SEPTEMBER. 295 



spin another, but it did not attempt it. The caterpillar was 

 dull black, with large red spots down the back ; the chry- 

 salis brown, with rusty marks ; neither of them handsome. 



F. I lately observed a larva of the Violet Tip Butterfly 

 ( Grapta C. Aureum) attached by the tail to a growing 

 stalk of grass, and, of course, hanging parallel to it, as yours 

 just mentioned : one would suppose they would prefer to 

 hang from a horizontal plane. 



C. From the willows, I have lately obtained many of 

 those handsome caterpillars which produce the Twin-eyed 

 Hawk-moth (Smerinthus Geminatus), in different stages of 

 growth. When full grown, they are very rough, pale green, 

 with diagonal light-yellow stripes on each side : the anal 

 horn is small, curved, and blue ; the head has two yellow 

 stripes down it. In some that sloughed their skins, I ob- 

 served that for some time before the moult, the new head 

 was seen bulging out the neck ; and these yellow lines on it 

 appeared distinctly through the skin. One that I took from 

 the same trees, differed from the others in this particular, 

 that it had two rows of reddish purple spots on each side, 

 one of which contained the spiracula ; but for this, they were 

 exactly alike ; I doubt it is not specifically distinct. One of 

 the largest is, this morning, become a pupa, not very large, 

 naked, deep brown. Many other kinds of caterpillars have 

 occurred : I have described only the more remarkable. The 

 plan of shaking or beating branches of trees over an um- 

 brella is a most productive one, yielding to the practical 

 entomologist a great number and variety of species, that e 

 might otherwise elude his keenest research. 



F. Going to the village a few days since, I made an 

 addition or two to my stock of entomologic lore. Standing in 

 a house there, I observed a large insect, flying backwards 

 and forwards before the door, and on going out succeeded in 

 catching it with my hand j it proved to be a female of the 



