306 THE entomologist's record. 



the first imago emerged about September 26th. The imagines seem 

 to emerge at all times, day and night. The larvae spin a loose 

 cocoon on the surface of the earth, or if there is no earth or sand in 

 the pot, they spin a few leaves of the food-plant together, or any 

 rubbish they can find. They seem to like the bloom and seeds of the 

 knotgrass, and prefer it slightly withered. They are very sluggish in 

 their habits, A few of my larvae fed up, but the majority have settled 

 themselves for their winter sleep, and I fear I shall lose them, as the 

 knotgrass is so late in making its appearance in the spring. A large 

 proportion of those bred are females. — W. G. Pearce, 94, St. James' 

 Koad, Holloway, N. Oct. Ut/i, 1896. 



Third bkoods bred in 1896, — Dr. Eiding {ante, p. 189) has 

 recorded one instance of a partial third brood this season {Ti'p/irosia 

 bistortata). I add two others from my own experience. Sfiilnsonui 

 fulit/i-nosa, J , captured at Sandown, July 30th ; 29 eggs laid. One 

 larva escaped from the breeding cage, 5 have laid up for hybernation 

 in the orthodox Avay, 23 pupated in the latter half of September, 

 From these the first two moths have emerged (indoors) this morning, 

 October 26th (cfr, Barrett's Lepidoptera, ii,, p. 275), Acidalia suh- 

 sericcata. — This species, in forward seasons, is double-brooded, at 

 Sandown, in a state of nature [vidi', Ent. Rec, iv., p. 278 ; viii., p. 192). 

 I observed a pretty full second brood in 1889, 1893 and 1896, and 

 an odd specimen on August 28th, 1895. A female, captured this 

 year, on July 31st, laid a few eggs (about 17). All but two (which 

 are now hybernating) fed up rapidly, pupating about September 20th, 

 and the imagines commenced emerging (indoors) on October 16th.— 

 LomsB.PRouT,F.E.S., 246, Richmond Road, Dalston. Oct. 26th, 1896. 



Forcing Plusia bractea. — I captured one female Plusia bractea, 

 on July 11th, which laid eggs on the night of July 12th. These eggs 

 hatched July 19th ; another female P. bractea was captured July 

 20th ; she laid a few eggs on July 21st, which hatched July 28th. These 

 larvae were kept in a cold frame, fed on lettuce (var. " All-the-year- 

 round)" and groundsel [Senecio v id gnri a) \\ni\\ August 31st, when they 

 were put into a cucumber-house, where the temperature varied between 

 68° and 80° Fahr. As lettuce and groundsel are both very succulent, 

 they soon rotted in the high temperature, and the excrement from 

 the larvae appeared to be too soft, so I introduced dandelion (a French 

 var. grown in gardens for salads), which the larvii? preferred to either 

 lettuce or groundsel in the high temperature, and fed up splendidly on 

 it. The first larva spun up on September 13th, and several more on 

 September 19th, and continued to do so up to the end of the month. 

 The first insect emerged on September 24th, and the last of 26 

 insects on October 15th. It appears that t'. bractea. only remains 

 about fourteen or fifteen days in the chrysalis state in the above high 

 temperature. — John Finlay, Morpeth. 



Double-broodedness of Plusia festuc.e.— In answer to the letter 

 from Mr. H. Shortridge Clarke {ante, p. 215), re Pliiaiafestucac, 1 can 

 say that here it is always double-brooded. About four years since I 

 had several pupte in September, which emerged and laid their ova in 

 the box they were in, and in about ten days they hatched, and I kept 

 them some time, but did not succeed in hybernating them ; and I fancy 

 they do not get through the winter well, as we only find a few perfect 

 insects in June, but in August, every year, we find the larvic and pupte 



