﻿AMBLYPTILIA 
  PUNCTIDACTYLA. 
  311 
  

  

  1898, 
  near 
  St. 
  Andrews 
  (Rothschild) 
  ; 
  November, 
  1898, 
  at 
  Enfield 
  

   (Edelsten) 
  ; 
  bred 
  August 
  25th 
  and 
  27th, 
  1899, 
  from 
  larvae 
  found 
  at 
  

   Harpford 
  Wood 
  (Riding) 
  ; 
  imagines 
  caught 
  September 
  3rd, 
  1904, 
  at 
  

   Dartmouth; 
  others 
  bred 
  September 
  7th-llth, 
  1904, 
  from 
  pupse 
  found 
  

   September 
  3rd, 
  1904, 
  also 
  at 
  Dartmouth 
  (Bankes). 
  

  

  Habits. 
  — 
  The 
  moth 
  appears 
  to 
  hide 
  successfully 
  in 
  the 
  autumn, 
  

   being 
  rather 
  infrequently 
  seen, 
  although, 
  occasionally, 
  it 
  is 
  attracted 
  by 
  

   the 
  nectar 
  of 
  the 
  ivy-blossom 
  in 
  October 
  and 
  November 
  ; 
  after 
  hyberna- 
  

   tion, 
  it 
  is 
  also 
  occasionally 
  noticed 
  with 
  the 
  early 
  spring 
  moths 
  at 
  

   sallow 
  blossom. 
  The 
  over-wintering 
  examples 
  seem 
  to 
  be 
  on 
  

   the 
  wing 
  until 
  June, 
  when 
  they 
  lay 
  their 
  eggs, 
  the 
  egglaying 
  being 
  

   apparently 
  spread 
  over 
  a 
  considerable 
  period. 
  Newly-emerged 
  

   examples 
  are 
  to 
  be 
  found 
  throughout 
  August 
  and 
  September, 
  and 
  are 
  

   particularly 
  fond 
  of 
  flowers, 
  having 
  been 
  found 
  feeding 
  on 
  those 
  of 
  

   Scabiosa 
  succisa, 
  Stachys 
  sylvatica, 
  Senecio 
  jacobaea, 
  etc. 
  Barrett 
  says 
  

   that 
  the 
  moth 
  is 
  rather 
  secret 
  in 
  its 
  habits, 
  hiding 
  in 
  dense 
  hedges, 
  or 
  

   among 
  thick 
  herbage, 
  in 
  the 
  daytime, 
  but 
  not 
  easily 
  disturbed, 
  nor 
  

   very 
  often 
  seen 
  ; 
  he 
  notes 
  it 
  as 
  flying 
  in 
  a 
  lane 
  at 
  Haslemere 
  in 
  

   September, 
  1867, 
  and 
  further 
  observes 
  that 
  it 
  flies 
  at 
  night, 
  and 
  will 
  

   come 
  to 
  flowers 
  of 
  ragwort. 
  Richardson 
  says 
  that 
  the 
  2 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  

   taken 
  regularly 
  at 
  Aberayron, 
  in 
  Cardiganshire, 
  in 
  the 
  autumn, 
  by 
  

   beating 
  furze 
  bushes, 
  in 
  which, 
  presumably, 
  they 
  hybernate, 
  depositing 
  

   their 
  ova 
  in 
  spring 
  or 
  early 
  summer; 
  whilst 
  Porritt 
  notes 
  that 
  he 
  kept 
  

   two 
  2 
  s 
  in 
  confinement 
  in 
  a 
  covered 
  pot 
  of 
  growing 
  Stachys, 
  and 
  

   various 
  dried 
  leaves, 
  that 
  they 
  lived 
  well 
  into 
  the 
  winter, 
  but 
  by 
  

   February 
  both 
  had 
  died. 
  Barrett 
  has 
  beaten 
  it 
  from 
  thatch, 
  at 
  

   Haslemere, 
  in 
  the 
  winter. 
  Bankes 
  observes 
  (in 
  litt.) 
  that 
  he 
  has 
  

   never 
  taken 
  the 
  moth 
  on 
  the 
  wing 
  of 
  its 
  own 
  accord, 
  but 
  he 
  has 
  " 
  no 
  

   doubt 
  that 
  its 
  actual 
  flight 
  begins 
  in 
  the 
  evening 
  and 
  lasts 
  until 
  after 
  

   nightfall. 
  A 
  specimen 
  kept 
  in 
  confinement 
  for 
  many 
  weeks, 
  used, 
  in 
  

   mild 
  weather, 
  to 
  regale 
  herself 
  towards 
  dusk, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  early 
  part 
  of 
  

   the 
  night, 
  on 
  the 
  ivy-bloom 
  supplied 
  to 
  her, 
  but 
  to 
  sit 
  quite 
  motionless 
  

   at 
  other 
  times. 
  He 
  further 
  notes 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  only 
  three 
  imagines 
  bred 
  

   of 
  recent 
  years, 
  one 
  emerged 
  at 
  12.35 
  p.m., 
  one 
  at 
  3.10 
  am., 
  and 
  one 
  

   between 
  9.45 
  p.m. 
  and 
  7.30 
  a.m." 
  [Mackay 
  records 
  it 
  as 
  occurring 
  at 
  

   light 
  at 
  Glasgow.] 
  Schmid 
  says 
  that 
  imagines 
  in 
  good 
  condition 
  are 
  

   sometimes 
  taken 
  at 
  Ratisbon 
  after 
  hybernation, 
  but 
  observes 
  that 
  they 
  

   are 
  rarely 
  noted 
  in 
  nature 
  because 
  they 
  conceal 
  themselves 
  so 
  completely 
  

   during 
  the 
  day, 
  and 
  are 
  very 
  sluggish 
  and 
  quiet. 
  

  

  Habitat. 
  — 
  In 
  Britain, 
  hedgesides 
  and 
  the 
  outskirts 
  of 
  woods 
  seem 
  

   to 
  be 
  its 
  most 
  frequent 
  habitats. 
  In 
  south 
  Germany 
  it 
  appears 
  to 
  be 
  

   widely 
  distributed, 
  and 
  occurs 
  in 
  Upper 
  Bavaria, 
  especially 
  in 
  the 
  

   lower 
  mountain 
  districts; 
  in 
  Silesia 
  it 
  occurs 
  in 
  the 
  mountain 
  valleys 
  

   (Wocke), 
  but 
  in 
  Saxon 
  Upper 
  Lusatia, 
  it 
  frequents 
  heaths 
  as 
  well 
  

   as 
  the 
  mountain- 
  woods 
  (Schiitze). 
  In 
  the 
  Baltic 
  Provinces, 
  it 
  is 
  noted 
  

   as 
  occurring 
  on 
  dry 
  meadow-land 
  near 
  Lechts, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  forest-meadow 
  

   near 
  Pichtendahl 
  (Nolcken). 
  In 
  Austria 
  it 
  occurs 
  in 
  the 
  woods 
  of 
  the 
  

   Vienna 
  district, 
  and 
  in 
  Bohemia; 
  whilst 
  in 
  Switzerland 
  it 
  m>es 
  up 
  to 
  a 
  

   height 
  of 
  5700ft. 
  (at 
  St. 
  Moritz). 
  Bankes 
  writes 
  (in 
  litt.) 
  : 
  " 
  Tins 
  species 
  

   is 
  extremely 
  local, 
  and 
  generally 
  rare, 
  both 
  in 
  Dorset 
  and 
  South 
  Devon, 
  

   and 
  even 
  in 
  the 
  best 
  years 
  for 
  it, 
  the 
  larva 
  have 
  only 
  been 
  collected 
  

   very 
  sparingly. 
  In 
  my 
  experience, 
  they 
  only 
  occur 
  along 
  hedgerows, 
  

   and 
  seem 
  to 
  prefer 
  plants 
  growing 
  in 
  sheltered 
  and 
  shady 
  situations. 
  

  

  