230 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



and three straight ones on the inner side ; the furrow or the third seg- 

 ment is wider in the middle and is closely striated there ; the sides are 

 smooth. 



(To be continued.) 



NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 



Pyeameis cardui and other probably Immigrant Species. — With 

 reference to Mr. R. Adkin's note in ' Entomologist,' p. 173-174, 

 Pyrameis cardui, Pliisia gamma, and Nomophila noctuella were abundant 

 on the North Cornish coast on the day of my arrival there, June 2nd 

 last, and during the following week. There seems to have been a great 

 abundance of these three species in the west and south-west of 

 Europe this year. During a recent holiday on the Continent in July 

 and August, I found them wherever I made any observations, including 

 in the following districts : Department of Aisne, some fifty miles east 

 of Paris ; in all districts in the Isle of Corsica ; the Alpes-Maritimes, 

 a little to the north of Nice ; Beauvezer, in the Verdom Valley ; and 

 Digne, in the Basses-Alpes. In the neighbourhood of Vizzavona, in 

 Corsica, at an altitude of about 3500 feet, P. cardui especially 

 swarmed, and far outnumbered every other large Diurni occurring 

 there. On the evening of the 8rd June, I took my net, and walked at 

 dusk along the top of the cliffs on the North Cornish coast ; there was 

 a small light-coloured noctua flying about here in some numbers — 

 probably I saw about two dozen specimens. The ground was difficult, 

 however, and I only succeeded in netting four examples. My surprise 

 was great on getting back to my lodgings to find these were Laphijgma 

 exigua, which, so far as I am aware, has not been recorded from this 

 coast. On the following evening I sugared on the spot, but only 

 obtained one specimen of L. exigua. I, however, boxed two examples 

 of Heliothis armiger from the sugar. On subsequent nights I obtained 

 at sugar one more specimen each of both these species. Although 

 some of the L. exigua especially were perfect specimens, all the 

 examples of both species were in a condition that would lead one to 

 suppose they had flown a long distance, and I have not much doubt 

 but that they had crossed the sea. I may mention that Heliothis 

 armiger was common in the neiglibourhood of Vizzavona, in Corsica, 

 where it had much the same habits as Plusia gamma, settling in the 

 day-time in the grass, and flying off very much after the style of that 

 species when disturbed. — W. G. Sheldon; Youlgreave, South Croydon, 

 Sept. 18th, 1906. 



Joint Cocoons. — I was much interested to see the note under the 

 heading, " Joint Cocoons," in the August number of the ' Entomologist,' 

 as I have had a similar experience in breeding Malacosoma neustria and 

 Eriogaster lanestris this year. In the case of the former, I imagine 

 that the use of joint cocoons was more or less due to the exigencies of 

 pupation within the comparatively narrow limits of a small breeding- 

 cage. I give the figures, as I think them rather interesting. Forty- 



