114 [October, 



The abundance of Orgyia antiqua. — At this season the " Vapourer " is always 

 one of the " common objects " everywhere, for, like the pig in Leigh Hunt's story, 

 " he goes up all manner of streets " — urban and suburban. But this year he has 

 come out in prodigious numbers, almost rivalling Plusia gamma last year. I say lie, 

 advisedly, for as is well known, the females cannot fly for want of the de quoi. On 

 every day, and all daylong, lately, the males perform their gyrations about this house, 

 half-a-dozen being at any moment in view from one window, and the same thing is 

 going on in every direction. It was not so last year, and yet the larvae in the early 

 summer were xevy abundant, so that if the quantity of eggs of the last brood was, 

 as is probable, not unusually numerous, the fates have been unusually beneficent to 

 their products. What has been the proportion of females developed ? This 

 question, from the retiring nature of the ladies, can never be satisfactorily answered, 

 nor shall we know how many of the gentlemen were involuntary celibates ; but if 

 the next generation be again in excess, we may presume that a large number of 

 Benedicks found each a Beatrice ; still, this is a hazardous speculation in view of the 

 precedent of last year's enormous broods of Plusia gamma, which have had no such 

 successors this year. — J. W. Douglas, 8, Beaufort Gardens, Lewisham : September 

 Uh, 1880. 



Description of the larva of Nonagriafulva. — In the " Manual of British But- 

 terflies and Moths " fulva is said to be the commonest of the small species of 

 Nonagria, and therein is given from Treitschke a brief description of the larva, yet 

 it appears that in this country no one ever found the larva, until Mr. John Sang, of 

 Darlington, while in quest of another species of larva, found this one, and meeting 

 again with it in the following summer, proved its identity by breeding the insect, as 

 recorded by him in last year's October Number of this Magazine. 



Most obligingly redeeming his promise made to me on that occasion, Mr. Sang 

 has this season again sought successfully for the larva of fulva, and kindly sent me 

 for study — first a very young example on the 19th of June, — secondly, on the 9th of 

 July, four fine larva? approaching maturity, affording me intense gratification in 

 figuring this long-desired subject. 



The habitude of the larva is to mine downward within the inner white lower 

 part of the triquetrous flower-stem of Carex paludosa, a few inches more or less 

 above the root while young, and nearer the root when full grown : it must be ad- 

 mitted that no external trace of its presence can be seen, for though a slight blackish 

 discoloration does really exist, yet this is so completely masked by the close investing 

 leaves as not to be detected without very strict examination. 



When the first little larva arrived I saw it was laid up waiting to moult, and 

 not liking to disturb it then, made no further search for another doubtful smaller 

 larva reported to be in the stem, and this eventually proved to be a Coleopteron of 

 carnivorous propensity to which fulva became a prey while in its helpless condition. 



From the four larvae of fulva more matured I took away, to figure and describe, 

 the first pupa, which subsequently died from mismanagement during my absence ; 

 however, I had the satisfaction of breeding two fine moths on the 18th and 24th of 

 August, and at this last date, while inspecting the plant for removal, I found the 

 fourth, still a larva,' though in the stage of changing. 



