184 
Observations on the various Insects 
enough in some districts. It is, I believe, confined to the more 
northern latitudes, beinsj very common in Bohemia and around 
Berlin, as we learn from M. Fischer de Roslerstamm, who remarks, 
" It is astonishing that this species, so injurious to kitchen-garden 
plants, should be so little known and in so few collections, for 
JNI. Bouche of Berlin finds it by thousands."* It also inhabits 
the wild parsnip {Pastinaca sativa), along the shores of the 
Thames, especially around Southend, where it was found and bred 
from the caterpillar by the late Mr. E. Blunt and Mr. C. Parsons; 
but I have never seen the larvae, N\hich feed in society in July and 
August upon the flowers and capsules of the carrot and j^arsnip. 
There they also change to pupaa in a light grey web. In the 
autumn the habits of the caterpillars are somewhat altered, for 
they eat into the stalks to winter there and undergo their trans- 
formations. Early in the spring, or even at the end of winter, if 
mild weather prevails, the moths hatch, come out of the hole in 
the stalk, previously made by the entrance of the larva, and fly 
about, but on the return of cold or bad weather they shelter 
themselves in holes, thatch, outhouses, under loose bark, in chinks 
of trees and paling, under stones, &c. 
6. Dcprcssaria dcpressella varies in the size of the sexes : the 
male only expands 6 lines (fig. 15) : it is of a yellowish mouse- 
colour and silky ; the horns are not long; the round eyes and lips 
of the recurved palpi are black, the latter are ochreous at the 
base ; the head and thorax are also ochreous ; the tail is blunt ; the 
upper wings are of a chestnut colour with pale ochreous scales 
on the disc, more or less visible, sometimes wanting, at others 
forming patches. The wings of the Female expand 8 or 9 lines 
and are similar in colour to the male, but the upper ones are 
generally brighter chestnut, and the whitish scales unite and form 
a somewhat irregular oval mark, open at the top ; the tail is 
pointed (fig. 16, magnified). 
Although the caterpillars of this species are very abundant on 
carrot-seeds, they prefer the parsnip, which has induced gardeners 
to set parsnips amongst carrots left for seed, in order to attract the 
moths to them, so that the caterpillars may be more readily col- 
lected and destroyed. Bouche has never observed this species 
upon the common cow parsnip (^Ileracleiim Sphondylium), which 
is a favourite resort of some species. It may be advisable to add 
his description of the caterpillar, which resembles that of 
D. Daucella, but it is much smaller : the ground-colour is pale 
brownish-grey; it is rough with black spines producing single 
hairs ; the hairs h;\ve large white basal warts, which are arranged 
like those of D. Daucella : sides of the body with inflated edges : 
* Godart, ' Lep. de France,' vol. xi. p. 140. 
