68 CUCTJLLIA SOEOPHULART^l. 



CUCULLIA SOROPHULARIiE. 



Plate XCVII, fig. 2. 



In the following notes T hope to be of some service 

 to those who, like myself, have entertained doubts 

 concerning the real distinctness of this species and 

 Cucullia verbasci, from inability to distinguish the 

 larvae found feeding on Scrophularia aquatica and S. 

 nodosa from others on Verbascum thapsus and V. nigrum. 

 It is therefore with great pleasure that I acknow- 

 ledge my indebtedness to Mr. Doubleday, by whose 

 kindness I am at length made acquainted with the 

 real 0. scrophularise, in four fine larvae he presented me 

 with on the 4th and 8th of last July (1867), feeding on 

 flowers and seed-vessels of Scrophularia nodosa, the 

 sight of which immediately dispelled all my previous 

 doubts, as it did also any existing in the minds of Mr. 

 Hellins and Mr. D'Orville, through whose hands they 

 passed to mine ; the latter gentleman having for years 

 had great experience in, and devoted much attention 

 to, the species of this particular genus in their larval 

 state. 



The larva of G. scrophularise, when full-grown, is an 

 inch and five-eighths in length, plump, and cylindrical ; 

 the head rounded, and a trifle smaller than the second 

 segment. Viewed sideways, it appears of uniform 

 thickness ; but seen on the back, it tapers behind from 

 the tenth to the anal segment. 



In looking on the back, its most valuable character, 

 by which it can be instantly identified, is apparent in 

 the bright yellow dorsal mark; for whether little or 

 much intersected by black, it is distinctly seen to be 

 a blunt-pointed triangle of yellow, close to the 

 beginning of each segment, pointing forwards, its 

 transverse base being longer than the sides, placed on 

 rather less than the first half of each segment. The 

 ground-colour in front of the two sides of the triangle, 

 with belly and prolegs, is whitish -grey, or pale 



