14 
hispidaria resting on tree trunks and its coloration assimilating itself 
to tlie trees on which it rests, while zonaria frequents sandhills, its 
coloration protecting it among the grasses, &c. of its habitat. 
Dr. Buckell remarked that the Amphidasydae consisted so far as this 
country was concerned of six species, three of which had apterous 
females and the other three females with fully-developed wings. He 
did not know whether there were any Continental species which 
occupied an intermediate position as regarded this characteristic. 
Mr. Tutt, in rising to propose a vote of thanks to Mr. Bayne, 
congratulated him on the interesting paper he had furnished, and then 
went on to say that he quite agreed with Mr. Bayne on the improba¬ 
bility of hispidaria having been affected by immigration, although it 
was remarkable how widely distributed some species with apterous 
females were, and the males of two species with apterous females, 
Hybernia defoliaria and II. aiirantiaria were known to migrate. The 
abundance he considered due to local causes, one important feature that 
struck him being that the previous year the oaks had been less defoliated 
than usual by the ravages of Tortrix viridana, and it was remarkable 
that Taeniocampa munda, another oak feeder, was abundant the same 
year. The effect of the utter defoliation of the oak trees in some years 
must often act detrimentally on other larvae which are feeding at the 
time, and of these Nyssia hispidaria would suffer greatly. It was an 
off-hand suggestion certainly but seemed probable. 
Mr. Bacot, who seconded the vote of thanks, observed that he 
understood that pupge had been dug in considerable numbers during 
the past winter, and that the imagines emerging from these had been 
in the proportion of twelve or fifteen females to one male. From fifty 
pupss which he had received from Epping Forest he had not, as yet, 
bred a single male. Thinking it probable that “ assembling ” would 
occur, he, on February 3rd, took six or seven females to Chingford and 
placed them in a small gauze cage about five feet from the ground. 
The evening was favourable, warm and windy though clear. The first 
£ turned up at about 6.45; others followed, in twos and threes at first 
but afterwards singly and at longer intervals until 7.30, when the last 
was captured. The total “bag” was seventeen and one or two others 
were missed. Mr. Bacot watched the cage in order to try and get a 
sight of the males as they came up, but it was too dark to see them 
until they were quite close; their flight then seemed to be very rapid 
and their buzzing against the cage audible some feet away; two of 
them flew against his face and the blow was more like that given by a 
beetle than by a moth. On reaching home two males were put into 
the cage with the females; they copulated about 10.30 but only 
remained in copulation about fifteen minutes, herein differing from 
Biston hirtaria and Amphidasys betidaria, which remain joined for some 
hours. After separation the two males and the virgin females were 
removed to separate chip boxes for the night; the next evening the 
males began to get restive about 6.30, and were placed in the cage with 
the females that had not commenced to lajq to which were added two 
that had emerged that morning. One of the males, a rather large one 
with a piece torn out of one of his fore-wings, went in copulation 
within a few minutes and the pair remained together about fifteen 
minutes; after they had separated the 7 was removed and shortly 
afterwards the same $ was found in copulation with another 7 . Mr. 
