82 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Newcastle (Bw.) ; Colin Glen, Belfast, abundant (TF.) ; Mount 

 Charles, Donegal ; Armagh (/.), Drumreaske, Monaghan, and 

 Favour Eoyal, Tyrone, plentiful ; Belleisle and the shores of 

 L. Erne generally, abundant ; Farnham, Cavan ; Killynon 

 {Miss R.) and Cromlyn {Mrs. B.), Co. Westmeath ; Castle 

 Bellingham {TJwrnhill), Co. Louth; Howth {G. V. H.), scarce ; 

 Powerscourt, Co. Wicklow {B.) ; Cappagh and near Waterford ; 

 along the shores of L. Derg and the Shannon at Scariff, 

 Dronnineer, and near Banagher, and common at Clonbrock and 

 elsewhere in Gal way. 



(To be continued.) 



NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 



Jumping Beans and Jumping Eggs. — Miss Hopley's remarks on 

 "jumping eggs" remind me of my first acquaintance with this 

 phenomenon in the year 1866, having obtained it from the larva of 

 Tatniocainpa stabilifi ; this proved to be a parasite, and described by 

 Bridgman in the 'Transactions' of the Entomological Society of 

 London, July, 1882, p. 151, under the name of Limneria kriechbaumeri. 

 I have obtained the "jumping egg^' many times since then; a 

 description of it and its habits will be found in the ' Entomologist ' for 

 1882, pp. 215, 216. At Plymouth, as the majority of your readers, I 

 have no doubt, are aware, we have a Marine Biological Laboratory, 

 and during the summer season it is used by professors and lecturers 

 from the dififerent colleges for study. About four years since I visited 

 the establisbment for the purpose of showing the gentlemen then at 

 work there the actions of the pupa of L. kriechbauvieri, and introduced 

 it to them as a "jumping seed." I placed it in the middle of a large 

 newspaper, opened out ; it did not move for several seconds, but when 

 it did, I think the first bound was over two feet, and it continued 

 jumping until the students were tired of the performance ; they, one 

 and all, admitted that it was most extraordinary, and remarked if they 

 had not seen the action they could not have believed it. The way 

 this curious action is performed is exactly the same as the "hoppers" 

 in old cheese ; it brings its head and tail together, and suddenly jerks 

 itself, causing the cocoon to spring sometimes over three feet. But 

 why ? For protection. The cocoon, ><= dropping to the ground, is at 

 once surrounded by many dangers, trodden under foot by some 

 animal, or eaten by birds, if it remained exposed. I have found, by 

 several experiments made with them, that they keep up this jumping 

 action until they suppose they have buried themselves under some 

 fallen leaves or crevice in the ground. When the bounding is ob- 

 structed it will commence to roll, and when it can roll no further or 

 jump, it will cease trying ; but if again taken out, it will repeat the 



* The cocoon is figured in the ' Entomologist,' June, 1884, plate 2, fig. 27, 

 suspended. It only remains thus for a short time ; the first gust of wind 

 breaks the thread, or, if there is no wind, the larva within gets impatient 

 and by its jumping breaks the silk, when it falls to the ground. 



