! 1880.] 183 



and beginning of the present month, I beat a large quantity of furze 



I {Ulex europcBiis) and broom (Sarothamnus scoparius), without any 



(result, and I had almost despaired of obtaining the young, although 



; | the perfect insect was in swarms, until at last I observed one or two 



i little creatures emerge from amongst some broom-leaves which I had 



[.beaten into an inverted umbrella. They appeared to be the object of 



my search, so I cut a few twigs of broom and put them and the insects 



together in my collecting bottle. On arriving at home, I turned them 



out into one of my breeding pots, and, in about a couple of days I had 



' the satisfaction of seeing the first bred specimen of Arytana genistce. 



The pellets of excrement which they emit are large, milky-white, some- 



: what oval bodies, and are sometimes, I believe, joined together by a 



. fine thread, or, perhaps, tube. 



Nymph. — Yellowish-green. Head broad, flattish, convex in front, with a few 



: stout, long, black hairs in front. Crown dark brown, divided down the centre 



| by a yellowish-green streak, widest next the base. Eyes large, pink. Antenna : 



< .our basal joints yellowish-green, remainder black. Thorax yellowish-green, with 



two short, longitudinal black streaks on each side next the elytra-lobes, and five pairs 



of black fovese placed more internally. Elytra-lobes brown, outer margin with about 



,( nine stout black hairs pointing somewhat anteriorly; disc with a few semi-erect black 



{hairs running longitudinally. Legs yellowish-green, or sometimes brownish. Tibice 



I with a row of stout black hairs down the anterior margin. Tarsi black. Abdomen 



•I above yellowish-green, lower half brown, darkest next the margin ; two basal seg- 



I ments with a black streak on each side in the incision ; margin with a long, stout, 



; black hair at the base of each segment, disc very sparingly clothed with black hairs ; 



.underneath yellowish-green, or sometimes of a pink colour in the centre, with two 



pairs of rectangular black patches ; margins of the segments yellowish-brown. 



Burnt Ash Hill, Lee : 



September 18th, 1880. 



Orgyia antiqua. — In the last No. of the Magazine I noticed a question by Mr. 



J. W. Douglas (p. 114), respecting the enforced celibacy of Orgyia antiqua $ , from 



which it appears that he only allows one male to each female developed ; this is 

 : without question what the study of other Lepidoptera would lead one to believe in, 



but in the case of the " Vapourer" there are lamentable exceptions to the general 



rule. 



Some years ago I bred a number of specimens of this moth, carefully separating 

 ; the sexes in the larva condition (which is easily done, owing to the different colour 

 | of the dorsal tufts) ; one of the females which I reared attracted no les8 than seven 

 I males in succession, all of which she mated with ; finally she expired without laying 



a single egg. — Aethue Gr. Bittlee, 10, Avington Grove, Penge, Surrey : October 



2nd, 1880. 



[Monogamy is believed to be the general rule with insects, although there are 



individual instances to the contrary. Mr. Butler's experiment shows what 



: may happen under the abnormal conditions of the breeding-cage, and it is pos- 



