86 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



found that some of them, after having left the males, fell on 

 to the ground in out-of-the-way places, whence they could 

 not possibly return to the original nest!" We unfortunately 

 did not note the sex of those individuals that we intercepted 

 in their return (?) trip ; but we cannot help expressing our 

 belief that, at least, in this case, there was scarcely an 

 appreciable amount of "returning" on the part of those 

 whose exodus we have just described, although so many 

 were caught by the nearer trees and shrubbery. Is it 

 probable that these insects could find their way to a small 

 under-ground nest, where there was no "travel" in the 

 vicinity, other than the steady departure of individuals, who, 

 like themselves, were terribly bothered with the wings they 

 were carrying about with them? — C. C. Ahhott ; from the 

 * American Naturalist.'' 



Hints on Breeding Tceniocampa opiina, 8^0. — As very 

 many have failed to breed this species from the egg, possibly 

 a short account of the method I have found very successful 

 may be interesting to some : from a batch of eggs, kindly sent 

 by Mr. Owen, of Liverpool, April, 1873, about a hundred 

 larvse hatched on May 15th. They were placed in a three- 

 ounce wide-mouth bottle, with sprigs of broad-leaved willow; 

 tie over the mouth of the bottle with fine muslin, and then 

 place it mouth downwards on a shelf; this keeps the food 

 fresh, and allows a little air to enter. I found that a bottle 

 loosely filled with suitable sprigs kept perfectly fresh for a 

 week ; now, as the young larvae spin a quantity of silken 

 galleries, in which they rest and change their skins, it is 

 rather difficult to change their food without disturbing them, 

 and to avoid this, having filled a second bottle of the same 

 size and character with food, untie and remove the muslin 

 from the neck of the first bottle, and place the two bottles 

 neck to neck. Securing them in this position, by binding a 

 strip of muslin two inches wide tightly round the rims of 

 them, the larvae can now crawl from the stale to the fresh 

 food, without injuring or disturbing those that may be 

 changing their skins. After two or three days remove the 

 first bottle, and clean it out carefully, for repeating the 

 process when required. After the second change of skin it 

 was necessary to divide my family into two separate bottles, 

 and work as before. After the third change, procure a large 



