SCIENTIFIC NOTES. O 



The pupa is shining reddish-brown, two-thirds of an inch long ; at 

 tlie anal extremity there are two hooked spikes arising from a thickened 

 base, and snrronnded by a few short l)ristles, and two or three long- 

 silky hairs, by Avhieli it is attached to tlie silky lining of the cocoon, 

 close by the remains of the last skin. The spikes are -50 ram. in 

 leng-th (a little less than half a line). 



The pupas were not disturbed, but were left in the cages in the 

 open air, screened from the sun, except two, which were kept indoors. 

 These latter produced imagines on Octoljer l/>th and 17th (No. 1). 

 The others kept emerging between October 21st and November 9th, 

 numbering altogetlier 71, tlie times of emergence being, with very few 

 exceptions, between midday and 4 p.m. There was nearly an equal 

 proportion of males and females, Avith a slight predominance of the 

 latter. Only two were crippled. The insects are large, most measuring 

 1 inch 5 lines across; a few a little more. The colour of the fore 

 wings is yellow-ochre, varied with waves of red-ochre, and the usual 

 black dots. They vary, however, from the type, in having a row of 

 six white dots edged behind ]>\ black dots, between the subterminal 

 line and reniform ; two white dots edged in front by black, between the 

 orbicular and the base of the Aving ; one on the fold, and one between 

 that and the inner margin ; there are two other white dots in front of 

 and behind the reniform. All these white dots are placed on wing- 

 rays, and are very distinct in a large majority of the specimens. In 

 only a few do they vary in intensity, or have some absent. As is 

 usual, the black lower half of the reniform is alone represented, and 

 the orbicular may 1)6 said to be just indicated by two small black 

 dots, anterior and posterior. — Buckerell Lodge, Honiton, Devon. 



SCIENTIFIC NOTES. 



Heredity. — I have just recently completed a small experiment in 

 breeding Polia chi var. olwacea. In September, 1891, 1 took a ? olivacea 

 with a ^ sitting in close proximity to her. Thinking that they had 

 recently been in cojmid, I kept the 2 for ova, which she duly laid in 

 the course of a few days. In the same month I took two 2 <^hi (type), 

 but there were no ^ 's near them at the time of capture. Both these ? 

 laid ova. I kejit the ova from all tliree in separate chip boxes, carefully 

 labelled. They all hatched early in May, 1892, and I then sleeved 

 them out on whitethorn, keeping them in distinct sleeves, and each 

 sleeve was labelled. The young larvae did very Avell till they were 

 half-grown, when a considerable number died, some of the remainder 

 dying Avhen nearly full-fed. The rest pupated and most of them 

 emerged. In every case, the insect produced from the ova laid by the J 

 olivacea, turned out olivacea, whilst those produced from the two typical 

 cM, Avere about 75 per cent, typical clii and 25 per cent, olivacea. The 

 experiment was not on a sufficiently large scale to prove that olivacea 

 will always breed olivacea, but it tends in that direction. I should 

 mention that all the larvfe had exactly the same treatment, being 

 sleeved out till nearly or quite full-fed. — T. Maddison, South Bailey, 

 Durham. November, 1892. 



I haA^e been breeding some nice forms of Hi/bernia defoliaria from 

 some selected dark-banded specimens taken last autumn. They liaA-e 



