NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 237 



"Wisconsin, New Jersey, New Hampshire. No doubt this list of six 

 species could be much increased by a little more collecting. With one 

 exception, all the species are boreal, which I should not have expected 

 so far south as Washington. — T. D. A. Cockerell. 



Migration of Lepidoptera. — The interesting note of your corre- 

 spondent Mr. J. P. Barrett in the current number of the 'Entomologist,' 

 referring to a possible migration of Euchelia jacobcea, induces me to 

 place on record an observation which I should not otherwise have 

 considered very remarkable. About 11 p.m. on May 31st I saw several 

 specimens of this species (E. jacobace) settled on and flying round the 

 incandescent gas lamps near here. Two of these were captured, and 

 proved — somewhat to my surprise, considering the date — to be a good 

 deal rubbed. During a residence of seven years I had not noticed 

 this species in the neighbourhood previously ; there is, moreover, no 

 ragwort near where they were taken. Is it possible that my specimens 

 formed part of a migratory flight from the Continent, which also 

 reached Margate '? In this connection I may add that in September, 

 1903, when V. cardui was extremely plentiful in Essex, while sailing 

 off the Essex coast I saw several specimens out at sea, an easterly wind 

 prevailing at the time. It would be interesting to know the direction 

 of the wind off the south-east coast on the date mentioned above ; but 

 I have not the information at hand, and made no note of it at the 

 time. — W. S. Gilles ; The Cottage, Docking, near Draintree, Essex, 

 Aug. 9th, 1905. 



Notes on Larvae of Nyssia lapponaria and Orgyia antiqua. — 

 I exhibited at the meeting of the South Dondon Entomological and 

 Natural History Society on about June 23rd three larva3 of Nyssia 

 lapponaria ; they were chosen on account of their fine size, the largest 

 specimen attaining a growth of 2J in. before going down. These were 

 from a large batch of ova from a wild Eannoch female, and were 

 sleeved on birch almost from the egg. Six or seven of the larva) grew 

 more rapidly than their fellows, so I removed the smaller specimens 

 to another sleeve, and opened the bottom of the sleeve containing the 

 large ones to a receptacle holding about eighteen inches of light earth, 

 into which they descended in the course of a day or two. One of the 

 rest of the brood that had been removed, having suddenly attained a 

 length of about 2 in., was placed back in the sleeve over earth, and 

 soon went down, the remainder of the brood being then about 1^ in. 

 in length, some rather under this measurement. Imagine my surprise 

 on examining the sleeve three days later to find that one larva had 

 pupated on the gauze, and four others were lying at the bottom 

 shortened and shrivelled, apparently perishing for want of earth in 

 which to go down. I at once changed them into the sleeve containing 

 earth, and several went down at once, none of which exceeded 1^- in. 

 in length. Surely this disparity in the size of the full-fed larvas of 

 this species is very strange ! Perhaps some of our Scottish collectors 

 can give us further information on this interesting subject. Last 

 season the willow tree that I usually reserve for nearly full-fed larvae 

 of Smerinthus ocellatus seemed to be the chosen favourite of every 

 willow-feeding gall-fly in Clapham, for by the middle of July I think 

 I can safely say every leaf had a gall on it, and on some leaves 



