274 THE entomologist's record. 



aud upon these foods they fattened up exceedingly fast, and grew very 

 large. Most of them when found, and brought away from their home 

 in the New Forest, were about | inch long, but some were larger, and 

 many were only ^ and even ^ inch long. I mention the size to show 

 that they have been removed from their natm-al home and food-plants, 

 and fed up on other food-plants for the greater part of their larval 

 existence, and have stood it well, and appeared to like it. I should like 

 further to add that this species is terribly subject to ichneumons. I 

 should think from half to two-thirds of what I collected succumbed to 

 them. The ichneumon larva leaves them when they are about half- 

 gi'own, and attaches its cocoon to the dead gracilis larva, or the leaves 

 of the food-plant close by. — William M. Christy, M.A., F.E.S., 

 Watergate, Emsworth, Hants. August 1st, 1898. 



Aberration of Abraxas grossulariata. — I have to record the 

 taking of an 2>hQVY?ii\on oi Abraxas grossulariata this year, which may be 

 interesting to some of the readers of the Knt. Record. The black mark- 

 ings of the insect are those of the normal type, but the striking differ- 

 ence in its appearance, compared with the ordinary form, is caused 

 by the entire ground colour of the moth (body and wings, above and 

 underneath, without a speck of white anywhere) being of a bright deep 

 yellow. This yellow is of the tint which usually forms the colour of the 

 body and the band on the fore-wings. The insect was taken at rest on 

 an elm tree at Angmering, Sussex, by a son of mine, and had only 

 just emerged from the pupa. — J. C. Dollman, Hove House, Newton 

 Grove, Bedford Park, W. 



Yellow aberration of Euchelia jacob^^. — A specimen of this 

 aberration, of a bright yellow on all the wings, was taken at Ems- 

 worth, Hants, on Juue 25th last. Unfortunately, one of the lower 

 wings is a little torn. I have met with two examples only of this 

 aberration in the whole course of my collecting. — Joseph Anderson, 

 Chichester. 



JP>RACTICAL HINTS. 



Field Work for November and December. 



By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S. 



1. — Pupa-digging should be persisted in during the mouth. Those 

 of Smerinthus ocellatus, Ftilodontis jyalpina, Xotodonta ziczac may be 

 found beneath the ground at the foot of willows ; Smerintlms populi, 

 Leiocampa dictaea, Cymatopthora ocularis, Cuspiclia megacepliala, 

 Taeniocampa populeti, Sivound YioiA&va, Clostera curtula, C. reclusa, 

 on leaves at foot of poplars ; Selenia bilunaria, S. lunaria, Phigalia 

 pcdaria, Amphidasys strataria, Kupithecia exiguata, Lophopteryx 

 camelina, Notodo7ita trejnda, Drymonia chaonia, D. dodonaea, 

 Tae7iiocamj)a. miniosa, T. munda, at roots of oak ; Moma orion, in 

 crannies of oak bark ; Tephrosia consonaria, T. bistortata, T. pninc- 

 ttdata, Lopihopteryx carmelita, at foot of birch trees, and Drepana 

 falcula, Cymatopliora dujjlaris, C fluctuosa, C. or, Acronicta 

 leporina, in spun-together leaves under birch trees. 



2. — The male Uyhernia auranfiaria sits on the leafless twigs of oak 

 and birches, in November, after dark, and pairing takes place about 

 9.30 p.m. At the same time L'heimatobia boreata may be taken, sitting 

 on the birches, but this species pairs earlier in the evening, 



