282 NOTES AND EXHIBITS. 



" Warwick House, Armagh Street West, 



" Christchurch, N.Z., 21st May, 1883. 

 " Dear Sir, 



" I observed in the Abstract of Proceedings of the 

 last meeting of the Linnean Society, a note by yourself on the 

 injury caused to cabbages by the great numbers of larvae of one of 

 the Tineina, and thought you might be interested to know the 

 specific name. The habits of the larva, and your mention of the 

 lace-work cocoon, enable me to say for certain that the species is 

 Plutella cruciferarum, Zeller (^family Plutellidce) which, as you 

 rightly conjecture, is an importation from Europe. It occurs now 

 throughout the whole world from Greenland to New Zealand, and 

 is apparently abundant everywhere, not regarding climate ; it is 

 the only known Lepidopterous insect of which this can be said. 

 It swarms in many parts of Australia, especially at Adelaide. It 

 has probably been imported with the cabbage, but will eat almost 

 any Cruciferce. Its numbers are, I think, principally kept down 

 in the larval state by small birds. The moth, though small and 

 inconspicuous, may be readily recognised by unpractised persons 

 from its habit of projecting its antennae forward when at rest, as 

 the Trichojrtera do. 



" Believe me, 



" Yours truly, 



" Edward Meyrick. 

 "Hon. William Macleay, M.L.C." 



