170 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Entomological Notes, Captures, Sfc. 



Sesia Chrysidiformis. — I have of late been in the habit of 

 paying a visit to the Warren, near Folkestone, in search of 

 the larvae of S. Chrysidiformis. On Monday, the 1st of April, 

 I repaired to the spot accompanied by my brother, and met 

 with a fair share of success, taking a good supply of full-fed 

 larvge of the beautiful clearwing I have just mentioned. 

 There seems to be every prospect of a good season for 

 collecting the imagos, as some of the roots we obtained 

 contained from four to six larvae each ; singularly enough we 

 found the roots we had disturbed and replanted the previous 

 year the most productive. The following account of the 

 method I employ in rearing the larvae may interest your 

 readers. Proceeding along the slopes on the sea-face of the 

 cliffs, I select those plants of dock or sorrel which have a 

 sickly appearance or stunted growth; I then dig up the roots 

 and gently remove the surrounding mould, being very careful 

 not to damage the larvae, whose presence is easily discovered 

 by the mines and frass. If the root selected does not contain 

 any larvae I replant it, in anticipation of a future visit. Before 

 leaving the spot I collect a small portion of chalky soil for 

 future use. * On arriving home I transfer the roots containing 

 the larvae to the breeding-cage. This latter greatly resembles 

 a fern-case : it has glass sides and ends, and the top is 

 covered with a sheet of perforated zinc ; the bottom is loosely 

 filled with a mixture of silver-sand and the calcareous soil of 

 the Warren : in this the roots are planted, watered from time 

 to time, and freely exposed to the rays of the sun. Early in 

 May, if matters are progressing favourably, each larva sends up 

 a case from the roots composed of small particles of the 

 fibres : these cases vary in length from an inch to an inch 

 and a half, and are of a conical form. At the end of May or 

 the beginning of June the imagos appear, leaving the pupae 

 cases projecting from the top of the tubes sent up by the 

 larvae. I have not obtained any more moths in the second 

 season from the same plants. I may mention that the cliff 

 which furnishes the best hunting-ground is being rapidly 

 destroyed by repeated land-slips, one of which occurred at 

 the time of our visit : a mass of chalk, weighing some 

 hundreds of tons, fell violently to the beach, and was followed 



