NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 65 
of the fact. Another thing that is very common here in the woods 
is that huge brick-red slug with the tiny remnant of a shell near its 
head, testacella I believe its name is. I have about twenty Fox 
Moth larve feeding up; one unknown larva also doing well on elm, 
and another that has now turned into the chrysalis. This latter by the 
general characteristics of the chrysalis I should say belonged to the 
Tussock family. Thelarva was a large hairy one, dark and with a series 
of large purplish warts along the back. The unknown larva is a most 
ferocious looking creature. The following is his description. Pale 
yellow green in colour, rather rough-looking surface, series of yellow 
transverse stripes on body, short horn on anal segments, two horns 
on front segment, and two more horns on second segment from front, 
head pale green, prolegs red [here follows sketch] . 
“In the previous village from which I sent the galatea, I went 
out one day to have a look round and found that nearly all the poplar 
trees were riddled with, presumably, Wood Leopard borings. I could 
not find any live chrysalides or larvee, but have a couple of the pupa 
cases. I also found a Puss Moth larva there, and a newly emerged 
Poplar Hawk. Otherwise there was little of note. 
‘By the way, I forgot to mention that I caught one specimen of 
the White Admiral, but it was so badly damaged that I let it go 
again. 
ie Well, I must close now. I haven’t a lot of time, and I want to 
write home as well. With best wishes, FRED STONE.” 
BANKIA ARGENTULA IN WICKEN FEN.—With reference to Messrs. 
Farn and Thurnall’s notes in the current number of this magazine, 
the establishment of a Lepidopteron in a locality is so interesting 
that it is desirable to throw all the light that is possible on it. Barrett 
says: ‘‘ Two specimens were taken in Wicken Fen in 1877 by Mr. 
A. B. Farn, and two more in 1878 by Mr. W. H. B. Fletcher”; these, 
with Mr. Thurnall’s specimen taken in 1879, constitute the only 
records I can find, and are only five specimens in all. Mr. Morley 
Houghton, the well-known Wicken professional collector, informs me 
that the late Solomon Bailey said he had never taken a specimen at 
Wicken previous to introducing it in 1901; and that he himself had 
never seen or heard of the species being found there since he first 
collected in the Fen about twenty years ago. In view of this evidence, 
and also of the fact that B. argentula is a day flier and therefore 
very noticeable, it seems almost certain that it was extinct at Wicken 
many years before Bailey introduced it. JI am assuming, of course, 
that there are no further records; if there are, it would be interesting 
to know them. It would also be interesting to know if there are any 
records previous to 1877. Assuming that there are not, it would seem 
probable that the specimens occurring in that and the two following 
years were the results of an immigration from Chippenham Fen, which 
is only afew miles away. The only other alternative that I see is that 
the species was established at Wicken, but died out about 1880. One 
cannot see a good reason why B. argentula should not be widely dis- 
tributed in Britain; the larva feeds upon grasses, Poa annua, etc., 
which flourish almost everywhere. With us it is, I think, always a 
bog species, formerly reported from Norfolk, but now restricted, so 
ENTOM.— MARCH, 1916. G 
