106 MIANA EXPOLITA. 



with two fine points ; its colour for a time is very pale 

 brown, afterwards dark brown, its surface shining. 

 (W. B., 11, 8, 81, E.M.M. XVIII, 76, September, 1881.) 



MlANA ARCUOSA. 



Plate LXVIII, fig. 6. 



Thanks to the persistent efforts of Mr. James Batty, 

 of Sheffield, I am able to offer a description of the 

 larva of this species, as I believe for the first time. 



On the 23rd of May, 1870, Mr. Batty found several 

 larvae and subsequently more, and also some pupae, by 

 searching the crown of the roots of Aira csespitosa ; 

 and he kindly sent me on the 24th three of the 

 larvae, which were then apparently full grown. To 

 the two most advanced I gave some cut lengths of the 

 lower part of the grass stems placed on a bedding of 

 portions of the roots carefully picked to pieces, so as 

 to ensure the absence of any other creature. The 

 third larva, after being figured and described, was 

 placed in a pot with a small growing plant of the grass, 

 which had also been carefully examined; it soon 

 crept into the middle of the small plant, and I did not 

 see it again, for I was unwilling to interfere with it. 



The other two I looked at each time of feeding, up 

 to the 2nd of June, when I found that one of them 

 had partly spun together two pieces of the dried 

 grass sheath ; after that, being satisfied with this 

 hopeful event, I did not disturb them further. 



The first moth, a male, appeared in the cylinder that 

 confined the growing plant on June 30th ; only one 

 of the other two emerged, on July 2nd, a female ; and 

 about the same time Mr. Batty reported his having 

 bred a series of both sexes. 



The full-grown larva varies from five-eighths to 

 three-quarters of an inch in length, is moderately 

 slender, the last three segments tapering a little to- 

 wards the hinder extremity, the back just a very little 



