AGR1US CONVOLVULI. 337 



summer of 1879, near Ohinemutu, in the Auckland district, 

 frequenting, at dusk, the flowers of (Enothera biennis; they were 

 to be seen on the wing soon after sundown, and, on warm still 

 evenings, literally swarmed, although they were extremely local, 

 only being observed in the meadows on a few of the grassy slopes 

 around the shores of Lake Rotorua. In 1882, several were caught 

 near Auckland on the flowers of Brugmansia, the larvae being 

 abundant the same summer at Waiwera on a species of Convolvulus 

 growing on the sandhills there (Buller). 



s. var. tahitiensis , n. ab. — Forewiugs of a brownish- grey ground-colour, with 

 rather sharp black and white transverse lines. Hindwings suffused. Abdomen with 

 the tint of the usual pink bands much weakened. 



Walker notes (E.M.M., xx., p. 95) that he found larvae feeding on 

 the Island of Eimeo in the Tahitian group, on a species of Convolvulus 

 with very large leaves, on April 6th, 1883. These produced in May 

 a moth which Walker could not distinguish from <S. convolvuli^ 

 except in size, the insect being only about 3ms. across. He also 

 records the capture of imagines on the same island on May 9th, 

 and during the following eight days at Tahiti, larvae of the latter 

 occurring at the same time on several species of Convolvulus (loc. 

 ciL, p. 222); on June ist-2nd, several living pupae were found in the 

 patches of sweet potatoes that were being dug up for the ship, 

 at Pitcairn Island. 



£. var. pseudoconvolvuli, Schauf., "Nunquam otiosus," i., p. 15 (1870); 

 Kirby, " Cat.," p. 690 (1892). — 75mm. Somewhat similar to a small pallid 

 convolvuli, the underside unicolorous grey, only slightly darker on the margin. 

 Port Natal, 1 example (Schaufuss). 



Distant says that the Transvaal examples of this species are 

 much smaller than the European, being, on an average, only about 

 two-thirds of the wing-expanse, but not specially pallid, nor abnormal. 

 Some, however, expand 103mm., and leave nothing to be desired 

 in hue ; Schaufuss probably received a very small specimen that had 

 emerged after an unusually dry season (in litt.). 



i], var. nigricans, Cannaviello, " Bull. Soc. Ent. ItaL," xxxii., p. 295 

 (1900). — I consider this a local variety of convolvuli, differing from the type in 

 that it has the posterior wings very uniformly brown-grey in tint, the three 

 black fasciae of these wings more marked and wider. The rose-coloured rings of the 

 abdomen are much reduced, whilst the black ones are larger, and the line which 

 divides the fasciae, grey, and of such width as to cover it almost entirely. Two 

 examples taken at Godofelassi, and Makalle, in Abyssinia (Cannaviello). 



Egglaying. — The eggs are laid on the food plant, but next 

 to nothing is known of the details as to how and when. In 1897, at 

 Vido, Mathew collected bindweed for some larvae that he was rearing, 

 and each time that he did so eggs and young larvae were brought in 

 with the food. Hellins notes (E.M.M., v., pp. 1 60-161) that, on 

 August 15th, 1868, D'Orville captured a battered 2 , the abdomen 

 flat, but which, on dissection, was found to contain 220 well-formed 

 eggs. On August 21st, another $ was dissected but the ova were quite 

 undeveloped, merely small green gelatinous spots. Another shut up in 

 a large box on September 8th and fed with diluted honey and sugar, laid 

 eight eggs before the 12th and then died, her abdomen being at that 

 time empty. Another $ , shut up on September 10th, died without 

 depositing any eggs, although, on dissection, the body was found 

 to contain a quantity of eggs with shells, but not fully developed. 

 Another on September 16th was shut up, lived five days and then 

 appeared to be dying when she was pinned to a piece of cork on 

 which she laid three eggs, whilst her body was found on dissection 



