THERETRA PORCELLUS. 107 



cylindricum.) Bridg., Banckiis moniliattts, Gr., B. falcator, Fab. (Adkin 

 teste Bignell), Trogus lutorius, Fab. (Billups), T. alboguttatus Gr. 

 (Billups). 



Foodplants. — Epilobium, \_Impatiens\ (Linne), Galium verum, 

 G. mollugo, G. palustre (Buckler), G. saxatile (Chappell). G. aparine 

 (Robson), Epilobium angustifolium (Standish), E. hirsutum, Ly thrum 

 saliearia, Vitis vinifera (Kaltenbach). 



Habits. — The imagines are occasionally to be found at rest on 

 various plants — frequently found on banks covered with Ononis 

 arvensis on the Lancashire coast sandhills (Moss), abundant in 1895 

 along foot of North Downs near Wye, especially on the old racecourse ; 

 they were mostly seen at rest on bedstraw and grass (Theobald), 

 five taken at rest on Galium growing at roots of rushes on Wimbledon 

 Common (T. Briggs), on the steep grassy side of the slope above 

 Blair Logie on June 6th, newly emerged (Wingate), at rest in the 

 long grass at Beachy Head (Blenkarn), at rest on grass, June 

 8th, 1900, at Orton (Thwaytes), a pair taken in copula at 

 1 a.m., on June 19th, 189 1, at Dublin, the specimens on the 

 head of a tall stalk of grass, their brilliant colour attracting attention 

 (Curzon) ; at rest on a nettle about 10.45 a - m - at Tuddenham on June 

 18th, 1891 (Christy). They rarely come to light in Britain, but 

 there are some records — at Taunton in 1886 (Farrant), in August 

 at Wallasey (Powley), at Winchester (Shepheard-Walwyn), at 

 Appledore (Heitland), on lamps at Worcester (Rea), on the 

 continent it is often recorded at light, e.g., at Namur the imagines 

 often come to light (Lambillion), common at electric light at 

 Berne from April 12th — August 15th, 1893 (Hiltbold), at electric 

 light at Aigle on July 3rd-4th, 1898 (Lowe), common at electric 

 light at Zurich in May and June, 1893-5 (-^ a g en )> abundant at 

 electric light July and August, 1896, at Aix-les-Bains (Agassiz). 

 It comes somewhat freely on some occasions to sugar — at 

 Winchester, in June, 1891, a specimen rushed like a hawk at the 

 brush as it was taken out of the pot to sugar a tree and began 

 feeding (Hewett), odd ones now and again at sugar at Lincoln 

 (Musham), hovering at sugar in the New Forest at dusk (Lofthouse), 

 at sugar at Wheatley Wood (Corbett), at sugar from June i2th-i6th, 

 187 1, at Sherwood Wood (Porritt), at Deal, as soon as the sugar was 

 put on (Carr), &c. Its natural habit, however, is to visit flowers 

 from just before dusk and to remain on the wing rather more 

 than a couple of hours, from about 8 p.m. until 10.30 p.m., 

 though few come after 10 p.m. At Namur the moths fly regularly 

 about 9 p.m. at Galium (Lambillion), at 9 p.m. at bugloss, con- 

 tinuing on the wing only for about an hour (Poulton), at St. 

 Ives at honeysuckle, rarely later than 8 p.m., best time half an 

 hour earlier, very abundant in 1879, a dozen being captured on 

 each of six successive evenings (Norris), flies just before dusk 

 at Biedenkopf (Riihl), hovering over honeysuckle just between 

 daylight and dusk from June ist-gth, 1894, at Windrush Burford 

 (Todd) ; commences its flight about 8.30 p.m. at Painswick 

 (Watkins). It chooses a large variety of flowers for its visits — 

 Silene inflata at Hartlepool (Merryweather), abundant at pinks 

 in 1895, at Coxhorne and Charlton Kings (Robertson), and at 

 Bremhill (Eddrup), red campion in North Wales (Woodforde), 



