THE ENTOMOLOGIST, 125 
in September. At fig. 7 I picture a female at rest with out- 
stretched antenne, which, however, when quite at rest, they 
place close to their body. At fig. 8 we see a flying male. 
There is not a sufficient difference between their antennz to 
distinguish in this case the male from the female (though this 
is in many sorts the best sign of sex), but the tail-end of the 
former runs out somewhat broader than that of the latter; 
the male has also a slenderer body than the female. Besides 
there is a remarkable difference between these moths in the 
liveliness of their colours, some being very strongly, others 
only paler, coloured; the marking of them is always the 
same, so that one does not observe the least trifles; they are 
not larger. I have chosen the largest for my drawing. 
“ Lastly.—I must append here a few remarks. (1) It does 
not follow that you can always see the holes in the burr-stalk 
through which the insect has entered, as the grub may have 
entered quite young, and consequently through an almost 
imperceptible hole. (2) In one stalk you sometimes find 
more than one grub, not side by side, but above one another. 
(3) For the safety of the pup, whenever you wish to allow 
them to remain in the burr-stalk till they come out winged, 
you must split the stalks at one end and stick a little wedge 
in, otherwise through the shrinking of the stalk the channel, 
or lane, in which the pupa lies, will be narrowed, and conse- 
quently press it to death; you may also take them out of the 
stalks, and put them on cotton or other soft stuff.” 
EDWIN BIRCHALL. 
Kirkstall Grove, May 15, 1874. 
The Goat-moth Larva Underground.—The larva sent by 
P. E. is that of the goat-moth (Xyleutes Cossus) ; the smell 
has often been noticed as resembling that of a he-goat, and 
doubtless the name has reference to this peculiarity. This 
caterpillar has on several previous occasions been found in 
the ground, having buried itself to undergo its transformation. 
It is occasionally turned up by the gardener in his spring 
diggings, and is generally in a slight cocoon composed of 
earth and a small portion of silk. A life-history of the species, 
extending to sixteen pages, will be found at page 333 of the 
fourth volume of the ‘ Entomologist’ —Edeward Newman, 
