NOTES ON COLLECTING, ETC. 63 



liberally added it to my collection. — Sydney Webb, Maidstone House, 

 Dover, Sejit. IBtli, 1895. 



Sphinx convolvuli at Bournemouth. — Up to the present, twenty- 

 three specimens of this moth have been taken here. — W. G. Hooker, 

 Bournemouth, .S'epf. lOth, 1895. 



Thyatyra batis in August. — On August 19th I saw a specimen of 

 T. batis on sugar. The insect was in excellent condition, with the 

 exception of a small cut in the right-hind wing. Apparently it had 

 only emerged about twenty-four hours. — Arthur Lovell-Keays, 

 Caterham. 



Larvae of a Saw-fly in Somerset. — A friend at Wellington has 

 sent me specimens of a *' grub," which appears by thousands on his 

 willows. It is probably the larva of the saw-fly, Ni'inafus pavichis. — 

 W. Macmillan, Castle Gary, Somerset, Sept., 1895. 



:i^OTES ON LARViE, &c. 



Food of Ephestia kuhniella. — Flour and rice are the foods on 

 which most of the specimens of E. hillinie.Jla have been bred in this 

 country. Dr. Allinson's " Food for Babies " is the latest addition. Mr. J. 

 A. Clark exhibited, at the meeting of the City of London Entomological 

 Society, a box containing packets of the above food, from which he 

 had already bred a considerable number of specimens, whilst pupae were 

 scattered rather thickly over the lid and round the edges of the box. 

 After distributing a portion of the packages, Mr. Clark kindly gave me 

 the remainder. There seem to be a large number of larva3 of various 

 sizes and ages still feeding, and several moths have since emerged. 

 The larva is a most interesting one, owing to the ease with which the 

 sexual organs of the caterpillar can be examined. — J. W. Tutt, 

 Westcombe Hill, S.E. Sept. I'dth, 1895. 



How TO OBTAIN LARv^ OF Apamea ophiogramma, — I shall bc much 

 obliged if anyone can give me hints as to searching for the larv^ of 

 A. ophiogramma — the date, hour of day or night, food-plant (besides 

 the ornamental ribbon-grass, etc.). — W. B. Thornhill, Castle Cosey, 

 Castle Bellingham, Ireland. 



If anyone wants to obtain the larva of Apamea opMograiinna, 

 let him increase the quantity of ribbon-grass in his garden, and 

 probably he will succeed. I have done so, and do not regret it, as 

 I must have taken in all some 70 specimens. I was pleased to detect 

 the female in the act of ovipositing — not, as I had always supposed, 

 amongst the roots, but in the fold of faded leaves — close to the point — 

 where the eggs are deposited in rows, according to the accommodation 

 provided by the fold. I really meant to breed A. ophiogramma this 

 year, but when the time came round I found that I could not deal 

 with so large an amount of material. I found extensive traces of larvfe, 

 which had cleared out the main shoots, and left the shells full of 

 greenish frass, but these shoots were so entirely hidden by the un- 

 affected shoots that they were difficult to find, and to rear the insect, I 

 must have dug up the whole of my plantation, so I let them bide, and 

 do not regret it. I took more than plenty, a fair proportion in 

 decent order, and no stunted or crippled specimens. — (Rev.) C. R. N. 

 Burrows, Rainham Vicarage, Essex. Jiilii Idlh, 1895. 



How TO BREED BoMBYx RUBi. — In October last year (1894), the 



