trunk of one of the alders, immediately above its pupa-case; I immediately proceeded to box it, considering myself as lucky as I had a few moments before considered myself unlucky. This is the second specimen of D. bicuspis which has fallen to my lot, having taken a pupa from an alder in 1858, but, unfortunately, being from home when it emerged, it had so beat itself about that I had some doubts as to its being a bona fide D. bicuspis.-T. Meldrum; Millgate, Ripon.-From the Intelligencer.'

Capture of Acronycta Alni at Sugar.-On the 23rd of June I had the good fortune to take a fine specimen of Acronycta Alni at sugar, in Haw Park, near Walton Hall.-Charles Roberts; Elm Street, Wakefield, July 3, 1860.—Id.

Larva of Caradrina cubicularis.—At the end of May last, upon removing some logs of wood which had supported a hay-stack, I observed, in the crevices, the signs of a cocoon. Upon splitting one of the logs a number of larvæ fell out. They were dirty white, with a few black dots, and about an inch in length. I entertained little doubt that they belonged to the genus Caradrina; but as I had never seen any of the larvæ of that genus I took one of the logs into my insect-room, and in due time my conjecture proved correct, the larva producing Caradrina cubicularis. They go very deep into the crevices, and spin a toughish cocoon'mixed with abraded wood. The above would not be worth mentioning were it not that so little is known of the habits of this and other allied genera.-J. Greene; Ringwood, Hants, August 10, 1860.

Description of the Larva of Taniocampa Populeti.-This larva seems to be little known among entomologists generally, and perhaps an accurate description, taken from living larvæ, may be acceptable to the readers of the Zoologist.' Groundcolour pale green, back whitish. Dorsal lines three, white, the central one broad and distinct, the two others narrow and indistinct. Head buff, when young blackish. Segmental divisions yellowish. Spiracles enclosed between two narrow waved whitish lines. Body sparingly strewed with whitish hairs. Feeds between united leaves of various species of poplar, preferring that known as the black Italian. Full-fed throughout the month of June. In habits and appearance this larva closely resembles that of T. subtusa, and when young may easily be mistaken for it. The pupa resembles that of T. gothica.-H. Harpur Crewe; Horndean, Hants, July 18, 1860.

Occurrence of Agrotera nemoralis in Sussex.-I took a specimen of this species last month, on the wing, at Woodsdale, near Battle.-John Porter, jun.; Lewes, June 16, 1860. From the Intelligencer.'

[Has any entomologist acquainted with Agrotera nemoralis seen and named this specimen? The species is of great rarity.-Edward Newman.]

Exæretia Allisella Bred.— Seeing a notice in the Entomologist's Intelligencer' of yesterday, by Mr. Stainton, that he had bred E. Allisella from larvæ sent him by Mr. Gregson on the 28th of May last, in which Mr. Stainton remarks, that from the tendency of the perfect insect to go greasy in collections the economy of the larvæ as a stem-borer might have been deduced, I send the following observations. Mr. Stainton is perfectly right in his remark, and of this I was long since satisfied, but amongst such a mass of weeds of various kinds it was difficult to ascertain in which of the plants it did bore, and, although I have sought diligently for the last four years, it was not till the 2nd of last May that I succeeded in finding it, not by seeing the stem bored in the first instance, but by observing one of the young shoots of the Artemisia in quite a drooping state. I at once suspected the cause, and took out my knife, cut the stem and the small bore off, and soon discovered the larvae. After taking about a score I left the remainder, which were seen now, as the sprouts were just springing

from the old roots, and were from two to three inches high. A week after the damaged sprouts were completely hid by their more vigorous fellows, and no one could have found them from any visible evidence in the plant without being told. I told Mr. Gregson about a fortnight or three weeks after, and in a few days he came to Warrington and went to the place, and, knowing it was there, of course found it. The larvæ on the 2nd of May were about half-grown, and must, I think, have hybernated, as I could not see any borings in the old roots. The colour was pale brown with three rows of black dots on each side, their position subdorsal, lateral and spiracular. On examining a full-grown larva I found the space below the lateral line greenish. The first imago emerged on the 29th of last month, since which date I have had eight more out.-James Cooper; Museum, Warrington, July 15, 1860.

Larva of Diplodoma marginepunctella carnivorous.-I have in my possession a larva of the above species, which I found at West Wickham last May, and, since I have had it, it has eaten one Tortrix, several common house-flies and some few Micros. I have never given it any green food, but kept it solely on insects, which it has greedily devoured.-C. Healy; 74, Napier Street, Hoxton, N., August 9, 1860.From the Intelligencer.'

Larva of Talaporia pseudo-bombycella carnivorous.—I have also a larva of this species, which, after eating two house-flies and one male T. pseudo-bombycella, has fastened one wing of the deceased T. pseudo-bombycella to the top of its case, where it stands bolt upright, giving the case a very comical appearance.-Id.

Coleophora vibicella.-On the 3rd of July, 1859, Mr. John Bradley, of Worcester, conveyed some of the larvæ and pupa of this species from Trench Woods, and distributed them amongst Genista tinctoria at Middleyard, near Bransford, Worcestershire visiting that place on the 3rd instant I found numerous recent cases of the larvæ, and one fine imago.-J. E. Fletcher; August 7, 1860.

Observations on Coleophora melilotella.—Only a single example of this insect, for which I proposed the above name, has been reared, and this is now on Mr. Stainton's setting-board. It belongs to the same group as C. Frischella, and seems to stand intermediate between that species and Deauratella. In the specimen bred the green is of a different hue, and should this be the case with those captured in their natural haunts it will serve as an easy character to distinguish it from the allied species. There may be other characters as decided by which it may be recognised at first sight, but not having yet had an opportunity of making a minute investigation I leave the matter for the present, contenting myself with the fancy that I see C. conspicuella a drug and this new one conspicuous.-John Scott; 13, Torrington Villas, Lee, S.E., June 26, 1860.-From the Intelligencer.'

Larva of Asthenia coniferana.-I have bred A. coniferana from larvæ furnished me by W. Backhouse, Esq.; they feed in the bark of Scotch fir, turning part of the "frass" outside; they are dull yellowish white, with the head pale brown, and with no spots. Length about five-eighths of an inch.-John Sang; Darlington, June 1, 1860.-Id.

Carpocapsa Reaumurana.-Under this name I have given to many entomologists specimens of a Carpocapsa bred from chestnuts. It is described and figured by Réaumur, vol. ii. p. 501, pl. 40, fig. 13, 14, 15. It appears to be distinct from C. splendana, C. amplana and C. fagiglandana.-Carl von Heyden.-From the Correspondenzblatt,' No. 7, p. 55.

[This larva infests the chestnuts sold in London every year: I found of last year's

produce that eighteen out of fifty contained the grub; the perfect insect I have never seen alive.-Edward Newman].

Ephestia pinguedinella.—It may perhaps interest some of your readers to know that Ephestia pinguedinella may now be taken and examined in all its stages, in the decayed bark of the ash. The larva, which feeds within the bark, forms a slight cocoon, with an opening to the air, and by removing the bark, which has been perforated in every direction by the insect, any number of pupa or of larvæ may be collected from it. Whilst collecting some pupa last week I found the pupæ, the larvæ, and the perfect insect depositing her eggs, as it appeared, all within the space of a few inches.-Rev. B. H. Birks; Stonor, Henley-on-Thames.-From the Intelligencer'

Hymenoptera in repose.-Since the publication of the Rev. A. R. Hogan's note ('Intelligencer,' No. 193, p. 84) on the singular manner in which Hymenopterous insects are in the habit of reposing, three instances have come under my own observation, two of which occurred during the eclipse of the sun on Wednesday last: wishing to ascertain whether these individuals had settled themselves down for the night or whether their slumbers would end with the eclipse, I remained near the spot and kept an eye upon them. One had attached itself to the point of a blade of grass upwards of six inches in length, and, as a brisk wind was blowing at the time, the insect was in consequence continually being violently swung from side to side, notwithstanding which, and the unceasing buffets it received from the stems of the surrounding plants, it resolutely maintained its hold. No sooner had the eclipse ended, aud the clouds (which make it an invariable rule to assemble on such occasions) dispersed, than both the insects woke up and were again upon the move, actively pursuing their ordinary avocations. Both these and the one I had observed on a previous occasion were of one species. I have sent one of the individuals to Mr. F. Smith, who will doubtless be obliging enough to name the insect. [Nomada ochrostoma).— S. Stone; Brighthampton, July 21, 1860.—Id.

Hymenoptera in repose.—Mr. Stone writes to say that he has sent you a communication respecting a singular mode of reposing observed during the eclipse last Wednesday, and desires me to furnish the name of the bee so discovered: it is Nomada ochrostoma, a female of the species. I may add that, a fortnight ago, on one of the dull mornings, of which we have had so many lately,—I saw the same species of Nomada suspended at the side of Bishop's Wood, Hampstead. I suspect it is not an uncommon mode of reposing, but I never observed it before, although others have, and have published their observations. Mr. Stone asks me to add any observations of my own: the above is all I have to record.-F. Smith; British Museum, July 24, 1860.—Id.

[I believe I made the first observation on this curious fact in 1832; the species were Nomada furva and N. borealis (see Zool. 6468).—Edward Newman.]

Scarcity of Hymenoptera in 1860.-Bombi have not been so few in number since the year 1828 (a season of summer floods); the long frosty season in April and part of May kept them back, and the unprecedented wet weather in June destroyed twothirds of the nests begun by the females. I have observed few males of any of the species in this neighbourhood; last summer they abounded, and the males appeared a fortnight before their usual time. I have captured one nest of the B. Derhamellus with about sixty inhabitants. Up to this day I have not seen one young wasp; at the commencement of May I saw several queen wasps the wet weather seems to have destroyed the greater part of them also; last July and August they abounded in this locality. Perhaps some of the readers of the Zoologist' may make some remarks as

to how these insects have fared in other places, and whether this scarcity be universal. The temperature in June and July has been on an average about 15 degrees below the same months last year,-nevertheless, when fine, a delicious temperature for exercise, being neither too hot nor too cold.-H. W. Newman; Hillside, Cheltenham, July 28, 1860.

Calosoma Sycophanta in the Isle of Wight.—A few days siuce some young friends brought me a large beetle to look at, which proved to be no less a prize than a splendid Calosoma Sycophanta. It was taken while crawling up the trunk of a tree, in a meadow bordering upon the sea-shore at Bembridge, having probably been disturbed by the hay-makers, who were then at work in the field. This is, I believe, the third instance in which the insect has been observed in the Isle of Wight, single specimens having been captured at Bonchurch, in January 1852, and at Freshwater in July, 1859 (Zool. 3359 and 6656).—A. G. More; Bembridge, July 12, 1860.

Rhynchites Betuleti.—I have taken both sexes of this beautiful species plentifully this year in the two-year-old clearings at Darenth. Early in the season only stragglers, and those chiefly males, are to be taken, settling in the sunshine on the leaves of any trees, though the hazel and dwarf aspen are their chief haunts. When found on the latter the small examples are at first sight hard to distinguish from large specimens of R. Populi (both species being variable in size, but they may be separated by looking at the under-sides, which in the latter are blue, the whole body being concolorous in R. Betuleti. At the end of June, when coupling, they may be found abundantly by examining the top twigs of the hazel bushes, and while doing this a net or umbrella must be held underneath, as the insect is crafty withal, and will drop to the ground on very little provocation; in which annoying" dodge," however, it is surpassed by the larger Cryptocephali, which roll over and escape if merely looked at. In very hot sunshine the Rhynchites sometimes unfurls its wings very rapidly and flies away, even during the short journey from the tree to the net. They appear to bite half through the tender stems of the hazel, about a couple of inches from the young terminal leaves, which shortly wither and hang down, as if damaged by the beating-stick of a collector; and in or upon these apparently unprofitable shoots a male and female will generally be detected. When no beetles are found the last leaf is curled up tight with a large oblong yellow egg in it. Having never observed more than one egg at a time I presume the female deposits on several shoots of the same or different bushes.-E. C. Rye; 284, King's Road, Chelsea.- From the Intelligencer.'

Hints to Bug Collectors.-As the promised Catalogue of the British Hemiptera cannot fail of giving an impetus to bug collecting, the following remarks may not be altogether useless, or considered out of place. At this period, and for some time to come, the collector will meet with numbers of undeveloped forms, which, if consigned at once to the laurel-bottle will be obviously useless as specimens, while if they are returned to the bough from which they were beaten or shaken, the chances are that when wanted they will not be forthcoming, or, in other words, that the collector will never meet with them again,—that is, in the case of species at all rare or scarce. What then is the course to be pursued? The plan I have adopted, and which I recommend to others, is to carry, in addition to the bottle containing bruised laurel leaves, one containing unbruised oak-leaves, if I am beating oak; sprigs of fir, if beating firs; birch, if beating birch, &c. Into this bottle I put all the immature specimens I am desirous of seing become matured. At home I have a large aquarium-glass, to which I have had a leno cover made; in this glass are placed three or four short, squat, wide

mouthed bottles containing water, in which I put sprigs from the trees off which my specimens were beaten. Here the insects live and thrive as well as they could possibly do in their native haunts, care of course being taken not to allow the plants upon which they feed to wither or dry up, but to renew them as often as they exhibit a tendency to do so; and as a few hours sun every day seems not only to be mightily enjoyed by the insects, but also doubtless greatly favours their development, it would be well to give them the benefit of it, in which case the plants should be changed on removing the glass into the shade. Although they draw much of their nourishment from the young and tender leaves of a plant, they appear to give the preference to the blossoms when they can gain access to them. I find maple in flower very attractive, but less so than oaks, which are now absolutely swarming with several species. So complete a metamorphosis takes place in some of the species that the colour and markings of an immature specimen are no guide whatever in determining what the insect will be like when matured. To-day you may observe a specimen of an uniform bright rosy pink colour, body and wings and all; to-morrow it will be found to have thrown off this livery and made its appearance in a sober suit of olive-green and black with just a reddish or yellowish tinge on the scutellum and a silvery patch at the tip of the wing. -S. Stone; June 2, 1860.—Id.

On the Transformation of Lymnophlæus marmoratus.-When the pupa of this species is about to undergo its final change it quits the pupa-case, which is composed of silk and small shells, or little bits of sticks or rushes cut into short lengths and arranged transversely; this case is left at the bottom, or, as it may happen, amongst weeds floating on the surface, but those from which my observations were taken were at the bottom of my aquarium, so that I had a full view of the creatures' proceedings. When it first quits the pupa-case the antennæ are folded back, but are soon outstretched, and, as it were, feeling its way through the water. Only four of its six legs are to be observed when it first quits the pupa-case; these are the anterior and intermediate pair. The posterior pair cannot be seen, as they are folded back beneath the body. This appears to differ from the observations recorded in Westwood's Modern Classification,' in reference to Hydropsyche atomaria, Pict., but the generic characters and habits of the two may make all the difference. In the species under consideration the intermediate legs are used as natatorial, and not the posterior; this can only be seen when the creature is really shaking off its shroud of a pupa-skin, and as this becomes ruptured along the back the posterior legs are observed being drawn out from beneath the body. The intermediate or natatorial legs are furnished with long cilia to enable it to propel itself through the water from the bottom upwards to some plant where it can entirely rid itself of its skin. When the pupa has reached some leaf, while yet beneath the water, it appears to rest for awhile; the abdomen at the same time is kept in constant motion up and down. The pupal envelope or skin is much inflated round the abdomen, and seems only to be attached to the animal at the apex and the minute tubes leading to the trachea. These tubes are distinctly seen through the transparent pupal skin, and are darker in colour. The apical portion of the wing-cases are free, not as those of the Lepidoptera, attached to the sides of the pupa-case; the free apices are a great assistance to the insect when moving through the water. In this way, at every stroke of the natatorial legs, the creature is propelled forwards, but from its gravity being heavier than the element in which it moves would fall back again. These free apices, at every relaxation of the swimming legs, spread out and prevent the creature falling back, so that it is enabled to reach the surface. The antennæ, which were free