91 



smaller, being as a rule half or quarter of an inch less across the wings 

 Though a powerful looking insect, its flight is by no means swift,, and it is 

 captured without much difficulty. The upper surface of the wings is 

 of a dull brown, with a broad, wavy, creamy white band near the hind mar- 

 gin. In this band are a couple of white centred, black, eye-like spots on each 

 forewing, and a smaller one near the anal angle of each hindwing. The 

 female has the band very distinct, but it is very indistinct on the forewings 

 of the male, and on the hind wings a fulvous tinge. The underside of the 

 forewings is of a creamy white, with a fulvous tinge; the underside of the 

 hindwings is clouded with white, brown, and black, the base darkest. The 

 antennas are brown above, with the under part ochraceous. The intensity of 

 its colourings varies greatly. In some specimens the upper surface is nearly 

 black ; in others the marginal band is nearly flavescent, with a few brownish 

 clouds ; beneath, the anterior wings are frequently very deep brown at the 

 base, with a dusky bar across the centre, and the hind-margin of the same 

 colour; and the posterior wings are occasionally marked with a zig-zag, 

 irregular, central ochraceous band. The eye-like spots also vary very much 

 in size. Scotch specimens are larger and darker than those from the 

 South of England. Many Irish examples are much redder than the type, 

 and closely resemble those from Portugal and the north-west of Africa. A 

 variety, Aristceus, with the paler portion of the wings yellower than the type, 

 occurs in Corsica and Sardinia. Another, Mersira, has the underside of the 

 hindwings uniformly grey, instead of being marbled and mottled as in the 

 ordinary type, and is found in Cyprus and in Asia Minor. 



The egg appears never to have been described. 



The caterpillars, when young, are ochreous, with a black interrupted dorsal 

 line ; when full-grown they are an inch and a half in length, tapering much 

 to the anal forked extremity, and a little towards the head, which is globular. 

 It is of a delicately mottled drab colour, with darker stripes. The dorsal 

 line is olive-brown, and the spiracular line pale ochreous-brown, edged with 

 brownish-white both above and below. The head is brown, on it the princi- 

 pal stripes of the body are delicately marked with darker brown. The legs 

 are of a drab colour, and the spiracles are black. It feeds on Air a pracox 

 and ccespitosa, and other kinds of grasses ; and is remarkable for changing to 

 the chrysalid state below the surface of the ground in a slight cocoon. 



A captured caterpillar, which had been dug up by Mr. Buckler, on May 

 20th, 1864, from a waste piece of sandy ground near the sea, amongst early 

 hair grass (Aira prcecox) and other small grasses, on being placed under a 

 glass in a pot, immediately burrowed in the sandy earth, and the few times it 



