is lighter red-brown scaled, 

 and sends out towards the base small teeth into the single cells. On the 

 underside the inner margins are lighter yellow than in M. bombyliformis 

 (fuciformis). The thorax and abdomen are more yellow in colour and 

 show hardly any green admixture at all. Girdle bright red-brown 

 (in other specimens in the Museum black-brown). Anal tuft pointed, 

 yellow in the middle, black at the sides, underneath with black tip. 

 Only small and lighter specimens of M. bombyliformis (fuciformis) 

 may be considered as ab. milesiformis. As most of the differences 

 given by Treitschke are not constant, the principal characters 

 of this form are only the more narrowly scaled transverse nervure 

 of the forewing, the lighter red-brown outer margin of the wings, 

 the in-projecting teeth, the yellower body, and the lighter red-brown 

 girdle of the abdomen. Occurs everywhere among the type." 



Egglaying. — The moths appear to lay their eggs at any time 

 during the day, and as far as my observation goes they do not lay 

 them on the wing, but alight for a moment to deposit an egg and then 

 fly away again (Head). Three eggs sent by Mr. Head on July 10th, 

 1 90 1, were laid on the underside of a leaf of honeysuckle, being 

 firmly attached to the surface ; all are laid somewhat near the 

 margin, two touching each other, the other separate (Tutt). The 

 species is reported by Harwood (Buckler's Larvae, vol. ii., p. 121) 

 to lay her eggs whilst on the wing, curling up the abdomen so 

 as to place the egg on the undersurface of a leaf. Sladen also 

 records (Ent., xxi., p. 14) the species as laying its eggs whilst on 

 the wing; he observed it doing so at Burghclere in 1886. Freeman 

 observes that the eggs are very easy to find, being laid on either 

 side of small leaves of honeysuckle on June 30th, 1899, at Aylsham, 

 and Barrett notes that the eggs are deposited upon the leaves, while 

 hovering over honeysuckle sprays, and are easily found. Bartel says 

 that the spherical pale green egg is attached to the underside of 

 a leaf of the foodplant, and if the leaf be torn off and allowed to 

 become dry the eggs fail to develop. 



Ovum. — I'imm. in length, imm. in width, height about '9mm. 

 oval in outline, to the naked eye approaching a circular outline 

 plump ; slightly flattened on upper surface but with no depression 

 the two ends — the micropylar and its nadir — almost equally rounded 

 the surface almost smooth, shiny, but with very slight traces of an 

 exceedingly faint polygonal reticulation rather better developed 

 towards the ends, and appearing rather as shallow longitudinal 



