218 ProceccUnrjs of the Royal Physical Society. 



garden tiger (Chclonia caja) between twenty and thirty 

 caterpillars were obtained. They were all hatched on 25th 

 July, apparently under exactly the same conditions, and at 

 an early stage of their existence ten individuals showed a 

 marked tendency to outgrow their neighbours : so much 

 faster was their development, that, on 25th September, they 

 had attained their full size, and with one consent bes^an 

 spinning up, whereas the other members of the family had 

 scarcely completed one-fourth of their growth, at which 

 stage they hibernated for the winter. These hibernating 

 larvse awoke from their sleep on 18th March, and were 

 simultaneously full fed and spinning-up on 2d June. There 

 was thus nearly eight months and a half between the dates 

 of the two sections going into pupa, in which stage the 

 former all died just as the insects were about to emerge 

 from their prison walls, while the latter all came forth 

 beautiful moths about the middle of July. Under ordinary 

 circumstances the larva of this insect was understood always 

 to hibernate and to change to pupa in early summer ; and 

 the author had been unable to discover any cause for the 

 partial departure from the rule in the above instance. 



A number of good Gcometrce were obtained, among which 

 may be mentioned the following : — Amphidasis prodomaria 

 (whose curious twig-like larvae were obtained from oaks by 

 beating the branches), the rare Cleora glahraria, and the 

 local Boarmia rdhoraria. C. glahraria was obtained princi- 

 pally in the larval state, feeding on a species of shaggy grey 

 lichen, to which it exactly corresponds in colour. B. Q^olor- 

 aria had been out some time, but still a number of fine 

 examples were captured in the early part of the month. 

 During the day it rests on oak trunks, usually at a con- 

 siderable height, with wings spread flat againstj the bark, 

 looking exactly like a patch of grey lichen ; and this, com- 

 bined with its habit of darting off just as one gets within 

 reach of it, renders it somewhat difficult to capture. Four 

 specimens of the beautiful banded form of Boarmia repandata 

 — so much prized by collectors — were also obtained. Among 

 the other good Geometrcc taken were Burymcne dolohraria, 

 Phorodesma hajiolaria, Geometra papiliona^na, Macaria alter- 



