THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 231 



interior of the quills "all alive." I at once placed the young 

 larvae on a vigorous plant of Ailanlhus glandulosa, and had 

 no further trouble with them until its ample foliage was con- 

 sumed ; they were then transferred to another plant, and so 

 on until full-fed. These larvae, from the first, fed so freely 

 and grew so rapidly that I at once suspected there would be 

 a deviation from the understood periods of change. It will 

 be seen froni the following dates that the larvae were exactly 

 a month in that state : — Eggs hatched, June 22i)d ; larvae 

 spun up, July 23rd to 26th ; moths emerged, Sept. 3rd to 

 10th. Coition took place in several instances, and the eggs 

 are now looking plump and healthy. It will be seen by the 

 above statement that each state occurred twice during the 

 twelve months, except that of larva. — George Gascoyne ; 

 Newark, February 8, 1869. 



Dlcranura hicuspis at Yarm. — I find on looking at the 

 alder trees that Dicranura bicuspis is to be found here, but I 

 have not met with any but empty cocoons as yet. They are 

 to be found on any side of the tree, and some I have seen 

 twelve or fifteen feet from the ground. I enclose one or two 

 for your inspection, but think I am right in the species, as I 

 reared one years ago. I have looked for it on the birch trees 

 many times, expecting from Staintou's 'Manual ' it was to be 

 found there. In about half a mile I have seen scores of 

 empty cocoons. — Win. Lister ; Glaisdale, February 8. 



Xylomiges conspicillaris. — On the 8th of this month 

 (February), to my great astonishment, emerged a richly- 

 coloured specimen of this insect, the first I have ever had 

 the pleasure of seeing alive. Its early appearance is due to 

 the fact of its having been kept, with other pupae, in a box 

 on a warm chimney-piece. It is, unfortunately, crippled, — 

 a mischance apparently of frequent occurrence with this 

 insect, as I have observed that Mr. Horton and Mr. Edmunds, 

 who annually breed two or three specimens, generally record 

 at least one cripple. I am unable to say positively where I 

 found the pupa, but most probably in the neighbourhood of 

 Cheltenham, where I spent June and July last year. If this 

 be correct, I would strongly recommend those in whose 

 locality the insect occurs to dig for the pupa much earlier 

 than the autumn, it being notorious that the sooner we dig 

 for an insect after the pupal change, the better. 1 have 



