168 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



sellling down to rest, it is often observed, after dropping one 

 antenna, to revolve the other with considerable velocity for a 

 i'ew seconds before finally laying it down. The second batch 

 of larva) kept on feeding during the greater part of August, 

 and produced the first specimens of the third brood of per- 

 fect insects on the 9lh of September : by this time the lilacs 

 had become almost denuded of their leaves, and such as 

 remained were nearly all deprived of the greater portion of 

 their cellular tissues, and left in a contorted and twisted-up 

 posture, partly filled with "frass" and cast-off skins, and 

 becoming saturated with rain : the trees presented a most 

 dismal and unsightly appearance, being perfect scarecrows 

 of their former selves as they appeared in their beautiful 

 green spring garb. My observations were therefore brought 

 to a stand-still. Early, however, in the month of October, I 

 met with the larvae in abundance, feeding on privet growing 

 along the summit of the western bank of the Regent's Canal, 

 in the neighbourhood of Islington : these I presume must 

 have constituted a third brood of the larvae ; they were ex- 

 ceedingly numerous, and at some parts of the privet hedge 

 they had spun quite a mass of while silken webbing, more 

 after the fashion of the Hyponomeutidae than that of aGraci- 

 laria larva. The above observations would seem to prove 

 the existence of only three broods of the perfect insects, and 

 three broods of larvae. I should, however, like to canvass 

 the opinions and observations of others, as it is a topic well 

 worthy of ventilation, particularl}' so as regards the best 

 means of keeping ibis destructive little creature in check, 

 and thus prevent its ravages to a certain extent. The cause 

 of their appearing in such vast numbers in the larva slate is 

 doubtless owing to the comparative immunity they enjoy, in 

 town gardens, from the attacks of the Ichneumonidaj • they 

 do not appear so abundant in gardens out of town, where no 

 doubt their natural enemies soon thin their ranks. I have 

 bred hundreds of the perfect insects, but have as yet failed 

 to breed any parasites, having only once seen one larva 

 affected by a parasite ; I remember that in that case the 

 parasitic larva waited until the G. syringella had spun its 

 cocoon before it vacated the body of its prey, in the centre 

 of whose cocoon it also spun its own, — Charles Healy ; 74, 

 .\((pier Si red, Ilo.iton, N. 



