﻿OXYPTILUS 
  PILOSELL.E. 
  447 
  

  

  Habitat. 
  — 
  In 
  Britain, 
  it 
  is 
  very 
  local, 
  and 
  confined 
  practically 
  to 
  

   the 
  chalk. 
  Formerly, 
  it 
  used 
  to 
  be 
  exceedingly 
  abundant 
  on 
  the 
  

   chalkhills 
  at 
  Mickleham 
  and 
  Box 
  Hill, 
  in 
  Surrey, 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  chalk- 
  

   hills 
  in 
  the 
  neighbourhood 
  of 
  the 
  Devil's 
  Dyke, 
  Newmarket. 
  Of 
  

   late 
  years, 
  however, 
  these 
  localities 
  have 
  produced 
  few, 
  if 
  any, 
  

   specimens, 
  but 
  this 
  by 
  no 
  means 
  proves 
  the 
  absence 
  of 
  the 
  species 
  

   there. 
  More 
  recently, 
  however, 
  the 
  neighbourhood 
  of 
  Folkestone 
  and 
  

   Dover 
  has 
  been 
  more 
  prolific 
  in 
  specimens, 
  and 
  one 
  suspects 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  

   a 
  much-overlooked 
  species. 
  Leech 
  says 
  that 
  the 
  insect 
  is 
  excessively 
  

   local, 
  occurring 
  in 
  a 
  few 
  places 
  on 
  the 
  chalkhills 
  and 
  adjacent 
  green 
  - 
  

   sand. 
  [Blackmore 
  reports 
  that 
  he 
  captured 
  the 
  species 
  in 
  July, 
  1864, 
  

   in 
  the 
  Isle 
  of 
  Portland, 
  but 
  both 
  this, 
  and 
  Wormald's 
  record 
  that 
  he 
  

   captured 
  it 
  on 
  July 
  27th, 
  1867, 
  in 
  a 
  swamp 
  at 
  West 
  Wickham, 
  want 
  

   confirmation 
  (see 
  infra).] 
  Zeller 
  says 
  that 
  its 
  habitats 
  are 
  open, 
  

   dry, 
  sunny 
  places, 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  foodplant, 
  Hieracium 
  pilosella, 
  grows 
  

   freely 
  ; 
  it 
  is, 
  therefore, 
  most 
  frequently 
  found 
  in 
  pine 
  woods, 
  especially 
  

   on 
  sheltered, 
  gently- 
  sloping, 
  hillocks, 
  and, 
  in 
  such 
  situations, 
  in 
  places 
  

   where 
  few 
  cattle 
  are 
  reared, 
  the 
  species 
  is 
  abundant 
  enough 
  ; 
  he 
  says 
  that 
  

   it 
  is 
  pretty 
  abundant 
  throughout 
  Germany 
  on 
  welJ 
  -drained 
  soils 
  where 
  its 
  

   foodplant 
  grows. 
  In 
  Posen, 
  Zeller 
  observes 
  it 
  as 
  abundant 
  at 
  Meseritz, 
  

   on 
  dry 
  sandy 
  tracts, 
  where 
  Gnaphalium 
  arenarlum, 
  Artemisia 
  campestris, 
  

   etc., 
  grows 
  abundantly, 
  the 
  imagines 
  being 
  easily 
  seen 
  and 
  captured 
  

   in 
  the 
  twilight. 
  Zetterstedt 
  observes 
  that, 
  in 
  southern 
  Scandinavia, 
  it 
  

   is 
  found 
  almost 
  everywhere 
  in 
  fields, 
  pastures, 
  and 
  pine 
  forests. 
  We 
  

   found 
  the 
  species 
  fairly 
  commonly 
  in 
  a 
  very 
  restricted 
  area 
  in 
  Fontaine- 
  

   bleau 
  Forest, 
  not 
  far 
  from 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  main 
  drives 
  passing 
  through 
  it, 
  and 
  

   amongst 
  rather 
  sparse 
  herbage, 
  under, 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  we 
  can 
  remember, 
  pine- 
  

   trees; 
  at 
  Bourg 
  St. 
  Maurice, 
  it 
  occurred 
  rarely 
  on 
  the 
  lovely 
  flower- 
  

   covered 
  banks 
  above 
  the 
  bridge, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  those 
  much 
  higher 
  up 
  the 
  

   torrent 
  ; 
  at 
  Courmayeur, 
  in 
  Piedmont, 
  on 
  the 
  other 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  Little 
  

   St. 
  Bernard 
  Pass, 
  the 
  species 
  also 
  haunted 
  the 
  flowery 
  slopes, 
  lying 
  directly 
  

   behind 
  the 
  village 
  at 
  the 
  foot 
  of 
  Mont 
  Courmet, 
  that 
  lead 
  up 
  to 
  the 
  

   pine-forests 
  that 
  cover 
  its 
  steep 
  sides 
  ; 
  here 
  the 
  insect 
  was 
  taken 
  at 
  an 
  

   elevation 
  of 
  more 
  than 
  5000 
  ft. 
  At 
  Chamonix, 
  odd 
  specimens 
  only 
  

   were 
  taken, 
  one, 
  on 
  the 
  flowery 
  banks 
  below 
  Lavancher, 
  which 
  are 
  

   again 
  capped 
  by 
  pine-woods, 
  the 
  other 
  in 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  openings 
  among 
  

   the 
  bushes 
  and 
  boulders 
  that 
  cover 
  the 
  lower 
  slopes 
  of 
  the 
  B 
  re 
  vent. 
  

   At 
  Cortina, 
  in 
  the 
  Tyrol, 
  again, 
  a 
  single 
  specimen 
  was 
  captured 
  on 
  the 
  

   flower-covered 
  banks 
  at 
  the 
  foot 
  of 
  the 
  Croda 
  di 
  Lago, 
  where 
  grassy 
  

   openings 
  lead 
  up 
  into 
  the 
  woods 
  of 
  the 
  lower 
  slopes. 
  On 
  other 
  occasions 
  

   we 
  have 
  found 
  the 
  species 
  at 
  considerable 
  elevations, 
  once 
  at 
  Megeve, 
  

   on 
  a 
  slope 
  in 
  a 
  meadow, 
  by 
  the 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  Calvaire, 
  when 
  it 
  flew 
  

   freely 
  at 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  afternoon 
  in 
  the 
  sunshine, 
  and 
  again 
  at 
  Bobbie, 
  

   in 
  the 
  Pellice 
  valley, 
  where 
  it 
  also 
  was 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  late 
  afternoon 
  on 
  a 
  

   rough 
  rock-covered 
  slope, 
  covered 
  with 
  thyme 
  and 
  other 
  attractive 
  

   plants, 
  and 
  at 
  the 
  foot 
  of 
  which 
  was 
  a 
  jungle 
  of 
  Eupatorium, 
  giant 
  

   salvias, 
  thistles, 
  willow, 
  etc. 
  In 
  both 
  these 
  placea 
  it 
  was 
  in' 
  fair 
  

   abundance. 
  In 
  the 
  late 
  afternoon 
  of 
  August 
  6th, 
  \\)(Y2, 
  at 
  Megeve, 
  

   more 
  than 
  a 
  dozen 
  specimens 
  were 
  seen 
  in 
  a 
  short 
  time, 
  bur. 
  In- 
  the 
  

   next 
  afternoon, 
  the 
  herbage 
  had 
  been 
  cut, 
  and 
  only 
  single 
  specimens 
  

   were 
  noted 
  in 
  the 
  locality 
  afterwards. 
  The 
  species 
  appeared 
  to 
  

   occur 
  sparingly 
  far 
  up 
  the 
  Pellice 
  Valley 
  above 
  Bobbie, 
  and 
  a 
  

   .single 
  example 
  was 
  nettsd 
  at 
  An 
  Pra, 
  on 
  pasturages 
  above 
  

  

  