THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 327 



Park perforating the hark of those picturesque old Scotch 

 firs lliat adorn the slopes of the Observatory hill. I am 

 unable to suggest a remedy, but perhaps some of the sufferers 

 may take comfort in the assurance that all attacks of insects 

 are intermittent, and a year of excessive injury is generally 

 followed by several years of entire exemption from the 

 plague. — E. Neivniaii. 



The Ladybirds and Wall-fruit. — The ladybirds, or, as 

 tliey are called here, "cow-ladies," appeared in unusual 

 numbers in this neighboiu'hood about the third week in .July, 

 and continued to increase until about the third week in 

 August : from that date to this (September 8th) they have 

 gradually but very perceptibly decreased, not, however, 

 before they had thoroughly fulfilled their mission ; in fact no 

 aphides are now to be seen, and the ladybirds are flocking to 

 the ripe wall-fruit, to the sweet juices of which they seem 

 very partial. I have been unable to detect more than one 

 species, the 7-punctata ; but I found individuals differ con- 

 siderably in size, viz., from 0.30 to O.iO inch, which dif- 

 ference I think is not due to sex alone, as I have found an 

 abundance of intermediate sizes. While on the subject of 

 ladybirds [ should be glad to learn the origin of the old 

 nursery rhyme, 



" Lady-cow, laHy-cow, fly awiiy, fly ; 

 YoiiT house is ou fiie, your childreu will die." 



— Henry Reeki ; Tliruxion. 



Entoiiwlogical Notes from Bury. — I owe you some 

 account of my entomological proceedings this summer. I 

 have found plenty of the imago of A. sulphuralis, but have 

 been unable to find any of the larviB, though i searched for 

 them on Convolvnlus arvensis in the places where the imago 

 was most abundant. A large batch of the eggs that 1 sent to 

 Mr. Doubleday has proved abortive. The larva of Litho- 

 stege grisearia has been as abundant as the imago, but much 

 infested with ichneumons, which spin a very pretty gray 

 and white cocoon, and appear in August. The second brood 

 of Spilodes sticticalis was abundant in certain fields, and 1 

 cannot believe that its normal food is Artemisia; I think it 

 must be rather some low-growing Gnaphalium, though it is 

 well known that the larva can be reared on Artemisia : there 

 is not Artemisia enough in the locality to account for the 



