﻿MARASMARCHA 
  LUN^DACTYLA. 
  398 
  

  

  Ononis 
  arvemis 
  in 
  the 
  young 
  shoots, 
  but 
  later 
  more 
  woody 
  and 
  spinose, 
  

   .and 
  like 
  our 
  0. 
  spinosa. 
  On 
  May 
  16th, 
  1906, 
  I 
  brought 
  home 
  

   some 
  branches 
  of 
  Ononis 
  arvensis 
  ; 
  some 
  of 
  these 
  had 
  a 
  couple 
  of 
  

   inches 
  of 
  the 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  stem 
  that 
  often 
  occurs 
  between 
  the 
  

   branch 
  above 
  ground 
  and 
  the 
  great 
  root-stock. 
  Thinking 
  they 
  might 
  

   prove 
  useful 
  later, 
  I 
  potted 
  them, 
  hoping 
  they 
  would 
  strike. 
  To 
  assist 
  

   them 
  I 
  covered 
  the 
  pot 
  with 
  a 
  glass. 
  They 
  were 
  potted 
  on 
  May 
  18th. 
  

   On 
  May 
  20th, 
  looking 
  to 
  see 
  how 
  they 
  were 
  going 
  on, 
  I 
  saw 
  on 
  them 
  

   two 
  young 
  larvae 
  of 
  M. 
  lunaedactyla, 
  that 
  were 
  probably 
  not 
  there 
  on 
  the 
  

   17th. 
  Examining 
  them 
  more 
  carefully, 
  I 
  found 
  three 
  larvae, 
  all 
  in 
  the 
  

   supposed 
  second 
  skin, 
  one 
  quite 
  small, 
  the 
  other 
  two 
  a 
  good 
  deal 
  larger. 
  

   I 
  put 
  these 
  on 
  slides, 
  and 
  carefully 
  examined 
  the 
  portions 
  of 
  plant 
  

   they 
  were 
  on. 
  One 
  larger 
  one 
  was 
  on 
  one 
  plant, 
  and 
  the 
  other 
  two, 
  

   ,and 
  a 
  (beetle 
  ?) 
  larva 
  very 
  like 
  the 
  small 
  one, 
  on 
  the 
  other. 
  In 
  

   neither 
  case 
  could 
  I 
  find 
  a 
  hibernaculum, 
  though, 
  in 
  both 
  cases, 
  the 
  

   central 
  stem 
  was 
  abortive, 
  with 
  a 
  dead 
  and 
  partly 
  destroyed 
  end, 
  and 
  

   the 
  branches 
  were 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  lateral 
  ones, 
  about 
  two 
  inches 
  long 
  

   (the 
  weather 
  had 
  been 
  cold 
  and 
  dry, 
  and 
  most 
  plants 
  were 
  only 
  a 
  few 
  

   i 
  nches 
  long, 
  only 
  a 
  few 
  favoured 
  ones 
  being 
  over 
  six 
  inches) 
  . 
  Still, 
  I 
  think 
  

   it 
  tolerably 
  certain 
  that, 
  at 
  least 
  the 
  smallest 
  larva 
  was 
  brought 
  home 
  

   in 
  its 
  hibernaculum, 
  and 
  left 
  it 
  after 
  the 
  plants 
  were 
  potted, 
  as, 
  before 
  

   gathering 
  them, 
  I 
  searched 
  the 
  patch 
  of 
  Ononis 
  carefully 
  for 
  minute 
  

   larvae, 
  and 
  could 
  not 
  see 
  a 
  trace 
  of 
  one. 
  The 
  size 
  of 
  the 
  smallest 
  

   larva 
  certainly 
  suggested 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  not 
  in 
  the 
  skin 
  in 
  which 
  it 
  had 
  

   hybernated, 
  i.e., 
  it 
  seemed 
  to 
  have 
  only 
  recently 
  moulted, 
  being 
  much 
  

   smaller 
  than 
  the 
  other 
  two 
  larvae 
  that 
  were 
  certainly 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  instar. 
  

   This 
  would 
  suggest 
  that 
  the 
  larva 
  hybernates 
  in 
  the 
  fi 
  rst 
  instar, 
  and 
  moults 
  

   on, 
  or 
  before, 
  leaving 
  the 
  hibernaculum." 
  Ovenden 
  notes 
  that, 
  in 
  1904, 
  

   the 
  larvae 
  were 
  very 
  small 
  in 
  early 
  June 
  at 
  Cuxton, 
  and 
  each 
  then 
  rested 
  

   in 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  a 
  leaf 
  of 
  Ononis, 
  choosing 
  either 
  the 
  upper- 
  or 
  

   underside, 
  the 
  larvae 
  not 
  restricting 
  themselves 
  to 
  either 
  side 
  ; 
  when 
  older, 
  

   the 
  larva 
  seems 
  to 
  eat 
  a 
  shoot 
  from 
  its 
  apex, 
  going 
  downwards 
  for 
  two 
  or 
  

   three 
  joints, 
  and, 
  when 
  the 
  lowest 
  harder 
  material 
  is 
  reached, 
  the 
  larva' 
  

   bury 
  their 
  heads 
  in 
  the 
  centre 
  of 
  a 
  shoot 
  until 
  they 
  are 
  only 
  half 
  

   exposed. 
  Barrett 
  observes 
  that 
  the 
  larva 
  rests 
  on 
  the 
  leaver 
  of 
  

   restharrow, 
  to 
  which, 
  from 
  its 
  colour 
  and 
  downy 
  appearance, 
  it 
  bears 
  

   an 
  accurate 
  resemblance. 
  South 
  notes 
  that 
  it 
  feeds 
  on 
  the 
  terminal 
  

   leaves 
  of 
  Ononis, 
  but 
  is 
  difficult 
  to 
  see 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  similarity 
  in 
  

   •colour 
  to 
  the 
  leaves, 
  and 
  is 
  best 
  beaten, 
  if 
  the 
  situation 
  be 
  favourable. 
  

   Bacot 
  observes 
  that, 
  on 
  August 
  3rd 
  and 
  4th, 
  1904, 
  he 
  found 
  two 
  larva 
  1 
  

   resting 
  on 
  leaves 
  of 
  the 
  foodplant, 
  that 
  they 
  were 
  weak-looking, 
  and 
  

   that 
  their 
  bodies 
  looked 
  knotted 
  and 
  unhealthy, 
  sluggish 
  crawlers, 
  

   though 
  somewhat 
  restless. 
  In 
  Hesse, 
  the 
  larvae 
  are 
  to 
  be 
  found 
  

   throughout 
  May, 
  June, 
  and 
  July, 
  living 
  gregariously, 
  and 
  feeding 
  on 
  

   •the 
  leaves 
  and 
  tender 
  stems 
  of 
  Ononis 
  spinosa 
  and 
  (K 
  repens 
  (Bossier) 
  ; 
  

   near 
  Ratisbon, 
  the 
  larvae 
  are 
  to 
  be 
  found 
  sometimes 
  in 
  numbers, 
  

   mostly 
  on 
  the 
  terminal 
  twigs 
  of 
  the 
  foodplants, 
  the 
  tender 
  stems 
  being 
  

   often 
  eaten 
  through 
  (Schmidt) 
  ; 
  lives 
  in 
  June, 
  and 
  early 
  July, 
  on 
  ( 
  hionis 
  

   repens 
  and 
  other 
  species 
  of 
  Ononis, 
  mostly 
  on 
  the 
  terminal 
  shoots 
  of 
  

   the 
  plants, 
  the 
  tender 
  stalks 
  of 
  which 
  are 
  often 
  eaten 
  through 
  ; 
  Xeiler 
  

   states 
  that 
  the 
  larva* 
  eat 
  the 
  (lowers 
  (llofmann). 
  Larvffi 
  are 
  noted 
  as 
  

   occurring 
  on 
  July 
  9th, 
  1848, 
  near 
  Bhoden 
  (Speyer) 
  ; 
  June 
  ord-Julv 
  

   .3rd, 
  1866, 
  at 
  Oolljall 
  (Nolcken); 
  June 
  26th, 
  1886,at 
  Bookham 
  (Briggs); 
  

  

  