274 Bibliographical Notices, 



times it runs in every direction through the leaf ; in other cases it 

 exhibits more regularity in its arrangement, sometimes taking a 

 serpentine form, sometimes running in spirals, or forming nearly con- 

 centric lines on the disk of the leaf, whilst the larva of one species 

 follows the edge of the leaf and carries its little mine into every ser- 

 rature. The caterpillar of one species, which Mr. Stainton calls 

 Nepticula viscerella, forms a curious mine, bending upon itself at 

 short intervals, and thus constituting a series of short, parallel, ap- 

 proximated lines. In most cases the larva has a tendency to enlarge 

 its mine towards the extremity, and thus, when the creature is nearly 

 mature, its dwelling usually forms a broad chamber or blotch beneath 

 the surface of the leaf. 



Notwithstanding the apparent convenience of this dwelling-place 

 for the purpose of undergoing its metamorphoses, the caterpillar 

 generally quits its little burrow before passing to the pupa state ; 

 and when the time for this operation has arrived, it eats out of the 

 upper surface of the leaf, and spins a beautiful silky cocoon on 

 the footstalk, or the stem of the plant, or even amongst leaves 

 on the ground, where it awaits its further changes. The first-men- 

 tioned position is usually adopted by those species which appear in 

 the perfect state in the summer months, whilst those which pass the 

 winter in the pupa state select one of the two latter situations : and 

 it is remarkable that of those species of which there are two broods 

 in the year, the larvae of the summer brood spin their cocoons on the 

 footstalk of the leaf; whilst those which change to the pupa state in 

 autumn, and pass the winter in that condition, resort instinctively to 

 the protection afforded by the stem of the plant, where they usually 

 place themselves under a projecting bud or twig, for shelter from the 

 inclemency of the winter. When the moth is ready to make its ap- 

 pearance, the pupa pushes its head through the cocoon, and the 

 elegant little creature is thus enabled to spring at once into the air, 

 without struggling through the silky meshes of its dwelling, a pro- 

 ceeding which would probably do no little injury to the delicate 

 scales with which its wings are covered. 



Such is the general history of the twenty-four Moths described by 

 Mr. Stainton in the present volume, and probably that of many 

 others, as there are still several species belonging to both these 

 genera with the oeconomy of which our author is not acquainted. 

 We must regret that Mr. Stainton has not given us something of this 

 kind in the introductory remarks on each genus, as he could have 

 done it so much better ; and it would also have saved him the trouble 

 of repeating the greater part of these particulars in his account of 

 each species, a proceeding which certainly adds unnecessarily to the 

 extent occupied by their history. Indeed it cannot be too much in- 

 sisted on in these days, when we are so overwhelmed with works on 

 natural history that it is almost impossible to keep pace with the 

 progress of even a single branch of the science, that the author 

 who presents us with the greatest amount of information in the 

 smallest possible space is the one who must be regarded as doing the 

 best service to the cause he professes to have at heart ; and we are 

 therefore sorry to see that Mr. Stainton, whose earnest desire for the 



