76 HELI0TH1S DIPSAOEA. 



capsules of Silene otites ; and on September 14th 

 another arrived from Lord Walsingham, with a notifi- 

 cation from him that he believed it to be H. dipsacea; 

 this last was fed on sorrel for a few days, but did not 

 thrive, until some green seed-pods of toadflax were sub- 

 stituted, when a surprisiug improvement appeared in 

 its condition, and it soon grew to maturity ; but both 

 this and the other example died after spinning up for 

 pupation. 



In August, 1873, my hopes were raised high by 

 the acquisition of several larvse, found, and sent me 

 from Essex, by Mr. Harwood; most of them he had 

 taken on Ononis arvensis, and they were nearly full- 

 fed, and soon retired into the sandy soil provided for 

 them, and there some of them still remain. The 

 last example I received, the one which has — by appear- 

 ing in the perfect state — enabled me to identify all my 

 previous figures, was found on Grepis virens in Nor- 

 folk, and forwarded to me September 10th, 1873, by 

 Mr. W. H. Cole ; from this the moth appeared on the 

 10th of July, 1874. 



From observing the habits of all these examples, I 

 conclude that the natural food of the larva, from near 

 half-growth onwards to maturity, is confined chiefly 

 to jloivers and unripe seeds of various species of Silene, 

 Ononis, Trifolium, Grepis, Hieracium, Linaria, etc. 



The full-grown larva when at rest is about an inch 

 and an eighth in length, and an inch and a quarter 

 when stretched out ; of moderate stoutness, the body, 

 thickest at the middle segments, tapers very little 

 towards the head, and rather more towards the anal 

 extremity, with a sudden slope down on the back 

 from the middle of the twelfth segment, the thirteenth 

 being rather elongated, and the anal legs extended 

 behind it, the other segments plump and well-defined ; 

 the head, which has rounded lobes, can be partly 

 withdrawn into the second segment ; the tubercular 

 dots small, each bearing a fine hair, and the skin is 

 partially roughened, as hereafter described. 



