104 SHORT NOTICES. [1900 



On July 23rd, Mr. W. Sim, of Goiirdas, Fyvie, Aberdeenshire, 

 wrote me enquiring regarding the nature of an infestation, of which he 

 sent me quite young larvae (lepidopterous), and also specimens of the 

 extent of damage done to the Garden Pea, which he mentioned as 

 being similar to what had occurred in the previous year (1900), which 

 was considerable. Mr. Sim observed : — 



" The caterpillars, which are bright green at first, begin to feed on 

 the top of the young Pea plants before the leaves and blossoms are 

 unrolled, and as they feed and grow for a considerable time, the 

 destruction is nearly complete. Sometimes there is only one cater- 

 pillar on the plant, but there are often three and four or even more. 

 These caterpillars grow darker at each moult, and when full-fed they 

 are not at all like the same thing, and are not very desirable ; they 

 bury in the ground, and become unprotected chrysalis before winter. 

 The chrysalis works its way to the surface a short time before the 

 moth emerges the following summer." 



On examining Mr. Sim's specimens on the 24th, I found almost 

 all of them to be rather more than half an inch long when extended ; 

 the general colour of the caterpillars green ; palish apple-green in the 

 youngest specimens, darker in the older larvae, with five jine longi- 

 tudinal white lines. The three uppermost (that is, the central line 

 and that on each side), when carefully examined with a two-inch-focus 

 glass, I found to be chiefly formed of small white spots or little marks. 

 The lowest line on each side running along the line of spiracles was 

 broader and continuous. Head very pale. Sixteen-footed ; feet much 

 the colour of the body immediately above ; caudal prolegs well 

 developed. 



From the circumstance of the infestation being noted as feeding on 

 Pea leafage certainly in two successive years, and also as I was unable 

 to find any description that coincided, the only course seemed to be 

 for me to feed the specimens and see what happened. They ate broken 

 Pea-pods with the contained Peas, as well as Pea-tops. 



On the 29th — that is, five days after I had received the specimens 

 — I found that they had now changed in colour, or were changing to 

 a variously marked brown above the spiracles, and yellow-green 

 below, and in other respects were become, or becoming, so like the 

 caterpillars of the very common Cabbage Moth, Mamestra brassicce, 

 that, on the 31st, I added a piece of Cabbage leaf to their food 

 supplies, and found that they ate it quite as freely and hungrily as 

 the Pea leaves. 



From their rapid growth the longest specimen now measured about 

 an inch and a half in length, and was apparently about to change to 

 chrysalis state, and there was now no reason to doubt that the larva 

 was that of M. brassier, which view was further confirmed by Mr. Sim 



