12 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



punctatissima and Meconema varium occur at Glanvilles Wootton late in 

 November ; the former, indeed, has been noticed as late as Dec. 5th. — 

 W. J. Lucas. 



Emergence of Clostera reclusa. — A few larvae of various sizes of 

 the above were taken from dwarf sallow in Wicken Fen in the third 

 week of June, 1899 ; also four larvae from Oxshott, nearly full-grown, 

 on July 20th. The following are the dates of emergence from pupae 

 kept in a cold north room without a fire : — July 11th, one female ; 13th, 

 one female. Sept. 8th, one male ; 16th, one male. Nov. 30th, one 

 male. Dec. 7th, one female. With regard to the last three, I am 

 unable to say whether they came from the June or July larvae ; but in 

 any case the last two dates seem very extraordinary even for bred 

 specimens.— F. M. B. Carr ; Dec. 12th, 1899. 



Abnormal Emergence of Smerinthus populi, &c. — Referring to 

 Mr. Cardinall's note on S. populi (ante, p. 284) : It does not appear 

 unusual for individuals of this species to emerge from the same year's 

 pupfe. I have had similar experience with this, as well as S. ocellatus, 

 in past seasons. Tliis year I reared an early brood of the larvae of the 

 latter species, which had all attained the pupa state by the end of July. 

 One imago emerged on Aug. 19th ; the remainder are still in the pupa 

 state. — E. Laddiman ; 25, Drayton Road, Norwich, Nov. 28rd, 1899. 



Mould in Relaxing Boxes. — I think relaxing may be atleast one cause 

 of mould appearing on insects in the cabinet, since spores may become 

 attached to the insects in a mouldy box, and these spores may lie dor- 

 mant and only develop into mould a long time afterwards, even though 

 there be no appearance of mould itself on the insect when set and taken 

 off the boards. Boxes may be effectually preserved from becoming 

 mouldy by taking the following precautions : — To half a pint of water 

 boiling in a saucepan add a tablespoonful of Calvert's No. 5 carbolic 

 acid. Let the mixture boil for two or three minutes, and then pour it 

 into the box. Let it stand till cold, then pour off and drain the box 

 thoroughly. Leave it open until surface appears thoroughly dry. It 

 will then be in a sufficiently moist state to keep insects relaxed, and 

 they will keep sweet and fit to set in it for at least two or three weeks. 

 — F. C. WooDFORDE ; Market Drayton, Salop. 



Relaxing Lepidoptera. — A year or two ago one of my friends told 

 me of a method of relaxing insects by applying rectified spirits of 

 naphtha to the thorax, antennae, and legs of the specimens, and in a 

 few minutes they were ready for setting. This I tried, but the draw- 

 back of the method proved to be that the naphtha had a strong ten- 

 dency to run up the wings, and in many cases spoil the appearance of 

 the insect ; but it suggested another mode of using naphtha that I 

 have since tried with success, and particulars of which I now give for 

 the benefit of Mr. Rydon and other readers. Make an ordinary tin 

 box into a relaxing box by lining with cork, and put two or three 

 narrow strips of cork down the longest length to elevate the insect when 

 pinned in. When about to use pour in hot water to saturate the cork, 

 and, after throwing out the water, put a few drops of carbolic acid on 

 to keep mould down. Now add sufficient naphtha to run over the 

 cork without waste, pin in the insects, and the most perfect relaxing 



