THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



231 



DESCRIPTION OF 

 AN EUPITHEGIA NEW TO 



SCIENCE. 



EUPITHECIA CURZONI. 

 By C. S. Gregson. 



Wings broad, expands over three quarters 

 of an inch ; colour of the whole insect silvery 

 steel grey, tinged with ochre on parts of the 

 wings in fine specimens. The striae are 

 numerous, sometimes obscure, at other times 

 distinctly divided by sharp silvery markings, 

 often with a broad, transverse, central band 

 composed of about three dark unequal striae, 

 darkest at the outer edge and turning out- 

 wards to the costa ; on this outer edge are 

 a series of cuniform dark nerve marks point- 

 ing inwards, the discoidal spot and nerve 

 below well defined; the outer striae con- 

 fused, but edged with a well-defined wavy 

 or arched line, base of the arches outwards; 

 cilial line distinct, cilia broad and regularly 

 divided ; under wings small, dark ; striate 

 cilial line distinctly pronounced. 



Larva. — Eggs laid in June, soon hatch, 

 and the young larvae are of various colours, 

 from light ashy greens and greys to bright 

 grass greens. Form cylindrical, long, slen- 

 der ; when older, form long, slightly broader 

 at the middle segments and somewhat op- 

 pressed. Colour. — Bright grass greens pre- 

 dominate, yellowish and whitish greens 

 appear ; one before me is dark green and 

 one is rich chocolate brown. Size, f to | of 

 an inch long. Head lobed, hairy, light horn 

 colour ; corslet, none ; on its space may be 

 seen three darkish markings, the dorsal line 

 passing through the central one ; dorsal 

 streak well denned to fourth segment, when 

 it broadens out into six spear-head-like 

 markings, pointing forwards, followed by a 

 less well-defined roundish marking to the 

 anal segment. Sometimes these spear-head- 

 like markings appear almost lozenges. Un- 

 der each of the spear-heads is a dark streaky 

 mark placed diagonally, the wrinkled edging 



to which is light and well defined ; anal 

 segment without any plate. 



Remarks. — General appearance of full- 

 grown larva. — Form, long, slender, slightly 

 appressed ; colours various, from light green 

 to rich chocolate brown, with well pro- 

 nounced spear or lozenge-shaped dorsal 

 markings, edged diagonally with light green. 

 It is a rather slender, slightly wrinkled pug 

 larva, and belongs to the Absynthiata, Saty- 

 rata and Knautiata group, but has a much 

 more elegant appearance than these in both 

 the larval and imagal state. The perfect 

 insect appears in plenty at Balke Sound, in 

 Shetland, on heathy places, its larva eating 

 Calluna vulgaris, and was taken freely there 

 during June, 1884, by E. R. Curzon, Esq., 

 from whom I have received a most liberal 

 supply of perfect insects and the larva from 

 which this description is written. 



There can be little doubt that this is the 

 insect figured on plate (Entomologist, Dec, 

 1884, fig. 2-3) and there supposed to be E. 

 satyrata or E.na.nata!!! and which "were 

 to receive future examination." In the 

 absence of that consideration up to now (so 

 far as I know), I have thought it best to 

 wait no longer, and therefore have described 

 the species from the long series of specimens 

 given to me by my old friend, Mr. Curzon, 

 and have named it Eupithecia Curzoni 

 ( Curzon" 1 s Eupithecia) . 



ODD NOTES ON SHOP 

 WINDOW COLLECTING THIS 

 SEASON. 



By John McKay, Glasgow. 

 I remember reading, a few weeks ago, a 

 very interesting article, in a contemporary 

 magazine, on the Lepidoptera which have 

 been taken in the streets of London, and I 

 was surprised at the great number of species 

 recorded in that list. 



