THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 135 
one, and the body and hind wings are much darker than 
usual. I have also bred a specimen of the usual type, which 
has one tip much paler than the other.—H. Wittich ; 
55, Lansdown Road, Dalston, E., May 19, 1875. 
Xylomiges conspicillaris at Dartford.—Mr. Packman, of 
Dartford, took a fine female of X. conspicillaris, on the 10th 
of May. He brought it to me, and I am pleased to say I 
have a few eggs from it, which apparently are fertile.-—A. B. 
Farn; New Government Offices, Whitehall, S.W., May 14, 
1875. 
Agrotis Helvetina.—Mr. Taylor kindly brought me _ his 
specimen of the Noctua, which my friend Dr. Knaggs named 
Agrotis Helvetina, to compare it with authentic specimens of 
this species given to me by Dr. Staudinger. I think the 
continental specimen which Dr. Knaggs examined must 
have been wrongly named, as such a keen observer could not 
possibly confound two such very different species. Mr. 
Taylor's Noctua scarcely differs from the red variety of 
Neglecta, except in size, being larger, and it may only be a 
variety of this species; but I cannot speak positively about 
it till I have seen a male. Agrotis Helvetina closely 
resembles the dark variety of A. lucernea, but is considerably 
larger, and has very long legs and antenne.—Henry 
Doubleday ; Epping, May, 1875. 
Larve of Cirrhedia xerampelina.—On the 8rd of May I 
took about twenty larve of C. xerampelina, under moss on 
ash-trees, near this village. I never took it here before, 
although I think I saw one of the moths at sugar in August 
last. I may add that a great many of the larve are 
ichneumoned.—4., Thurnall ; Whittlesford, Cambridgeshire, 
May 7, 1875. 
Beetle Destructive to Mangold Wurzel.—I have received 
almost simultaneous complaints of the destruction of young 
mangold wurzel in distant localities. In some instances the 
writers complain that the insects “began to eat the young 
plants before appearing above ground, and never left off; in 
many rows taking every plant.” In the ‘ Field’ newspaper I 
have given all the information I possess respecting this 
diminutive enemy of the farmer: this is chiefly extracted 
from the ‘Annales de la Société Entomologique de France’ 
for 1847, was originally written by M. Bazin, and has been 
