436 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 
to be able to supplement this notice by an account of the 
development of the makers of these excrescences. In the 
meantime I wish to direct the attention of foresters and 
agriculturists to the fact, how injurious these galls, “in vast 
profusion,’ must be to the trees, and what an enormous 
quantity of sap they must divert from its legitimate channels. 
Those who value healthy growth I would, therefore, recom- 
mend not to use their pruning-hooks tremblingly, like 
“aspen o’er a brook,” but firmly, and mindful of the circum- 
stance, that, if the operation is to do any lasting good, these 
excrescences should not remain on the ground, but should 
be collected and consigned to the fire—Albert Miiller ; 
‘ Gardener’s Chronicle, p. 1226, September 23, 1871. 
Entomological Notes, Captures, &c. 
Orgyia gonostigma and the Volunteers.—The gallant 
defenders of our country (72 futuro) are not, I regret to say, 
the defenders of O. gonostigma, but rather, on the other 
hand, inimical to its continuance in its Wimbledon haunt. 
Every year the numbers steadily diminish, partly owing to 
the oft-quoted cause, “the attacks of collectors,” but still 
more to the disturbance of the locality throughout the 
summer, and especially during the time when the moths are 
on the wing, and the young larve are emerging; the latter 
event taking place in about a fortnight after the deposition of 
the eggs in July. From the character of the ground which 
forms the habitat of the species at Wimbledon (in the well- 
known hollows, or “ravines,” as they are termed in an old 
work on Botany), it is not likely to establish itself anywhere 
else in that district if the Common ceases to be tenable. 
Gonostigma evidently delights in a sheltered spot; and the 
caterpillars, unlike those of its near relative, Antiqua, are not 
particularly inclined to stroll. “ Now, here is a clear case,” 
observed a friend to me the other day, who is strong for 
Darwin and his theories ; “ no doubt both sexes of Gonostigma 
had originally wings. Getting to this retired spot, just suited 
to their tastes, some individuals settled here, and, by and bye, 
the females got rid of their wings, which they did not need 
for oviposition.” Ingenious hypothesis! But it does not 
