212 THE ENTOMOLOGIST, 



extended to fourteen days, and on the defoliaria showing a 

 disposition to pupate, the ova duly hatched. Between the 

 minimum length of time mentioned above and this maximum I 

 found various degrees with C. borcata, C. brumata — which they 

 would almost as freely parasitize — and Oporabia dilutata ; though 

 in one instance one of the last-named did manage to safely 

 pupate, casting off the ova with the larval skin. The reason for 

 the variability in the times of incubation is thus easily under- 

 stood ; but I have been unable to determine the cause which 

 enables the embryo to await and choose with precision the 

 correct time to split the shell. 



P. virgatus females do not seem able to retain their ova for 

 any length of time in the absence of a host ; if deprived of the 

 latter the ova are excreted, and cleaned off the apex of the 

 abdomen with the posterior legs. I do not think, when at large, 

 more than one egg at a time is deposited on a single caterpillar, 

 and once only did one of my captives place two on a borcata 

 without moving, though if a fresh supply of larvre is not kept 

 up they will continue to deposit ova at intervals on those already 

 parasitized. One larva I had left for some time in a box with 

 a female parasite had nine attached to its skin. 



I have been unable to dip further into the economy of this 

 interesting species owing to lack of material, the opening of a 

 cocoon invariably occasioning the death of the parasite, partly, no 

 doubt, owing to the drying up of its food, and with continual ob- 

 servations my stock has now almost reached the vanishing point. 



[Mr. Stenton brings forward many interesting and novel 

 points in the economy of this species, for which compare 

 Newport (Trans. Linn. Soc. xxi. pp. 71-77, pi. viii. figg. 13-19) ; 

 Westwood (Introd. ii. 145-7, figg. 76, 7-15) ; Adler (Ent. Nachr. 

 V. p. 205) ; and Poulton (Trans. Ent. Soc. 1886, pp. 162-168 et 

 1888, p. 588). The first remarks that the larvfe " in the earlier 

 stages of growth more resemble cotyledonous vegetables than 

 animal organisms," and regards them as the representatives 

 among insects of the prematurely liberated foetus of the kan- 

 garoo. None of Mr. Stenton's three hosts has previously been 

 noted for this species, his examples of which I have examined. — 

 Claude Mokley.1 



THE ATHALIA GEOUP OF THE GENUS MELIT.EA. 

 By Kev. George Wheelbe, M.A., F.E S. 



(Continued from p. 163.) 



[The following portion of this paper was in print before Dr. 

 Chapman's explanation appeared in the July number of the ' Ento- 

 mologist,' and I should be very sorry if either he or any other 

 reader of the magazine should wrongly suppose that it had been 



