THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 249 



Mr. Stainton's description of B. rhomboidaria, so far as I 

 understand it, applies to B. perfiimaria, no notice being taken 

 of the golden irroration {Jaundfre of Guenee) which dis- 

 tinguishes B, rhomboidaria of Kleem, Guenee and others. — 

 Edwa rd Ne wman. 



Life-liistory of TiBniocatnpa viiniosn. — The impregnated 

 female performs the duties of oviposition during the first 

 week in April, and sometimes even at the end of March ; she 

 settles on a twig of Quercus Robur (oak), and deposits from 

 sixteen to twenty-five eggs in a cluster just belov»- the leaf- 

 bud, and of course before there is any symptom of vernal 

 vitality. The young larvae do not emerge for a month or 

 more, and then unite their labours in constructing a silken 

 web, completely enclosing the terminal twig, and residing 

 constantly beneath the shelter of their tent ; as soon as the 

 oak-buds are sufficiently expanded to afford an abundant 

 supply of food, a period of from ten or twelve to twenty days, 

 according to the temperature, the larvge separate and dis- 

 tribute themselves over the food-plant : they usually select the 

 lower branches or frequently the shrub-like oaks in hedges, 

 and from these they wander to bushes of Crataegus Oxya- 

 cantha (whitethorn), and even to the low herl)aceous plants 

 in the he<lge-rovvs and on the hedge-banks : alter the social 

 or gregarious propensity of these larvae has lelt thcu), and 

 their solitary walk through life has begun, they feed greedily 

 and increase in stature very rapidly ; sometimes the social 

 life endures for ten days, and the solitary life for ten more ; 

 in other instances the larval existence is limited to sixteen 

 days or extended to twenty-six : the full-fed larva rests in a 

 straight position, but falls from its food-plant if aunoyed, 

 forming a loose ring, with the head on one side. Head 

 rather narrower than the body, which is almost uniformly 

 cylindrical, the anal claspers projecting behind and spread- 

 ing. Head lead-coloured, with black blotches : body varie- 

 gated ; a brightyellow medio-dorsal stripe extends the entire 

 length ; this is irregular in breadth, and interrupted at the 

 incisions of the segments : on each side of this medio-dorsal 

 stripe is a broad lead-coloured space, often tinged with pink, 

 and always irrorated and variegated with intense velvety 

 black ; this is bounded below by a narrow and interrupted 

 pale yellow stripe, and this again by a narrow s})ace or stripe 



