6 THE ENTCMOLOGIST S KECORD. 



Mr. Newman {Entom., vol. ii., p. 28) writes : — " lu my little pamphlet 



on Physiological Classification, I gave a number of instances in which 



female insects had produced fertile eggs, and even living young, 



without the possibility of having had previous access to males of the 



same species : these were all cited from works of the most eminent 



naturalists of the Continent, and are entirely trustworthy : but still 



there is something in all records that makes you think, if not to say, * I 



should like to try that experiment myself.' In my own instance, this 



opportunity has been afforded. In one of my breeding-cages were 



placed three full-fed larvae of Nyssia pilosaria, they soon became pupae : 



and at the end of February and beginning of March three females 



emerged ; they continued very quietly on the sides of the cage during 



the day, but at night amused themselves with busily perambulating 



some fallen and withered leaves, and with inserting their telescope-like 



ovipositors into every cranny and crevice they could find. Of course I 



suppose they were laying eggs, and still suppose so, but of this I 



cannot be sure. However, on Sunday, the 17th of April, I found the 



cage positively swarming with minute loopers, which bearing in mind 



as I did the three female pilosaria, I concluded at once to be juveniles 



of that species. A fortnight has elapsed, and there is now no doubt on 



the subject ; they have been feedmg on birch, which, if it shared my 



feelings, was anxiously expecting the emergence of a brood of Endromis 



versicolor, certain twigs embossed with the eggs of that species having 



been deftly affixed to the twigs of birch provided for their sustenance. 



The pilosaria, now a fortnight old, are rather restless, wandering 



frequently off their food plant, and reminding one forcibly of Japhet in 



search of a father. Still the fact, as here narrated, is amply sufficient 



to prove that the union of the sexes in this particular species is not 



absohitely essential to the production of abundant and vigorous 



progeny : whether they arrive at maturity remains to be seen." 



At a later date {I.e. p. 254) Mr. Newman writes: — "Referring to my 

 memorandum at p. 28 of the Entom ologisf, I have to state that the 

 larvae of Nyssia pilosaria, which I then described as having been 

 pi'oduced from a virgin female, acquired the full larval stature of the 

 species, and in due time became pupae : but here ends their history : 

 they have exhibited no indication of life since jnipation : the exjDeriment 

 has therefore failed as an instance of continuous agamous generation." 

 Mr. A. E. Eaton records an instance in Or(jyia. antiqua (Entom., 

 vol. iii., p. 104) : — " The details of this case were communicated to me 

 by a friend, who has satisfied me that perfect isolation from the male 

 was maintained throughout. First ijeneraiion : — From a pupa found at 

 Venn Hall, Sherborne, Dorset, in the autumn of 1864, a female 

 imago emerged, which laid eggs. Second generation -.--Oi the above- 

 mentioned eggs ten hatclied in the spring of 1805, but of these larvae 

 one onl}', the largest from the first, came to maturity ; this i)roduced a 

 female which laid eggs. Third generation : — Five larvae from these 

 eggs attained the pupal state of development, and one of them 

 produced a female imago by the middle of October. The series is, 

 therefore, incomplete." 



Another species in which parthenogenesis has been observed is 

 Sphinx liijuxtri. Mr. A. P. Nix of Truro, states {Entom., vol. iv., p. 323) 

 that he " had some eggs from a bred female of Sphinx litjnstri: she had no 

 intercourse with a male but the eggs have all hatched." Mr. Clogg 



