NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. Ill 



seen crawling about the tubes. Two or three stems were gently 

 opened, and larvte found lying extended within. On the evening of 

 July 13th tlie stems of epigeios and glomerata appeared to be almost 

 reduced to shells, whilst the succulent portion of the reeds had also 

 been attacked, and the larvae in the tubes were crawling about in all 

 directions, the tract of food within the larvae showing up very 

 distinctly as dark lines through the transparent skins. 



On the morning of July 14th all the stems and debris in the three 

 tubes were carefully gone through, and the larvae transferred to a 

 clean empty tube. Thirty of the larvae were then turned out one by 

 one on to a plant of C. epigeios, which had been planted for them in 

 a shady corner of the garden, in a large wooden box measuring 

 3 ft. X 18 in. X 15 in. deep, sunk into the ground to within 

 3 in. of the top edges. The remaining ten larvae were kept in the 

 tube for further observation, and supplied with fresh food. The 

 thirty released larvae, when placed on the growing plant of epigeios 

 (about 9 a.m.), immediately began to crawl down the stems, and 

 many of them disappeared from sight behind the sheaths, whilst a 

 few, when they had travelled to within 2 or 3 inches from the 

 base of the stems, commenced to bore into them. By 9.30 a.m. 

 one of the larvae engaged in boring operations had disappeared out 

 of sight within the stem. The larvae on the growing food-plant were 

 visited with a light about 9 p.m. the same evening, when a few could 

 be seen wandering about. 



On July 17th a few of the terminal shoots of the growing sedge in 

 the box appeared to be drooping, and, on examining the stems, 

 perforations (in one case two in the same stem) were seen about 

 2 inches from the base of several stems. On July 18th the terminal 

 shoots just mentioned were found to be distinctly withered in appear- 

 ance. At this date, owing to prospective absence from home, it was 

 deemed advisable to release the larvae in the glass tube, and they 

 were accordingly turned down upon the growing plant. Only hurried 

 observations were practicable until September 1st, 1912. At this 

 date many of the terminal shoots of the growing plant were withered 

 and turned to a yellowish-brown colour, but it was not thought 

 advisable to attempt to find any of the larvae for fear of injuring 

 them, and accordingly they were not disturbed. 



In December, 1912, during my absence from home, that pest the 

 " jobbing " gardener was called in, and apparently one of his very 

 first actions had been to dig up the plant of epigeios (" squitch " !) 

 from the box, and to cut it up and bury it in the adjoining soil. The 

 scattered remnants were collected as far as possible and replanted, 

 but the larvae have in all probability perished. — G. Bertram 

 Kershaw ; West Wickham, Kent. 



Hibernation of Pyrameis atalanta. — As a good deal has been 

 written lately on this subject, it may be worth while to record some 

 experiments which I made this winter. As I noted in vol. xlv. p. 299, 

 of the ' Entomologist,' P. atalanta larvae were quite abundant here in 

 late September of last year. They were in all stages of growth, but 

 the small ones seemed to feed up quicker than those I had in the 

 summer. By the middle of October all had pupated, and contrary to 



