NOTES ON COLLECTING. 41 



I should be glad of any answer through the I'hit. Record relating 

 to these (queries. — -J. Anderson, Jun., x\lre Villa, Chichester. April 

 24.tli, 1896. 



New Entomological Lantern. — I have had a new lantern made, 

 from my own specifications, for entomological purposes, by Griffiths 

 and Sons, Birmingham, and fitted with the patent burner of the 

 Cera Light Co., Limited, Glasgow. The peculiarity of this latter is 

 that it burns Cera (wax), a solid. A copper Avire communicating with 

 the Cera in the tank is curved in a spiral over the burner, and when 

 the wick is lighted the heat is rapidly conducted down the wire, and 

 the wax in the tank is melted. When the flame is blown out the tank 

 rapidly cools, the wax solidifies, and the lantern may then be packed 

 and carried in any position without greasing. A piece of the wax may 

 be carried in the pocket, and the lamp replenished while actually 

 burning if necessary. I think, Avith one or two slight improvements, 

 it will make a useful lantern. — H. Tunaley, F.E.8., 30, Fairinount 

 Road, Brixton Hill, ri.W. 



iS^OTES ON LIFE-HISTORIES, LARY^, &c. 



On the number of British species of Oporabia. — -Life-History 

 OF Oporabia filigramm.aria. — I have been much interested in Mr. J. A. 

 Clark's account of Oporabia tilif/raminaria, because I am noAv breeding it 

 myself. Mr. -J. E. R. Allen kindly sent me a batch of about two dozen ova 

 from Bolton. These hatched in February, from the 13th to the 26th, 

 and now they have nearly all pupated. Mr. Allen wrote to me on 

 February 13th, telling me that his also were hatching. These dates, 

 it will be observed, exactly agree with those quoted by Mr. Clark, but 

 are fully two months earlier than those given in his own observations. 

 My larvae have been fed up exclusively on whitethorn, the only food 

 available when they hatched. In their later coats the general ground 

 colour was a dark blackish-green, very different from any larvae of 

 0. (liliitata which I have ever seen in Hampshire, and the yellow 

 stripes on the very dark green make them striking and handsome 

 larvffi. This darker colour may no doubt be owing to the particular 

 district from which they came, but it seems to me to be worth 

 noticing, for no one could mistake these for the usual form of the 

 larva of (>. dihitata. — J. C. Moberly, M.A., F.E.S., Rockstone Place, 

 Southampton. April 12th, 1896. - [These notes by Mr. Moberly 

 make it pretty certain that we have three species of Oporabia in 

 Britain, as was long ago asserted by British lepidopterists. It is very 

 necessary that these species should be well worked out now in all their 

 stages. — Ed.] . 



It may be well, in connection with the above, to call attention to a 

 note by Mr. Kay, of Bury, Lancashire, who wrote on June 9th, 

 1876 : — -" Wishing to obtain larvae of L. caesiata, and, if possible, 

 those of O. filii/raiinnaria, I visited two localities in this neighbourhood, 

 where I hoped to obtain both species ; nor was I disappointed, 

 although 0. fiUtirammaria was not known to have previously occurred 

 at one of the places worked. Some of the larvae, especially those of 

 O. fUiiiranuHaria, were found feeding quite exposed; others at rest, 

 but the majority were obtained by beating ling (Erica vuljaris). 



