CURRENT NOTES. 191 



colour, these two specimens were of a tolerably deep greenish-yellow, 

 and the black patch at the base of tlie wings was more pronounced and 

 more extended. Mons. Bogin asks Avlietlier possibly tlie autumn cold 

 may have acted in some way on the pupa?, and tlius given rifse to this 

 melanism, but confesses that at present observations are too few to 

 justify any dogmatic expression of opinion on the subject. 



Mr. Hulst says {Ent. News, March, pp. 70-73) that Camptogravima 

 Jiuvi'ata, Hbn., has, as synonyms, C. lapillata, Gn., II., 430, from 

 Aby.ssinia ; C. haccata, Gn., II., 430, from Ceylon ; as well as the 

 following from North America ; Cidaria peracuata, Wlk., 1421 ; 

 Coremia ahrnptata, Wlk. sup., 1681 ; C. phjrata, Wlk. sup., 1681 ; 

 Carnptograinma exaijitata, Wlk., 1331, Camptogramma (?) stgnataria, 

 Wlk., 1718. There is also a specimen of the same called plemy- 

 rata, Feld., but I do not know whether it is correct." He 

 further notes that " Cidaria inclinata, Wlk., 1727, is a synonym 

 of C. ferrugata, L.," and that " Tephrosia scihdaria, Wlk., 406, 

 is Epirrita camhrica, Curtis ; " we assume this to be our Venusia 

 cambrica. There is also a note to the effect that " Boarmia divisaria, 

 Wlk., 489, of the D'Urban collection, is the same as B. crepusadaria 

 var. abraxaria, Wlk., 403 ;'' whilst Melanijipefurcifascia, Wlk., 1294, " is 

 a synonym of Cidaria hastata var. gothicata, Gn., as is also the hecate, 

 Btl., from Jajoan. It is the form with unicolorous black hind wings." 

 We are pleased to see that Mr. Battley is making himself authoritatively 

 responsible (vide Societies, p. 165) for the Ennomidae, and Mr. Prout 

 for a section of the Larentiidae. We want someone to become a 

 specialist in the Boarmiidae. That these gentlemen have plenty to do, 

 if their specialisation is to be real, is evident from the above. 



It is with the greatest regret that we have to announce the death of 

 Mr. Berthold Neumoegen, of New York, whose magnificent collection 

 is world-renowned. He was born on November 19th, 1845, and died 

 on January 21st, of consum]ition, hastened by an attack of gi-ip 

 (influenza). His extreme wealth allowed him to send collectors into, 

 and to obtain collections from, far distant countries, and he was not 

 only an ardent collector but also a thoroughly well-informed scientific 

 entomologist. An excellent photograph of him appears in the Ent. 

 News for March. 



The German newspapers contain the very singular statement that 

 Prof. Neumann of Vienna exhibited before a meeting of the Medical 

 Society the daughter (aged three years) of a gardener residing near 

 Brunn, Austria, who had on various j^arts of the body curling reddish 

 marks under the skin. Prof. Neumann stated that these were the 

 mines of a Microleijidopteron, and their presence in such an astoundino- 

 situation he ascribed to the fact that tlie eggs of the moth had come in 

 contact with the skin, and that the newly-hatched larva3 had burrowed 

 into the skin in the same way as into a leaf. His assistant. Dr. Eille, 

 had the little patient under observation in order to observe the further 

 action of the larvae, and to remove them where their presence could 

 be perceived. The story sounds incredible, but as it is now being 

 repeated in various journals we give it for what it is worth. A proper 

 substantiation of the fact and the determination of tlie s})ecies exhibit- 

 ing such carnivorous propensities will be awaited with interest. In 

 America a small Pliycid, Laeiilia coccidicora, Comstock, feeds normally 

 on the cottony maple scale, Pulvinaria innumerabilis, Kathvon ; and both 



