NOTES ON COLLECTING, ETC. 259 



garitata, killed by that means were exactly twice as long on the setting- 

 board as those killed with ammonia. Why this should be I do not 

 know, but it is a " fact." Surely this is a drawback to the use of 

 cyanide when expedition is needed. Again, 1 was surprised to see in 

 tiie July number, that some entomologists complain of ammonia taking 

 away the colours of green insects. I have ascertained that it does not 

 make the slightest difference to Melrocampa Jiiargaritata, Geometra 

 pa tlionaria, G. ver/iaria, Aplecta herbida, or Torttix viridatia. All the 

 above, except vernaria and herbida were bred specimens, and the 

 experiments were made this year. I do not know what the result 

 would be if an ammonia bottle similar to the cyanide bottle were used ; 

 it might turn the green insects yellow, I should think. When I said 

 above that it did noc make the slightest difference I should have added, 

 " when used the proper way." The method I adopt is to slip pieces of 

 blotting-paper into the chip boxes while the moths are in them, the said 

 pieces of paper having been previously moistened with ammonia. — E. 

 W. BowELL, Hereford. November i']th, 1890. 



Notes on the Habits of Aglossa pinguinalis. — During September 

 of last year, a gentleman, living in St, Andrew's parish in this island, 

 called on me, and showed me larvs which he said were in great 

 abundance in one of his greenhouses, and he was anxious to know 

 whether they would be likely to injure the vines. I visited the spot, 

 and found the larvae very abundant in holes they had made to the 

 depth of about two inches, in the earth which formed the floor of the 

 greenhouse. These holes were lined with silk, forming perfect tubes, 

 which were continued above the surface and there mixed with bits of 

 dead vine-leaves, stems and excrement from the larvae. The appearance 

 and habits of these larvae struck me as peculiar, and different to the 

 habits of any insect that I had read of, so I sent some to an entomo- 

 logical friend residing in London, who showed preserved larvae, with 

 tubes, etc., and read a note on their habits, to members of the South 

 London Entomological Society, and I received the following reply — " It 

 is a beetle larva and feeds upon decayed vegetables — not uncommon. 

 The President (Mr. Billu|)s) is not sure of its name. It was shown to 

 a number of people in the room but no one could give more informa- 

 tion." Another friend got one shown to Mr. Billups who said: — "In 

 reply to your query as to the larvae enclosed for my inspection, as also 

 your very lucid description of the habits of the creature, I perhaps may 

 be able to enlighten you. I have no doubt, from what I can see of 

 the remains of the larva, that it is one of the species of Tenebrionid^e 

 and most probably Te?iebno obscuras, but it would be quite impossible to 

 speak positively, as it was crushed in transit " {in lift). In the mean- 

 time, I kept a large piece of the earth with a 1. umber of larvae in their 

 tubes, feeding them on cabbage leaves, which they ate very sparingly, 

 and the perfect insect duly emerged in ordinary course, and turned 

 out to be, not a beetle, but Aglossa pinguinalis. I then referred to 

 Morris, Stephens, etc., and found — "butter and greasy substances" — 

 given as the food of the larvce. Mr. F. W. Hawes kindly referred me 

 to Mr. Buckler's very complete life history in the Ent. Mo. Mag., 

 Feb., 1884, where he describes it as feeding in stables, etc., on tlie 

 sweepings and other garbage, but I see no mention of its habit of 



