NOTES, CAPTURES, ETC. 195 



contained larvae or pupae of Tortrices, were something like a 

 hundred rooks, far away from their usual haunts, and hard at 

 work on their unwonted delicac3^ They took to flight at my 

 approach, but went no further than a neighbouring oak, whence 

 they would no doubt return soon afterwards to finish their 

 repast. Perhaps some of your readers may have observed 

 rooks feeding on small larvae, but to me the sight was strange 

 and interesting. — (Rev.) G. H. Raynor; Shenfield, Brentwood, 

 June 22, 1885. 



MiM.ESEOPTiLus PLAGIODACTYLUS. — Mr. Gregson has been good 

 enough to send me a few more larvae of this species. They came 

 to hand June 5th ; all were then full fed, some of them, in fact, 

 just on the point of pupating. As on former occasions, when 

 sending me larvae of M. plagiodactylus, Mr. Gregson called my 

 attention to the absence of " claret-coloured dorsal stripe." 

 Hitherto I have failed to agree with Mr. Gregson in this matter, 

 but examination of this last batch has conclusively proved the 

 absence of dorsal markings of any shade of either red or brown. 

 Although there was no trace of such markings on the larvae up to 

 almost the last moment of their active existence, I observed that 

 shortly after they had taken up their position to effect their 

 pupal transformation, a slight rosy suffusion of the anal segment 

 occurs, and that each pupa developed the pink or rose-coloured 

 dorsal markings more or less strongly. One pupa under notice 

 at the present moment is suffused over the whole dorsal area with 

 rose madder. Up to the time of penning this note two imagines 

 have emerged, and they are undoubtedly fine strongly marked 

 M. plagiodactylus, or perhaps it would be more correct to write 

 bipunctldactyla. I should add that the individuals of this, the 

 third consignment of M. plagiodactylus larvae from Mr. Gregson, 

 differ only from those of the first and second batches sent me 

 by the same gentleman in the matter of dorsal ornamentation ; 

 in all other respects they are identical. — Richard South ; 12, 

 Abbey Gardens, St. John's Wood, N.W. ; June 20, 1885. 



Platyptilia gonodactyla. — I did not, when I wrote the 

 note published in last month's issue, know that Mr. Gregson had 

 bred the larva he mentioned as feeding on the undersides of the 

 leaves of Tussilago farfara, and which he supposed might be 

 Pterophorus farfara, and until I read Mr. South's note last week 

 I was under the impression he had not. Did Mr. Gregson 



