68 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Graptolitha ornithopus. — On New Year's Day I took a 

 specimen of Graptolitha ornithojnis at rest on the trunk of a pine 

 tree at Rockbourne (Hants). It was quite lively, and I had some 

 difticuly in boxing it without injury. — A. Steven Corbet ; Sidmouth 

 Street, Reading. 



LoBESiA PERMiXTANA, HuB. — As far back as August, 1902, in 

 speaking of the food-plants of this pretty little Tortrix (' Enfcom.,' 

 vol. XXXV, p. 209) I remarked that the larva " is almost sure to be 

 found on oak as well some day." Fourteen years after, early in 

 July, I was collecting near Brentwood, and from a shrubby oak I 

 beat out two little dark-coloured, extremely active larvae that were 

 quite strangers to me. Upon examining them carefully at home 

 I came to the conclusion that they must be larvae of L. ijermixtana, 

 the moth being common there. Both were full fed and spun up 

 the next day, turning a lobe of an oak leaf over something like an 

 Ornix but not so fiat. On May 31st, 1917, a male appeared, and 

 upon examining the other one I found it had pupated but was dead. 

 I think oak must be its favourite pabulum in this part of the 

 country, but I have certainly beaten the imago from birch as well. 

 It is a curious little species, and I never could quite make up my 

 mind as to its proper position in the cabinet. Like Anisoiania 

 uhnana and Hysterosia inoiyiana its position in our list seems 

 somewhat dubious. By Betula "glutinosa" Dr. Wood means our 

 common birch. This name is used by many authors of botanical 

 works. Babington and Gibson in their floras of Cambridgeshire 

 and Essex respectively use this specific name, treating alba, Linn., 

 as distinct ; Brewer (' Flora of Surrey ') on H. C. Watson"s authority, 

 makes glutinosa a variety of alba. To me the "common birch " has 

 always been known as "glutinosa." — A. Thurnall ; Wanstead, 

 Essex, February 2nd, 1920. 



Ichneumons parasitic on Spiders. — Among a lot of other 

 parasitic Hymenoptera recently received for determination from 

 Mr. Lance A. Carr, of Lichfield, I found a specimen of the Pimplid, 

 Acrodactyla degener, Hal. This is a well-known parasite of the 

 smaller spiders, but it has not hitherto been bred from the present 

 host. Mr. Carr tells me that on May 19th, 1919, he took Theridion 

 denticulatum, Walck., with an ichneumon larva upon its abdomen ; 

 the latter was lying right across the base upon the upper side. 

 The next day the spider was certainly alive in the early morning, 

 and perhaps also at night. On the 21st the spider was dead ; the 

 larva had completely emptied its host's skin, and now hung from 

 the lid of the box in the shape of a pot-hook, with the head upwards. 

 On the 22nd it had spun a long, slim, very thin white-silk cocoon. 

 On the 28th the larva had changed in shape to that of the perfect 

 insect, but was still dead-white in colour. On the 31st the imago 

 was nearly complete, and the pupa was turning black from the head 

 downwards. But not till June 4th did the imago become perfect. 

 The host was found at Maple Hayes, Lichfield. From the same 

 host, taken about Lichfield in 1917, Mr. Carr has bred a female of 

 another Ichneumonid, the Cryptid Ileviitelcs tristator, Grav. This 



