b . THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



however, obtained about thirty larvse, mostly full grown. During 

 these two years I bred out some forty perfect specimens. I see 

 no reason to modify any conclusions I then came to. In every 

 case in which the larvas had not spun up they all fed for a time, 

 but eventually died. 1 never saw a really small larva from 

 these parts; one was sent me by a gentleman from, I think, 

 the New Forest area, but it arrived in so shrivelled a state that 

 it was quite impossible to identify it. As ;S'. formiciformis is 

 also apparently found in the same area, I could not with any 

 certainty say it was not this species. I think, however, that 

 even if the larva was that of T. crahroniformis, it must have 

 received some injury or been stung to thus delay its develop- 

 ment. I think we may still conclude that the normal period 

 or life-cycle extends over a period of two years. Before leaving 

 this insect I would like to add one hint on management that 

 I hope may be of some use to others in rearing. Eegularly 

 every morning, about 8 a.m., I look in the large flower-pot in 

 which I keep my pupse. I very often find a pupa has fallen 

 out of its hole and is lying on the sand. I at once carefully pick 

 it up and replace it in its burrow, with its tail in the hole ; it 

 can thus obtain a leverage, and by curling itself upM'ards burst 

 its skin and emerge safely. I found that if left to themselves 

 they in about nine cases out of ten died. Many species of 

 Sesiidse seem to emerge safely if left to themselves on falling 

 out of their holes, but I soon saw that T. crahroniformis seemed 

 to want a good deal of leverage to enable them to burst their 

 skins, and if left on the sand double themselves up repeatedly 

 as if trying to obtain the necessary leverage. In cases where I 

 left them on the sand they died. 



Sesia culidformis. — During the spring of 1915 I was able 

 to obtain a large number of full-fed larvae, but was not very 

 successful in rearing them. I tried the forcing-box mentioned by 

 Tutt in his notes, but, I suppose, from my not quite understanding 

 the correct amount of heat and moisture, a large batch, of over 

 a hundred died. I then reverted to the system mentioned in 

 my former article and reared practically the whole batch. With 

 reference to the period of life-cycle of this insect, I, in March 

 this year (1915), found some eight or nine quite small larvas, 

 about g- inch long, in one wood that to my certain knowledge had 

 only been cut down the previous year. I also found a large 

 number of pupa cases from which the moths had emerged. 

 The very small larvae had not spun up and continued to feed 

 until they died. Is it possible that in some years, that are for 

 some reason particularly favourable, the larvae feed up and 

 emerge the same year? I have never, as in the case of 

 S. crjnipiformis, found larva of various sizes throughout the 

 year. In the case of the pupa cases they were found in a wood 

 that I had seen cut down during the previous winter. I hop© 



