186 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 
was a male oak-egger (Bombyx quercus), with a piece of dry 
blackthorn attached to it. The lower part of the body was much 
lacerated, one thorn having gone quite through it, and the wings 
were a good deal torn. It had evidently got entangled, and in its 
efforts to escape had broken off a piece of the dead wood, from 
which it was unable to free itself.—J. L. Bnvrs; Siena, April 5. 
Pupa oF CYMATOPHORA FLAVICORNIs.—Mr. W. R. Buckell’s 
description in last month’s ‘ Entomologist’ (Entom xvi. 240) of 
his anomalous pupa of the above insect, with the head of the 
moth turned towards the tail of the pupa-case, is very curious 
and interesting, for the following reason :—Thomas Moufet, the 
father of British Entomology, in his ‘Theatrum Insectorum,’ 
London, 1634, says that during the final transformation of a 
lepidopterous insect the head of the pupa becomes the tail of the 
imago, and vice versd. This statement, although disproved at 
some length by Swammerdam in his great work, published in 
1669, has been frequently copied into ‘‘ popular” works on 
Natural History during the last two hundred years, solely, I 
suppose, on Moufet’s authority. I had always wondered why 
such an entomologist as Moufet should have fallen into such a 
grave error, for he was most careful to verify his statements by 
observation of facts, and conclude that he must have been led 
astray by a similar freak of Nature to that recorded by Mr. 
Buckell.— W. Garpner; C. 18, Exchange Buildings, Liverpool. 
ERASTRIA VENUSTULA.—In reply to Mr. Scott’s query in last 
month’s number (HEntom. xvi. 114), I can only say that as far as 
my experience goes I have never seen the larva of the above- 
named species. Ihave also sought for the larva, but have never 
succeeded in finding it, having always assumed that it was absent 
from the place where I sought, but never had the slightest doubt 
that its food-plant was not Tormentilla reptans. Mr. Scott 
does not stand alone in his doubt, for I have since heard the same 
expressed by others whose experience has extended over a long 
period. I have hitherto accepted with broad faith the statements 
in the leading entomological works with regard to the food-plants 
of the species treated upon, and find it difficult even now to reject 
that which appears in Newman’s ‘ British Moths,’ viz. that Tormen- 
tilla reptans is the food-plant of H. venustula. I have no doubt that 
that painstaking entomologist had every reason for making the 
statement, but whether his information was based upon personal 
