16l* [J^^^y. 



as a sort of horse." While at Gibraltar in 188<i — 1889, I repeatedly noticed this 

 curious habit, tiie little flies, which are less than a line in length, being found 

 clustered on the beotle — sometimes to the number of 20 or 30, and chiefly on the 

 under-side — which, to me, always appeared to be supremely indifferent to their 

 presence.* As these flies are often found in great numbers on the usual pabulum of 

 Ateuchux, it is probable that they frequently use the beetle as a means of conveyance 

 from one deposit to another, without any trouble to themselves. The favourite 

 steed of these little riders appeared to be Ateuchus variolo.ius, owing doubtless to its 

 somewhat rough exterior affording a secure foothold ; I have sometimes noticed the 

 flies on A. sacer, but have never, to my recollection, seen them on any other of the 

 large Coprophaga (Copris, Bubas, Onitis, Geotrupes, &c.) which are so plentiful at 

 Gibraltar, perhaps because these genera are less diurnal than Ateuchus. — J. J. 

 Walker, Sheerness : June 8ih, 1896. 



Chrtfsocephaia nii/ra, De G., in the New Forest. — I took a fine specimen of this 

 rare fly in the Rhinefield Enclosure, New Forest, on May 29th last, and when I showed 

 it to Mr. Austen, I think he said it was only the second specimen authenticated as 

 British.— F. C. Adams, fJS, St. Ermin's Mansions, S.W. : June, 1896. 



Notes on Lencania facicolor. — I have, since my note {ante, p. 138) was written, 

 had a chance of examining the specimens which Mr. Barrett has named L. favicolor. 

 They are not L. impura, ah. ptoictalinea as suggested by me, but appear to me to be 

 an aberration of L. pallens, exactly parallel with that of L. impura. It is, of course, 

 the normal thing for L. straminea to have a series of dots crossing the fore-wings 

 and forming what is commonly known as the elbowed line, but the aberration in 

 which a similar line of dots occurs in L. impura is very rare, and hitherto I had not 

 seen it in what I supposed to be L. pal/ens.— J. W. Tutt, Westcombe Park : 

 June 'ith, 1896. 



On the cocoon of .icronycta aceris. — I have reared four Acronycta averts from 

 larva obtained last autumn. On examining the empty cocoons in my cage I found 

 their construction rather curious. They were attached to the top corners, and 

 consisted first of a loose outer web of silk on which the larva had placed its hairs ; 

 and then a hard covering of silk mixed with very tiny chips of wood from the side 

 of the cage, less hard, and smaller, but otherwise similar to that constructed by 

 Cerura vinula ; its texture was very tougli, and it fitted so closely round the pupa 

 that it is diSicult to understand how the larva" shuffled off" its skin when changing 

 to a pupa. A curious point which [ noticed is that the moth, instead of breaking 

 through the inner covering, and then straight on through the outer, broke through 

 the inner at one end of the cocoon, and then emerged, having traversed the small 

 space left between the inner and outer coverings, at the opposite end of the cocoon. 

 I opened them all to see whether they corresponded in structure. So far as I can 

 see there was no obstruction to prevent the insects from continuing their emergence 

 on the same side as that on which they broke the inner covering. — Percy L. 

 Babington, Walmer House, Tunbridge : June llh, 1896. 



* When at Gibraltar last year I ;ilso noticed this peculiar habit of these small flies.— G. C. C. 



