PHRYXUS LIVORNICA. 159 



be called its native territory, it flies freely to flowers by day in the most 

 brilliant sunshine. Thus Blackmore notes its great abundance in Feb- 

 ruary and March, 1868, at Tangier, where it affected most the flowers 

 of the various kinds of lupin with which the hills are clothed ; it 

 was equally abundant in the early spring of 1870 in northwest 

 Morocco, and one suspects that this early abundant February to 

 April brood provides us with our spring immigrants. Swinton 

 observes that, on the sandhills at Jaffa, which resemble the well- 

 known hunting-grounds at Deal as regards fauna and landscape, 

 this moth was common in April, 1896, darting from the stunted 

 vinestocks before the advancing footsteps with a swiftness that 

 literally rendered it invisible. Menetries found a specimen at 12000ft. 

 elevation in the snow region of Mt. Elburz. Oberthiir says that he has 

 seen it at the summit of the Canigou at an altitude of 2785 metres, 

 and has observed it in the Pyrenees flying throughout the day 

 at flowers in August. Guenee also says that he has seen the 

 species flying at great altitudes in the hot sun, whilst, in the plains, 

 it appeared to fly in the evening. Oberthiir, however, insists that 

 it flies by day in the plains as well as in the mountains. Allard 

 observes that, at Biskra, the moth flies among Euphorbiaceous plants, 

 and Eversmann, as we have noted, makes, a similar observation, stating 

 that P. livornica flies with Hyles euphorbiae among Euphorbia on the 

 steppes on the Achtuba. Chapman records that, at Tragacete, about 

 July 20th, 1902, three specimens of P. livornica were taken flying in 

 the forenoon — two were taken one day and one the next day, about 

 10 a.m., and at precisely the same spot. None were supposed to be 

 seen elsewhere ; they were 2 $ s, 1 $ . Merrifield states that he 

 started one up, at about 1 p.m., in a heathy field near Cuckfield, 

 and there are other records of its day-flying habits, e.g., Brown 

 notes (Mag. Nat. Hist., viii., p. 556) that he was surprised at 

 finding it at noonday on Cirsium eriophorum on the alp of Sollalex, 

 at the foot of the Diablerets. Caradja says that, in Roumania, 

 the imagines fly by day even in cloudy weather, and Bartel notes 

 (Pal. Gross-Schmett., ii., p. 99) that, when the sky is clouded, the 

 moth is sometimes met with by day. He further points out that 

 it is particularly partial to strongly-scented flowers at dusk, and notes 

 that it especially favours Saponaria, Silene mai'iiima, Valeriana, 

 Cirsium eriophorum, Rhododendron, Phlox and Petunia. The follow- 

 ing records may be interesting. Common in the gardens at Collo 

 at flowers of petunias in the evening (Seriziat), common some 

 summers at Tangier and Gibraltar at flowers of Plumbago capensis, 

 Pelargonium, &c, also found at rest on walls (Walker), a specimen 

 seen flying at flowers in the hot sun at Weissenburg (Huguenin), 

 several captured flying at flowers in the bright sunshine on both 

 sides of the Sea of Marmora — European and Asiatic — from May to 

 August in 1878 (Mathew), a very fine example flying over flowers 

 in daytime captured in woods at Polegate (Ward), and one flying 

 over a chalk bank near Walmer Castle (Leslie), a $ at flowers 

 of Silene maritima at Douglas Head (Crennel), at dusk at flowers of 

 S. maritima and red valerian at Torquay (Jones), at red valerian 

 at Croydon (Gower), six imagines in 1870 at petunias and 

 verbenas near Plymouth (Purdue), at flowers of pelargonium in 

 greenhouse at Abingdon (Walker), at rhododendrons in Jersey 



