56 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



always emerging from the pupa at the same time that the 

 males begin to fly, cannot be verified. 1 speak now of insects 

 bred in captivity. It certainly is not the case with a vast 

 number of Noctuae and Geometrae. True, Mr. Doubleday 

 confines his observations to the Bombyces. Yet, even there, 

 the genera Cerura and Clostera, not to mention others, 

 emerge during the daytime, the former generally in the after- 

 the latter in the forenoon. Mr. Hodgkinson, who has been 

 so successful in taking Cerura bicuspis, tells us that be finds 

 them just emerged from the pupa about 3 P.M. — With regard 

 to Mr. Andrews' communication (Entom. iii. 36), I think he 

 makes out a very good case as to Endromis versicolor. I was 

 not aware that the female was so conmionly taken as it would 

 appear to be from his statement ; but, that being so, and the 

 female never being found till a week after the male, is fair 

 and legitimate evidence of the prior appearance of the latter. 

 I aui sorry that IMr. Andrews is still of opinion that the evi- 

 dence afforded by insects in captivity is of little or no value. 

 He bases this opinion on the fact that insects in a state of 

 nature are exposed to extremely diflferent climatic and other 

 influences. Doubtless. But surely those influences act in- 

 diff'erenlly on the males and females ? I Imve not seen a 

 vestige of proof given why the prior appearance, whether of 

 male or female, in captivity, should not be fair inferential 

 proof of the same obtaining in nature. All the pupae are 

 kept in the same cold room. Granted that the temperature 

 indoors is diffierent from that out-of-doors, — granted any in- 

 fluences, known or unknown, — yet that temperature, those 

 influences, nnist act equally on males and females. They 

 cannot retard or accelerate the appearance of one more than 

 the other. — Mr. Dell, in his observations (Entom. iii. 38), 

 charges rae with "taking it for granted" that the females 

 emerge first, and he refers your readers to my last conniumi- 

 cation (Ent. iii. 21). I see nothing whatever there to justify 

 this statement. All I say is, that, so far as my experience 

 goes, the fiemales generally emerge first in ca))tivity, and that 

 from this 1 think it a fair uiference that they do the same in 

 a state of nature. Mr. Dell fails to see that he takes a pre- 

 cisely similar line of argumetit hiniself Finding that in his 

 case the malea emerged first in a majority of instances, he 

 concludes thus : — " This statement only the more confirms 



