HYLOICUS PINASTRI. 291 



Foodplants. — Finns sylvestris (Lambillion), P. laricis, Abies alba, 

 Picea excelsa, Larix decidua (Bartel), Finns strobus (Ochsenheimer), 

 Abies picea, A. pectinata (Snellen), Pinus maritima (Trimoulet), P. 

 pinaster (Godart), Pinus abies (Heinemann), Cedrus libani, Cedrus 

 deodar a (Waller). 



Parasites. — A?nblyteles proleus, Christ (Holmgren), Ichneumon 

 pisorius, Linn. (Hartig). 



Habits. — The imagines have much the same habits as Sphinx 

 ligustri, pairing readily in the evening and remaining in cop. all 

 the next day, separating at dusk, when the $ almost directly 

 commences oviposition (Head). The imagines are attracted to 

 flowers in the evening, at dusk, preferring honeysuckle over arbours 

 in villages near pine forests (Ratzeburg), at flowers, preferring 

 Saponaria officinalis, flying from before dusk until completely dark, for 

 about an hour, at Biedenkopf (Riihl), at flowers of honeysuckle at 

 Aldeburgh (Hele), at flowers of Saponaria at Modena (Fiori). It 

 comes occasionally to light, e.g., not common in June, 1892, 

 but somewhat abundant from May 3rd, 1893, at electric light 

 at Berne (Hiltbold), also at Aigle, at electric light, July 3rd- 

 4th, 1898, from 9. 15-10.20 p.m. (Lowe), very abundant at electric 

 light in July, 1896, at Aix-les-Bains (Agassiz). The species comes 

 to sugar in Saxon Upper Lusatia (Schiitze), and at Dresden (Steinert). 

 In the daytime it is very sluggish, sits on the trunks of firtrees near 

 Woodbridge, and will not fly even when moved off the trunk, but 

 drops into a box held underneath (Thellusson), about 40 were taken 

 in 1882, at Aldeburgh, being captured at rest on the trunks of Scotch 

 firs, from about 4ft.- 14ft. from the ground in every aspect, apparently 

 without regard to wind or weather (Hele) ; occurs commonly on 

 the pine trunks about Namur at a height of about 3ft. from the ground 

 (Lambillion) ; is to be found at rest during the second week of June, 

 1900, on the Sacro Monte, sitting on the pine-trunks at a short 

 distance from the ground, but the specimens are very difficult to 

 see, as, in colour, they assimilate marvellously with the rough lichen 

 stained bark (Lowe). Treitschke mentions (Die Schmett., x., i, pp. 

 137-138) the pairing of a $ of Smermthus ocellata with a 2 of this 

 species, whilst Bartel notes (Pal. Gross-Schmett., ii., p. 50) the pairing 

 of a $ H. pinastri with a $ Mimas tiliae. 



Habitat. — Inhabits the pinewoods throughout Europe, Asia, 

 and probably North America, occurring abundantly in many localities, 

 and spreading for some distance up the mountains. In the Hartz 

 mountains it reaches the moor districts, probably spreading there 

 from the lower forest region (Hoffmann) ; but, although so widely 

 distributed, it usually only occurs somewhat sparingly in most of 

 the old pine forests of Europe, it is, however, not confined to these, 

 being also found in young plantations, as well as in pine thickets 

 that have long been isolated (Ratzeburg) ; at Arcachon it occurs 

 in the pine-forest that has been planted on the Landes, the species 

 of pine on which it occurs being Pinus ??iaritima, whilst, in Spain, 

 it occurs throughout the old pine-forests of the Albarracin district 

 to an elevation of at least 5000ft. (Chapman) ; it is common on 

 the Sacro Monte, a park consisting chiefly of giant pines (Lowe). 



Summarised history of Hyloicus pinastri as a British 

 insect. — Donovan, as far back as 1800, refers to a "traditionary 



