1887. J 123 



polislied, rather broader than the second, but about the same width as the third 

 segment ; body cylindrical, and of almost uniform width throughout its entire 

 length ; skin semitranslucent. 



Ground-colour pale yellow, but the green internal parts at first sight make it 

 appear to be of that colour; head pale straw colour, mandibles brown, and the ocelli 

 still darker brown ; dorsal stripe a median shade of green, edged on each side with 

 a broad whitish stripe ; sub-dorsal stripes also of the same green colour, followed by 

 a pale whitish line above the spiracles, and then by a waved whitish stripe along 

 the spiracular region. Ventral surface, legs, and prolegs of the same median shade 

 of green as the stripes of the dorsal area. Dr. Chapman says the prolegs are 

 terminated by a circlet of two very fine hooks, though on the anal prolegs one side 

 of the circlet is hardly developed ; anterior-legs terminated by a very fine brown claw. 



After ceasing to feed, and before spinning up, the colour (as is the case with 

 others in the genus) changed considerably. The ground became bright brownish- 

 yellow, and the dorsal stripe still browner, and the former whitish stripes lemon- 

 yellow ; the green colouring of the earlier stages had entirely disappeared, clearly 

 showing it was caused solely by food in process of digestion. 



Dr. Chapman's larvae spun strong silken cocoons, in which 

 doubtless the winter is spent, the change to pupa taking place in 

 spring. Throughout life, when not feeding, the larva lives under a 

 slight web spun over itself ; and when about to moult, a much firmer 

 domicile, almost a cocoon, indeed, is formed, so much so that in one 

 or two instances Dr. Chapman suspected they had reached a stage at 

 which they naturally enclosed themselves for hibernation. 



Dr. Chapman, by his captures of the larva? this year, has proved 

 the natural food to be, as indeed he was quite sure it was, L. 

 sjpinulosa. 



Huddersfield : September 2S,th, 1887. 



NOTES ON BEITISH RYMENOPTERA. 

 by edwaed saundees, f.l.s. 



Ceabeo palmipes and VAEIUS. 

 In my Synopsis of British Hymenoptera (Trans. Ent. Soc, 1880, 

 p. 288), I have given as the chief differential character of the females 

 of these species the colour of the anterior calcaria — those of varius as 

 being pale, those of palmipes dark. This character, however, does not 

 seem to be a reliable one, although Wesmael appears to have found it 

 so, as he says, in his " Revue Critique des Hym. Fouisseurs de Bel- 

 gique," p. 135, ^xl\(!iev j^ahnipes, " Le plupart des auteurs out confondu 

 la femelle avee celle du C. varius. Un seul caractere sufBrait cependant 

 pour la distinguer facilement ; c'est que Veperon des j amies de devnut 



