CTTREENT NOTES. 137 



was rather surprised to find two <? s newly emerged on August 18th. 

 On the 26th two more put in an appearance, followed irregularly by 

 others at intervals of a day or two. Not until September 5th, how- 

 ever, could I secure a pairing, eggs being freely laid during the nights 

 of the 6th and 7th. Egg. — When first laid the eggs are of a muddy flesh - 

 colour, flat at the base, and well rounded towards the mieropylar end, as 

 in all eggs of this family. By the 10th they had turned dark 

 purplish-brown, becoming gradually, as the larvte developed, almost 

 black. Larvae emerged on September 21st and 22nd. Larva. — 

 Firfit instar: The young larva has a black head and yellowish-grey 

 body, sparsely covered with whitish hairs. The 4th, 6th, 7th, 10th, 

 and 11th segments are chocolate-brown. In the advanced stages there 

 is a tendency to the formation of a yellow band dorsally, com- 

 bined with a spreading of the chocolate colour laterally. The 1st 

 moult occurred on September 29th and HOth. Second instar : The 

 body colour was now chocolate-brown, with broad, irregular, yellow 

 dorsal band, clouded in the middle segments with brown, and 

 containing a thin brown lateral stripe, bordered by a row of brown 

 dots, presumably tubercle 1. Slight traces of yellow marking later- 

 ally on anterior segments. 2nd moult, October 8th-10th. Thinl 

 instar : No marked change in colouring or marking. Dorsal band 

 more clearly defined, extending laterally to tubercle ii, which is in 

 most cases yellow. The lateral tubercles also more pronounced 

 yellow^ 8rd moult, October 27th-30th. [This moult corresponds 

 with the stage in my previous notes attributed to 2nd moult. 

 Owing to much more rapid development in the spring, two more 

 instars must have followed each other in such close proximity as to 

 have been overlooked.] At this stage it became impossible to secure 

 any more of the food-plants (poplar or willow), and I was obliged to 

 destroy the brood to prevent them suft'ering a lingering death from 

 hunger. It was certain, however, that they had at least one more 

 moult before them, so I think it is reasonable to suppose that, like its 

 near relation P. anachareta, P. pif/ra also goes through four moults 

 before reaching the mature larval stage ; certainly three moults, 

 as given in my former remarks, is incorrect. — J. McDunnough, 

 Motzstrasse 6, Berlin, W. April 3rcl, 1905. 



®^URRE NT NOTES. 



In the January number of the American XatKralist, Mr. J. L. 

 Hancock, F.E.S., contributes a very interesting note on the habits of 

 Oecantlnis fasciatits, Fitch. It appears that the male possesses an 

 alluring gland beneath the tegmina, near their base ; when he 

 approaches the female he raises his tegmina like sails, to a nearly 

 vertical position ; he then strikes up a high-pitched song, while his 

 spouse crawls up on his back, until her attention is " drawn 

 to the little odd-shaped glandular fossa on the back of the thorax 

 between the wings. Here she at once inserts her mouth, to find a 

 delicious potion secreted for her special needs, and which she devours 

 ravenously." The observer noted that a slight touch on the hairs of 

 this fossa produced a twitching movement of the elytra, and it is 

 probable that the spasmodic movements of these organs, while the 

 female is drinking her fill, is not an attempt at stridulation, but an 

 involuntary twitching, caused by her irritating the delicate hairs of 



