182 



tiling that happens to be near them. With the last- 

 mentioned there is little difficulty, but with the two 

 former there is often much trouble. 



The larvEe of Epunda Uchenea should be sought for 

 now in places where their food-plants, namely, the Glass- 

 wort (Salicornia herhacea), Ragwort (Senecio Jaxxihcea), 

 "Wall Pepper (Sedum acre), and Foxglove (Digitalis pur- 

 2)urea), grow. They increase rapidly in size, and as the 

 majority will soon disappear, time must not be lost in ob- 

 taining a supply. When the entomologist has procured 

 some, he should also take home a sufficiency of those 

 plants on which he found them feeding. With regard 

 to these plants, the naturalist must use his judgment as 

 to w^hether it would be better to put them into the cage 

 growing in the sod, or "u-ith the stems put in Avater in 

 order to keep them fresh. Grasses and many low plants 

 can be g-iven in the sod when required; and on rejecting 

 one which no longer supplies proper food, the roots 

 should be examined for concealed larvae, and the soil 

 shaken out, lest a caterpillar has buried itself or changed 

 to pupa in it. Then tall plants, or portions of the 

 branches of trees and bushes, can be supplied to those 

 which feed on them, ^\\i\\ the stems or branches in a 

 pickle jar or bottle of water. 



Caterpillars are peculiar in their habits. Too many of 

 them, especially web-spinners, should not be crowded 

 together, as they would be in each other's way and 

 cause death. In an overstocked box, the larvas are de- 

 prived of their necessary rest by their restless neighbours 

 molesting them, and others are prevented from completing 

 their webs by wanderers crawling over and teariug them 

 down, until at last many die of pure exhaustion. Then, 

 again, diseases are generated which decimate the popula- 

 tion, untn the entomologist has perhaps only a few of his 

 stock left. Diseased and dead larvse, or those attacked by 



