NOTES ON LIFE-IIISTORIES, LARV^, ETC. 189 



the withered pieces, they are very eonspicnous, hut, after a day or two, 

 they become of a dull brown, and are by no means so easily noticed. 

 — J. J. Wolfe, Skibbereen, co. Cork. -/»/,'/, 1896. 



Partial third bkood of Tephrosia bistortata, and partial second 

 ijRooD OF Spilosoma lubricipeda. — The following emergences may be 

 worth recording. (1) On August 17th, an imago of a third brood of 

 Tcplmma histortata {creinmndaria) came out in one of my cages, from 

 some pupte that went down between July 27th and August 5th. It 

 is similar to the perfect insects of the second brood, and was bred from 

 an Qgg laid by a female bred from a Clevedon first brood. On the 

 other hand, I have some pupae from another Clevedon first brood, 

 that went down during the second week of June, which have not pro- 

 duced any second brood, but are going over till next March. All the 

 pupae have been kept under similar conditions, in an out-house facing 

 north-west. (2) On August 28rd, I found a $ Spilosoma Inhricipeda 

 (2nd brood) had emerged from pupie that spun up at the end of July. 

 The insect is a fine intcrniediate var., and this is the fifth year of 

 selection of imagines originally from larvfB at Hull. — W. S. Riding, 

 B.A., M.D., F.E.S., Buckereli, E. Devon. Augmt mh, 1896. 



Notes on Polia xanthomista var. nigrocincta. — I have not had 

 much experience in breeding this species from the egg, as I generally try 

 to collect the larv* when full fed at the end of June, but the eggs which 

 I have had here, all hatched in the spring (abovit the beginning of 

 April). On referring to a letter from Mr. C. S. Gregson, of Liverpool, to 

 me, dated February 27th, 1892, which accompanied a batch of eggs of 

 Polia rhi var. oli caeca, which he very kindly sent to me, he states, 

 inter alia, as follows : — " Like P. nigrocincta, they {olivacca) generally 

 hatch in April, but not always. I have known both species to hatch 

 in autumn." I can quite imagine, however, if the weather be very 

 warm in September and October (similar to that which was experienced 

 here last year), that the eggs would hatch in the autumn, and the 

 young larviB, which feed on various low plants, would take readily to 

 either common plantain, sea plantain, violets, dandelion, butter- 

 cup, etc., etc. I know of numbers of other plants upon which the larva) 

 also feed. I have fed them on the plants named, and find that 

 they do not take to S. anneria until later on, say May and June, 

 when they prefer the sea-pink flowers, on which they can be found 

 feeding at night. It {nif/rocincta) is strictly a nocturnal feeder. 

 I have never found the larva during the daytime. My great 

 objection to rearing P. nii/rociiicta from the egg, is that such a large 

 percentage die oft", both before and after their last " moult," and 

 this is the reason why I prefer hunting for the larvae in June. — 

 H. Shortridge Clarke, F.E..S., Sulby Parsonage, Lazayre, Isle 

 of Man. Aw/ust 28th, 1896. 



:!^OTES ON COLLECTING, Etc. 



Captures at Mallow. — The following list of insects captured in 

 the neighbourhood of Mallow, co. Cork, during the present season 

 may be interesting. I observe that Panolis pinipcrda is not mentioned 

 in Newman as an Irish species, although, of course, his book is hardly 

 up to date. An interesting capture appears to be that of Macroi/ht.ssa 

 hoiii.bi/liJ'or)nis, by Mr. F. Stawell, at Old Dromore, near Mallow. My 



