THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 
No. 130.] JUNE, MDCCCLXXIV. [Price 6d. 
Gortyna flavago and its Householding. By Epwin 
BrIrRcHALL, Esq. 
TrRoLy there is nothing new under the sun. We look for 
knowledge, but what we mostly find is our own ignorance. 
Every collector is familiar with the larvee of Gortyna flavago: 
in many parts of England it is difficult to cut open a thistle- 
stem in July or August without finding its traces. The moth 
emerges from the pupa in September, quickly deposits its 
eggs, and dies; and there, until lately, my knowledge ended. 
None of the published histories of the insect, that I have seen, 
carry the matter further, or state in what condition, or where, 
the insect exists from September to June. The egg is said 
to be laid on the stems of burdock, thistle, &c. (‘ British 
Moths,’ Newman, p. 280); but as the old thistle-stem dies 
down in the autumn, and a new one does not appear for 
many months, there is an evident want of continuity in the 
chain of circumstances, and it is left open to conjecture 
whether the female moth hybernates, or if the egg is deposited 
in the autumn, when the larva hatches, and what becomes 
of it, till thistles and June come round again. I have been 
able this spring to fill the gap in the history of the insect; 
but a kind friend having given me a copy of the works of 
Christian Sepp, and finding that he knew all about it one 
hundred years ago, I prefer that he should tell the story in 
his own quaint way, and hope that your readers will find 
pleasure in perusing the account of a “ Morning’s Collecting 
in the Last Century.” Unfortunately, Dutch is a language 
with which few Englishmen are familiar, so I venture to offer 
a translation. The work is entitled ‘A Description of God’s 
VOL. VII. R 
