162 THE ENTOMOLO(+IST's RECORD. 



:^OTES ON LIFE-HISTORIES, LARVAE, &c. 



Habits of larva of iEciEKiA culiciformis. — I have recently been 

 paying some attention to the feeding-habits of the larva of Ju/eria 

 culiciformis, which is common in the woods here. The female, of 

 course, flies in early June, and then selects the stumps where the 

 undergrowth of birch has been cut down during the previous winter. 

 Apparently the egg is inserted into the bark some three or four inches 

 below the cut surface of the stump. The larva feeds upwards, between 

 the bark and the wood, but eating the wood (in which a groove is fed 

 out) and not the bark. The frass is allowed to accumulate in this 

 groove. When approaching within an inch or two of the cut surface 

 the larva burrows in a slanting direction into the wood, until it 

 reaches almost to the surface, where it pupates. Barrett, I see, states 

 that it probably feeds for two years, but I do not think that this is so, 

 for, at the present date, the larva? are fullfed from last summer's ova, 

 and have spun their cocoons, though they have not yet pupated. The 

 best way of obtaining the pupa? seems to be to insert a sharp chisel 

 between the edges of the bark and the wood, and to peel the bark off. 

 The accumulation of frass will indicate where a larva has been feed- 

 ing, and short search will show the entrance of its burrow into the 

 wood. Some two or three inches of the stumps must then be sawn 

 off, and carried home, to be placed in a breeding-cage for the insect to 

 emerge. Unfortunately the woodpeckers and tree-creepers seem to 

 have exact knowledge of the presence of the larvae, and readily extract 

 them through holes cut in the pecked surface, so that probably not 

 more than two or three per cent, of the larvfe reach maturity and suc- 

 cessfully emerge. — Percy C. Reid, F.E.H., Feering Bury, Kelvedon. 

 March 5th, 1905. [We wonder whether our correspondent can get us 

 the egg, or learn anything definitely about the mode of egg-laying. — 

 Ed.] 



Eggs of Lepidoptera. — Gnnphos obfuscata. — Oval in outline, about 

 1mm. in length, -Hmm. in width, plump, but with a slight depression 

 on the upper surface, ends somewhat flattened so as to make shape 

 approach the cylindrical; surface covered with an exceedingly faint, 

 coarse polygonal reticulation, with further traces of white points at the 

 angles, giving the idea of the longitudinal zigzag ribs of Heuierophila 

 abruptaria without the marked definition presented by the ribs of this 

 species ; dull pale green in colour, with certain irregular reddish patches 

 and dots (evidently embryonic structures showing through) ; the micro- 

 pylar area flattened, the micropyle itself forming a central stella with 

 a ring of hexagonal cells surrounding it, these being in turn surrounded 

 by a ring of larger cells which reach practically to the shoulder of the 

 egg. The surface itself is iridescent and the coarse boundaries of the 

 cells are pinkish-white. The eggs sent are loose, but the comparative 

 smoothness of the underside suggests that there may be some attach- 

 ment. [Received from Dr. Chapman on July 7th, 1899. Eggs laid 

 by female captured at Fusio.] 



i'awptoiiraiuma jiuv'iata. — Very small egg for a Geometrid. Colour 

 very pale straw-yellow with a faint greenish tint, about one- fortieth of 

 an inch long; length, breadth and height : : 5 : 3 : 2, somewhat broader 

 at micropylar end. Roughly oval in outline, with a slight oval depression 

 on upper surface. Hexagonal reticulation very fine, and about 12 to 



