66 



The Naturalist. 



Our own district is not rich in the group — indeed it is decidedly 

 poor, as in all, only some twenty-six species (in thirteen genera) have 

 ever been taken here ; and at least half-a-dozen of these are now 

 rare — some of them, so far as lean discover, completely gone, as they 

 are no longer to be taken in their old localities, and new ones have 

 not been forthcoming. 



The species are exceedingly variable in their habits, both in the 

 larval and perfect stages ; but rather than make any general 

 observations on their peculiarities here, it will perhaps be better to 

 allude to them as we come to treat of the different genera and species 

 in order. 



The genus at the head of the list, the Odontida, contains but a 

 single British representative, namely dentalis. It is a very pretty and 

 striking species, especially when alive ; a single glance at its singular 

 but neat tooth-like marking will at once give the clue to the derivation 

 of its name. I have never taken it on the wing, but have had a good 

 many specimens, having on several occasions had a good supply of 

 both larvae and pupae sent to me, chiefly from St. Leonard's-on-Sea, 

 where it is very plentiful. The larva is found on the viper's bugloss, 

 EcJiium mlgare ; it feeds beneath the large leaves at the bottom of the 

 plant, eating the leaves and central flower stem, often in clusters of 

 five or six. My old correspondent, the Kev. E. N. Bloomfield, M.A., 

 of Guestling Rectory, near Hastings, believed the larva was' a gall 

 maker. In a letter I have from him, dated February 27th, 1872, he 

 says:' — "I feel sure I am right about dentalis, although as yet I 

 have seen no young larvae, but I will look this spring. My reasons 

 for thinking I am right are these : the larva is almost invariably 

 found in a swollen but stunted shoot, and there is no mark of the 

 place at which the larva entered, at least I have not observed any. 

 Its history would seem to be this : the young larva enters the shoot 

 in spring, or early summer, this shoot does not increase except very 

 slightly in length, but swells out into a gall, the larva feeding on the 

 interior ; when it is full fed, or nearly so, the shoot dies and the 

 larva turns to a pupa in the cavity. Thus far seems almost certain, 

 but there are doubtless other interesting points about the formation 

 of the gall, and I must try to elucidate some of them next summer," 

 Whether Mr. Bloomfield ever continued his investigations in this 

 interesting subject I do not know, but it certainly ought to be 

 thoroughly ascertained whether the larva of dentalis is really a gall 

 maker, as, if so, it is probably the only one amongst the macro- 

 lepidoptera. 



