﻿526 
  BRITISH 
  LEPIDOPTEEA. 
  

  

  their 
  confinement 
  the 
  larvae 
  bored 
  into 
  the 
  blossoms, 
  which 
  were 
  not 
  

   before 
  attacked, 
  from 
  the 
  outside, 
  making 
  quite 
  conspicuous 
  holes, 
  in 
  

   fact, 
  they 
  ate 
  freely, 
  and 
  moved 
  from 
  one 
  bloom 
  to 
  another 
  ; 
  on 
  July 
  19th 
  

   four 
  of 
  the 
  larger 
  ones 
  pupated." 
  Mrs. 
  Mathew 
  discovered 
  the 
  larvae 
  

   in 
  Britain, 
  in 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  August, 
  1906, 
  near 
  Wimborne, 
  Dorset. 
  Her 
  

   liusband 
  notes 
  (Ent. 
  Hec, 
  xviii., 
  p. 
  245) 
  that 
  " 
  she 
  collects 
  plants, 
  and, 
  

   among 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  specimens 
  she 
  was 
  drying, 
  that 
  had 
  been 
  obtained 
  

   near 
  Wimborne, 
  was 
  a 
  head 
  of 
  marsh 
  gentian, 
  containing 
  several 
  

   flowers. 
  After 
  they 
  had 
  been 
  pressing 
  for 
  several 
  days, 
  under 
  a 
  

   considerable 
  weight, 
  she 
  examined 
  them 
  to 
  see 
  if 
  they 
  required 
  placing 
  

   between 
  dry 
  sheets, 
  and 
  was 
  not 
  best 
  pleased 
  to 
  discover 
  that 
  some 
  of 
  

   the 
  flowers 
  had 
  been 
  much 
  eaten 
  by 
  a 
  couple 
  of 
  little 
  larvae, 
  which 
  

   looked 
  none 
  the 
  worse 
  for 
  having 
  been 
  subjected 
  to 
  such 
  pressure. 
  

   She 
  brought 
  them 
  to 
  me 
  as 
  she 
  thought 
  they 
  might 
  be 
  something- 
  

   good, 
  as 
  they 
  were 
  feeding 
  upon 
  rather 
  an 
  uncommon 
  plant, 
  and 
  I 
  at 
  

   once 
  saw 
  they 
  were 
  the 
  larvae 
  of 
  some 
  kind 
  of 
  ' 
  plume.' 
  .... 
  

   This 
  was 
  about 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  August, 
  and 
  these 
  two 
  larvae 
  were 
  

  

  then 
  nearly 
  fullgrown 
  The 
  larvae, 
  later, 
  appeared 
  

  

  to 
  be 
  rare, 
  for, 
  after 
  several 
  days' 
  careful 
  search 
  among 
  the 
  

   gentian, 
  which 
  itself 
  was 
  by 
  no 
  means 
  plentiful, 
  I 
  could 
  only 
  find 
  

   about 
  a 
  dozen, 
  and 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  more 
  were 
  found 
  among 
  the 
  drying- 
  

   plants." 
  Chapman 
  notes 
  (in 
  lift.): 
  "It 
  is 
  rather 
  remarkable 
  that 
  

   Mrs. 
  Mathew's 
  method 
  of 
  discovering 
  the 
  species 
  in 
  Britain 
  seems 
  to 
  

   be 
  a 
  very 
  usual 
  way 
  of 
  meeting 
  with 
  it 
  elsewhere. 
  Two 
  years 
  ago 
  

   Mr. 
  Wheeler 
  sent 
  me 
  living 
  pupae 
  (which 
  emerged 
  on 
  the 
  way), 
  which 
  

   he 
  discovered 
  on 
  stems 
  of 
  a 
  bunch 
  of 
  marsh 
  gentian 
  placed 
  in 
  water. 
  

   This 
  year 
  Mr. 
  Sich 
  gave 
  me 
  the 
  remains 
  of 
  a 
  male 
  found 
  in 
  a 
  similar 
  

   way, 
  and 
  these 
  three 
  are, 
  as 
  it 
  happens, 
  the 
  only 
  sources 
  of 
  my 
  pupa- 
  

   cases 
  of 
  the 
  pnewnonanthes 
  var. 
  of 
  A. 
  praphodactyla. 
  These, 
  and 
  other 
  

   pupae 
  of 
  f/raphodactyla, 
  show 
  that, 
  though 
  the 
  larva 
  is 
  apparently 
  well 
  

   hidden 
  in 
  the 
  somewhat 
  folded-up 
  flowers 
  of 
  the 
  gentian, 
  it 
  leaves 
  

   them 
  for 
  pupation, 
  but 
  does 
  not 
  travel 
  far, 
  no 
  doubt 
  naturally 
  fixing 
  

   itself 
  up 
  on 
  the 
  stem 
  of 
  the 
  plant 
  on 
  which 
  it 
  has 
  fed." 
  Dadd 
  notes 
  

   (in 
  lift.) 
  : 
  "Larvae 
  were 
  found 
  feeding 
  on 
  the 
  flowers 
  and 
  seed-vessels 
  of 
  

   Gentiana 
  cruciata* 
  The 
  large 
  blue 
  flowers 
  of 
  this 
  plant 
  are 
  fairly 
  

   common 
  at 
  Finkenkrug, 
  and 
  round 
  holes 
  bored 
  in 
  the 
  bells 
  first 
  drew 
  my 
  

   attention 
  to 
  the 
  larvae, 
  which 
  I 
  at 
  first 
  expected 
  to 
  find 
  to 
  be 
  an 
  Eupithecia. 
  

   They 
  devour 
  principally 
  the 
  stamens 
  and 
  seed-pods, 
  apparently 
  never 
  

   touching 
  the 
  bell 
  except 
  when 
  entering 
  or 
  leaving 
  a 
  flower. 
  When 
  

   fullfed 
  they 
  emerge, 
  and, 
  selecting 
  a 
  spot 
  either 
  on 
  the 
  outside 
  of 
  a 
  

   flower 
  or 
  a 
  leaf 
  of 
  the 
  foodplant, 
  spin 
  a 
  slight 
  web 
  of 
  white 
  silk, 
  and 
  

   change 
  to 
  a 
  pupa 
  in 
  the 
  course 
  of 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  days." 
  Crombrugghe 
  de 
  

   Picquendaele 
  notes 
  the 
  larvae 
  in 
  great 
  numbers 
  at 
  Heide 
  ; 
  he 
  says 
  that 
  

   they 
  live 
  in 
  the 
  flowers 
  of 
  Gentiana 
  pneumonanthe, 
  and 
  are 
  adult 
  at 
  the 
  

   commencement 
  of 
  July. 
  He 
  adds 
  that 
  he 
  once 
  found 
  a 
  larva 
  as 
  late 
  

  

  ® 
  Finkenkrug 
  is 
  the 
  place 
  where 
  Hering 
  found 
  larvee 
  on 
  what 
  he 
  called 
  

   Gentiana 
  imeumonanthe, 
  no 
  doubt 
  the 
  same 
  locality 
  as 
  that 
  worked 
  by 
  Dadd, 
  whilst 
  

   Stange 
  found 
  the 
  larva? 
  at 
  Finkenkrug 
  and 
  Spandau 
  on 
  G. 
  yneumonantlie 
  , 
  so 
  one 
  

   is 
  inclined 
  to 
  suggest 
  that 
  the 
  "two" 
  foodplants 
  here 
  noted 
  are 
  really 
  the 
  same 
  

   species. 
  Of 
  coarse 
  there 
  is 
  no 
  reason 
  why 
  the 
  larva 
  must 
  be 
  confined 
  to 
  one 
  

   species 
  of 
  gentian 
  only 
  ; 
  one 
  would 
  suppose 
  it 
  would 
  eat 
  any 
  species 
  ; 
  still 
  most 
  of 
  

   the 
  authorities 
  seem 
  to 
  suggest 
  that 
  the 
  various 
  species 
  of 
  Adkinia 
  have 
  specialised 
  

   to 
  certain 
  species 
  of 
  gentian. 
  

  

  