1893-] 



THE BRITISH NATURALIST. 



55 



ashy. Expands eight to ten lines" (" Entomologist," Vol. III., 

 pp. 186-187). Zeller's description of lienigianus is as follows: — 

 " Collari epistomisque brunneis ; alis anterioribus gilvescentis- 

 albidis, strigula obliqua ad fissuram, striola punctoque majore in ciliis 

 costalibus laciniae anterioris punctisque in laciniarum apicibus fusco- 

 nigris distinctis ( $ £)" ("Linn. Entomologica," Vol. VI., p. 380). 

 I can fully corroborate Mr. Barrett's remarks on the sluggishness of 

 the perfect insect in the daytime. He says : — " The perfect insect is 

 rather sluggish and retiring in its habits. It is pretty common in this 

 neighbourhood (Norwich), yet, previous to rearing it, I had taken but 

 one specimen, and, one afternoon last July, happening to find, in the 

 corner of a field, a lot of Artemisia, which had evidently been infested, 

 I spent a considerable time in beating, kicking and trampling the 

 plants and neighbouring rank weeds, before 1 could compel two 

 specimens to skulk unwillingly out from among them " (" Entomolo- 

 gist's Monthly Magazine," Vol. VIII., p. 158). At night, however, 

 the moths may be found freely on the Artemisia plants on which the 

 larvae have fed up, but even then they are easy to box. Figures ol 

 the imago, larva, pupa and food plant of this species are to be found 

 in the " Entomologist," Vol. XV., figs 3, 3a, 3b, 3c. 



Larva — Mr. C. G. Barrett gives a most interesting account of the 

 habits of the larva. He writes: — "On May 26th, 1870, I caught 

 sight of a bladdery-looking leaf of Artemisia vulgaris, which I instantly 

 recognized, and had the exceeding satisfaction of finding the pretty 

 little hairy larva of Pterophorus lienigianus very much at home, with 

 several more occupying other leaves of the same plant. This larva 

 has the most singular mode of life of any plume larva with which I 

 am acquainted. When young, it gnaws oblong blotches near the tips 

 of upper leaves of the Artemisia, leaving the cuticle of the upper side 

 entire and nearly transparent, eating the parenchyma, and carefully 

 rolling back the downy skin of the upper side to the edge of the 

 blotch (as is done by the larva of galactodactylus on burdock). These 

 blotches are seldom more than half an inch long, but generally there 

 are two or three of them side by side. When about one-fourth grown, 

 the larva moves down to a lower leaf, which it draws together, uniting 

 the tips underneath and carefully sewing together the edges of the 

 segments, so as to make a secure little tent, inside which it feeds as 

 before, only making larger blotches side by side between the ribs of 

 the leaf until the greater part of the parenchyma is devoured, after 

 which it deserts this habitation, makes another lower down, and so 

 on, constructing four or five tents before becoming full-grown. Then, 

 disdaining to make use of the larval habitation as a protection for the 

 pupa, it descends towards the ground and becomes a hairy pupa on 

 the lower part of the stem, or on some bit of stick or other convenient 



