212 [September. 



Deilephila gain in Devon.— I should Vike to record the capture of a larva of 

 Deilephila r/alii liere on the 7th inst. ; it spun up on the surface of the sand on the 

 13th. — C. F. BoNTXALL, Cofton Rectory, Starcross, Devon : August Ibth, 1897. 



The larvcE of Depressaria heracleana. — In my garden a root of Heracleum 

 giganteiim annually puts forth numerous stems which in due time are crowned with 

 large, showy umbels of white flowers. But this year tlie full development of these 

 has been arrested, the stems being contorted and tightly drawn together, so as to 

 form in each instance a bulky mass, inside which are two or three Lepidopterous 

 larvae, which, as well as the said structures, are described and figured in " The 

 Natural History of the Tineina," vi, p. 112, pi. iii, fig. 2, as of Depressaria herac- 

 leana. I had supposed that these receptacles were formed to serve as lairs from 

 which the larvse made floral raids at night, the imago having crepuscular or nocturnal 

 habits, and was therefore much surprised on the 14th inst. to see several instances of 

 a larva stretched at full length on the top of what remained unconsumed of an 

 umbel, actively engaged in nibbling the uncxpanded flower-buds, and this in bright 

 sunshine, temp. 102° Fahr. ; f hey were naked, and not ashamed of the destruction 

 they had caused all round. I also saw one large larva rapidly descending a flower- 

 stem, among or over the green Aphides with which it was covered. This voluntary 

 exposure to the heat and light of a summer day I do not think has hitherto been 

 recorded. To-day I noticed in two or three places that white frass is exuding from 

 small holes in the stems, thrown out, doubtless, by larvse which have retreated there 

 to undergo their pupal change. " Nous revenons toujours a nos premieres amours," 

 and I am glad of this opportunity to express the pleasure I have in renewing an 

 entomological liaison formed more than -i" years ago. — J. W. Douglas, 153, Lewisham 

 Road, S.E. : Jnlg \Wi, 1897. 



Cimices in birds' nests ?. — As pigeons and swallows are known to harbour each 

 a particular species of Acanthia, it is not unreasonable to expect that other birds, 

 especially such as use the same nest or habitat year after year, e. g., sparrows, 

 jackdaws, starlings, woodpeckers, &c., have each their special attendant bug, one, 

 moreover, not yet known to science. Who will go up and explore ? It might easily 

 be done by the aid of a (boy) deputy, a ladder, a bag, a shilling, and a policy of 

 accident-insurance, given always the opportunity and the will. — Id. 



Harpalus ruficornis, F., destructive to ripe straw/jerries. — When I penned the 

 few notes under this heading that appeared in the August No. of this Magazine 

 (p. 171 ante) I had overlooked Miss Ormerod's extended notes on the same subject 

 in her "Report" for 1895 (published early in 1896), which should be consulted by 

 all interested. From direct observation, and information received, her experience 

 and my own agree in the main. I would, however, repeat that in my opinion the 

 " mulch " or litter placed round the plants is mainly responsible for harbouring the 

 beetles, and that attention to this point will probably be the means of discovering a 

 method of lessening the evil. — R. McLachlax, Lewisham : August, 1897- 



Some recent captures of British Coleoptera. — Among my captures this year are 

 the following : — New Forest — at Easter, Scaphidium quadrimaculatum and Mesosa 



