SESIA STELLATARUM. 9 



&c. (Holland) ; frequently found on isolated plants at Brighton 

 (Merrifield); frequently in batches, several larvae being found on a 

 small patch of Galium at Lincoln (Musham) • the larvae prefer sunny 

 localities, occur very commonly in certain years, even in places 

 where it is otherwise seldom found (Bartel) ; appear to be found 

 most frequently on plants of shorter growth and less intermixed with 

 grass on the Lancashire and Cheshire sandhills ; it may readily be 

 traced by the exposed black frass, and rarely wanders far away 

 till ready to pupate (Moss). The larvae may be found almost 

 all the year through, in such years as the insect visits us, early 

 June, late July and early August and September being possibly the 

 months preceding the three more or less uncertain broods that we 

 have in favoured seasons here, but much depends upon the season, 

 for, in some years, larvae are only obtainable in July and August 

 and late September and October, the latter usually being exterminated 

 by the early frosts. Robson notes that a larva dropped in water, by 

 accident, very quickly recovered. The following notes may be of 

 interest : — Larvae in Upper Austria, June and September-October 

 (Himsl); 20 larvae on Galium verum, July 26th-August 26th, 1857, at II- 

 fracombe, August 25th, 1859, at Braunton Burrows (Mathew); rather 

 young larvae on August 19th, many quite small and almost fullfed 

 larvae from August 2oth-September 5th, 1857, at Brighton (Merri- 

 field) ; a very large number of larvae during the last week of 

 September, 1859, these spun up in early October, and produced 

 imagines at the end of the same month, the pupae that 

 did not do so then died ; no pupa remained alive until 

 the next year (Hellins); larvae, August 5th, 1865, at Rottingdean 

 (Image) ; larvae abundant at Devonport during the first three weeks 

 of August, 1865 (Hay ward), and in September, 1865, at Scar- 

 borough (Lighton), and from October 6th, 1865, onwards at 

 Barnstaple (Mathew); August i2th-24th, 1867, August 28th, 1872, 

 fullfed, figured by Buckler (Hellins) ; July 10th, 1872, at Pangbourne, 

 August 17th, 1890, at Hardvvick, July 20th, 1898, at St. Helens, Isle 

 of Wight (Holland); August 30th, 1873, at Dover (A. H. Jones); 

 larvae, fullfed, August 4th, 1875, at Lee, August 22nd, 1892, larvae 

 at Deal, August 12th, 1893, at Folkestone (Fenn) ; very abundant 

 October 24th, 1878, at Gallipoli (Mathew); August i7th-3oth, 1879, 

 at Yarmouth (Lockyer) ; larvae plentiful at Cleethorpes, August 23rd, 

 1879 (Auld); September nth, 1886, not halfgrown (Porritt); through- 

 out September, 1888, abundant at Deal, Walmer, and Kingsdown 

 (Tutt) ; 31 larvae in various stages between September ist-5th, 1889, in 

 South Devon, and larvae common at Sidmouth in July, 1898 (Wells); 

 larvae, nearly fullfed, August 26th, 1890, and August 29th, 1894, at 

 Reading (Butler) ; in July, 1892, a dozen larvae, and several on July 22nd, 

 1898, at Westgate (Sich); larvae, August 21st, 1892, at Braunton 

 (Bartlett) ; July i5th-24th, 1893, at Wicken (Mitchell) ; August, 

 1897, larvae abundant at Walmer (Griffiths) ; larvae young 

 and fullgrown at West Kirby on September 15th, 1897 (Moss), 

 August 3rd, 1898, at Sidmouth, eggs and plenty of young larvae 

 on July 27th, 1901, at Hazeleigh (Raynor) ; larvae, July 12th, 19th, 

 27th, 29th, and 30th, 1899, August iyth-2ist, 1900, at Sudbury, also 

 larvae July i8th-2oth, 1899, at Henny, and from July 20th-August 6th, 

 1 90 1, in the Sudbury district, by the latter date they were all fullfed 



