318 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Abraxas grossulariata : Second Brood. — As a sequel to my para- 

 graph of last month {ante, p. 289) I should like to say that I have bred 

 in all about thirty imagines of this moth, only two or three of which 

 exhibit any striking variation. Two specimens also I captured out- 

 doors, and this is most interesting to me, one on November 4th, on 

 the outside of the kitchen window, where it was fluttering towards the 

 light of a lamp inside. The second specimen I took ofif the garden 

 fence in the middle of the day, Nov. 14th, the empty pupa-case being 

 just below it. The first was taken on a cold night, inclined to frost 

 and fog. The second was captured on an unusually sunny and mild 

 November day. I have tried to get eggs from some of the moths to 

 continue breeding it, but have only succeeded in getting a few infertile 

 ones. Four parasitic Diptera have appeared, kindly identified for me 

 by Mr. C. Morley, of Ipswich, as Blephandea (Exorista) vulgaris. This 

 second brood of parasites also seems to me an interesting fact. — E. G. 

 J. Sparke ; Tooting, S.W., Nov. 19th. 



Abraxas grossulariata : Second Brood. — I was very much inte- 

 rested in Mr. Sparke's note on A. grossulariata [ante, p. 289). As I have 

 lately taken a number of pupte here, I should like to record my expe- 

 rience of this somewhat unusual occurrence. I took the first lot of 

 autumn pupas of the species on Oct. 28th, about eighty odd. These 

 were left in the pill-box, and on looking at them on Oct. 28th I found 

 that one imago had emerged. From the above date, and up to Nov. 

 16th, I collected over five hundred and eighty larvse and seven hundred 

 and eighty pup^e, total one thousand three hundred and sixty. I may 

 mention that at the time of writing most of the larvaa have pupated. 

 One hundred of the pupfe have been placed in a perforated box outside, 

 so as to see if the imagines will emerge naturally. All the larvfe and 

 pupfB were taken ofl' the currant and gooseberry bushes ; in some 

 instances as many as seven pupte were found side by side. I may add 

 that the first autumn brood of A. grossulariata that I had ever seen 

 was in 1898, when I took over three hundred pupfe, and the old collec- 

 tors here said that they had never seen the like before. — 0. Tippins ; 

 The Lodge, Dingle Bank, Liverpool, Nov. 11th, 1903. 



[Mr. Sich (Entom. xxx. 176) records the finding of a larva of 

 A. grossulariata on Oct. 15th, 1896. This pupated on Nov. 19th, and 

 attained the perfect state on Dec. 24th. — Ed.] 



Aquatic Hemiptera in South Lancashire. — During the summers 

 of 1902 and 1903 I have taken the following water-bugs about 

 Bolton : — Velia rivulorum, Fab. = currens. Fab., and Gerris lacustris, 

 Linn, were both very plentiful, the former on streams and the latter 

 on ponds. G. casta, H. Schf., three specimens in 1902. Nepa cinerea, 

 Linn., not common, Notonecta glauca, Linn., and var. furcata, both 

 forms common and equally plentiful in 1902, but somewhat scarce in 

 1903. Corixa geojfroyi, Leach, scarce in 1902, but exceedingly 

 abundant last summer (August). The following species of Corixa 

 were all common: — sahlbergi, Fieb., masta, Fieb., nigrolineata, Fieb., 

 fossartwi, Leach, and jnausta, Fieb. ; but the last mentioned was 

 restricted to one pond, in an elevated situation. Occurring in fewer 

 numbers were striata, Fieb., and distincta, Fieb. ; while hieroglyph ica, 

 Duf., linnm, Fieb., fallenii, Fieb., Uynitata, Fieb., venusta, D. & S., and 



