THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 55 



continiiecl. — John Peers; 64, Buttennarket Street, IVar- 

 ringto7iy June 6, 1864. 



[The time is approaching when we must have a larval 

 arrangement of Lepidoptera : I can never hope to accom- 

 plish this, but nevertheless it will assuredly be done : the 

 idea occurred to the authors of the Vienna Catalogue, and 

 subsequently to Dr. Horsfield ; but the author last-named 

 worked out his system in a manner too fanciful to be of any 

 real utility, and the other distinguished Entomologists never 

 sufficiently explained their views: the truth has already 

 been shadovved forth in a paper by nnyself, showing that the 

 larvae must be used for mapping out great continents, if we 

 may so call them, of Lepido|)tera ; and the characters of the 

 perfect insects for dividing those continents into zones or 

 minor divisions : the formula of spotting, to which my corre- 

 spondent alludes as that of a larval Tortrix, is common to 

 many of the Noctuidae ; indeed it very frequently occurs in 

 those larvae which are cryptobious : Mr. Peers will do the 

 Science a great service if he continue his investigations, and 

 from lime to time give the results to the public. I will not 

 attempt an answer to his inquiry, never having given suf- 

 ficient attention to the Micros to enable me to do so with 

 any confidence. With regard to my correspondent's la- 

 mentation over our ignorance of the larval states of insects, 

 no one can sym))athize with hitn move sincerely than I do. 

 The 'Entomologist' is indeed mainly established to fight 

 the battle of the larvae ; it will be uphill work, but I think 

 that, having once put my hand to the plough, there is little 

 probability of my turning back whde life and health allow 

 me to persevere. — Edward Newman.] 



Fluid ejected hy Tortrix LarvcB. — Whilst I am upon the 

 subject of larvae, I should like to ask if you have noticed 

 that a Tortrix larva will reimbibe the fluid which some of 

 them eject when annoyed by a touch near the head ? That 

 they will do so 1 have repeatedly observed ; and it is a 

 curious fact that the colour of the juice ejected is usually 

 (invariably ?) that of the larva itself — Joltn Peers. 



[This is a ver}' curious, and to me novel, fact. I am not 

 aware what is the nature of the fluid so Ireely ejected from 

 the mouth of larval Tortrices ; it may be used merely as a 

 means of defence. — Edward Newman.] 



