THE YOUNG 



NATURALIST. 



131 



colour of the male makes it rather difl&cult 

 to detect in such situations. The larvae are 

 not very often met with without a special 

 search for them. They feed at the time of 

 the year when the growth of the herbage is 

 at its greatest height, and concealment is 

 comparatively easy, and they do not affect 

 the rays of the sun as do the larvae of Caja. 

 It is a sluggish insect and not often seen on 

 the wing, and most of the specimens in 

 collections are reared from the egg, which 

 the female will deposit readily on the side 

 of a chip box, I have never been able to 

 rear a second brood in confinement, as may 

 readily be done with some of the genus, 

 other collectors may have done so. 



" Mendica, L., Mendica, mendicus, a 

 beggar." — A.L, Why such a name should 

 have been given to the insect does not seem 

 to have been explained. 



Imago.— Male, smoky black, with 

 several black spots on all wings. Female, 

 pure white with similar black spots. The 

 bodies of both sexes are coloured like the 

 wings, and the abdomen has a short black 

 streak on each segment, which are necessarily 

 most conspicuous in the female. The male 

 expands rather more than an inch and a 

 quarter, and the female about a quarter of 

 an inch more. 



Larva. — in its earlier stages, the larva 

 is greenish white with black spots, and 

 shortish light hairs. When full grown the 

 hairs are longer and vary in colour from 

 reddish to black, and are sufficiently num- 

 erous to hide the paler skin. The head and 

 legs are reddish yellow. In general appear- 

 ance it more nearly resembles the larva of 

 A . fuliginosa than any other. 



Pupa. — The pupa is dark brown in 

 colour, smooth, and rather stumpy and 

 regular in shape, it is concealed in a blackish 

 cocoon, spun among leaves, &c., on the 

 surface of the ground. 



Food Plants.— Chickenweed, Dock, 

 Plantain, Nettle, Dandelion, and a host of 

 similar plants. It does not seem to have a 

 special preference for any, and there is very 

 little it will refuse in confinement. 



Times of Appearance. —The per- 

 fect insect emerges in April and May, early 

 specimens appear in March in suitable 

 seasons, while often it may be found in good 

 condition in June. The eggs are laid in 

 batches on the food plant, in May or June, 

 the larva are full fed in August, and it 

 remains over the winter in pupa. 



Habitat. — This species frequents grassy 

 banks, railway sides, hedge banks, &c., &c 

 It is well distributed over Britain, but I do 

 not know if it occurs in Ireland. Its range 

 abroad is of considerable extent, occuring 

 all over Europe excepc in the Polar region, 

 and the parts of Spain and Portugal that 

 approach the African continent. It also 

 extends across Northern Asia. 



Variation. — The male varies in colour 

 from black to ashy grey, and in Hungary 

 a variety called Rustica, Hubn, is said to 

 occur, white like the female. The female 

 varies much in the size and number of the 

 black spots, a specimen is figured in Mosley's 

 illustrations, which has but one black spot 

 in the centre of each wing ; one in my. own 

 collection has the hind wings quite immacu- 

 late. I also have one with spots large and 

 numerous, in which they form a distinct 

 row at the hind margin of the hind wing» 

 One in Mr. Gregson's collection has a 

 distinct row of spots along the costa and 

 hind margin of the fore-wing ; he also has 

 one with the costa and hind margin narrowly 

 black, and considerable suffusion of the 

 male colour towards the base of the wings. 



ACRONYCTA RUMICIS. 



The Knot Grass. 

 This species is the earliest of the A crony eta 

 to emerge, and may be met with at the end 



