36 AGLOSSA CUPREALIS. 



tively seeking their natural habitat, which is among 

 and under rubbish accumulated on the barn floor. 

 They were at once placed on a little of such rubbish, 

 made up (as described in the history of Aglossa 

 pinguinalis, E.M.M., vol. XX, p. 193) of husks of 

 wheat and oats, bits of straw and dried grass, and 

 various dried stems and seeds — and on this they were 

 reared. Mr. Fletcher considers that very probably 

 they would prefer the wheat-straw and husks, and 

 would not bv choice eat Gladium thatch : one larva, 

 sent when nearly full-grown to Dr. Chapman, made 

 itself happy on a diet of bread ; it seems, too, that it 

 is needful the food should not be too dry ; anything 

 like mildew caused by damp would be injurious, but 

 unless there is a certain amount of moisture in the 

 food, such as would generally exist in shady corners 

 of stables and barns, the larvse seem to be starved, 

 and certainly decrease in size ; and though they will 

 bear starving to some extent, yet if the drought be 

 continued they die. From the first they spin the 

 rubbish together, making tubes much in the same 

 way as A. pingni?ialis, and often making use of a 

 straw, bean-husk, or folded leaf of Gladium mariscus, 

 as a private retreat; they seem, when supplied with 

 plenty of materials, to make the sides of their galleries 

 of some considerable thickness, and sometimes two or 

 three larvse were found inhabiting the same gallery, 

 which, however, in such a case would be noticeably 

 longer than one occupied by a single tenant. 



The young larvse fed away at once, and their 

 growth could be noticed after a few days; in less 

 than three weeks they were 4 mm. in length, and in 

 four weeks more 7 mm. ; when disturbed they were 

 very active, jumping backwards, hiding again as soon 

 as possible, and showing great aversion to the light ; 

 and this, indeed, is the habit all through with the 

 larva. The number of moults was not observed, but 

 one took place at about the age of two months, when 

 the length was still about 7 mm. ; and in another 



