70 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



after the discharge of the vesicles. — Wm. A. Carter ; Burr Villas, 

 Bexley Heath. 



PoRTHEsiA CHRYSORRHCEA IN ENGLAND. — With reference to Prof. 

 Meldola's note {antp, p. 17), I beg to say that I have not hurriedly 

 jumped to a conclusion with regard to Continental supply as he 

 suggests. As a matter of fact, I have made a careful study of this 

 insect in its haunts around the southeast coast for the last four years, 

 from the egg state to the imago, being on the ground almost con- 

 tinually during the whole time, and I can safely say that we have had 

 five "good years," during which time it has spread very rapidly, and 

 I am not at all surprised, although pleased to hear, that it has reached 

 as far as Wales. Now, as this insect was very plentiful about thirty 

 years ago, and then suddenly disappeared entirely, it is very evident 

 that after so many years' absence a fresh supply must have come from 

 somewhere, and it is certainly very significant that it should turn up 

 again at two or three places wliere direct steamers are running to and 

 from the Continent, viz. Newhaven, Dover, Folkestone, and Harwich. 

 There are at least two causes likely to bring about extermination 

 — parasites and starvation. At Newhaven, immediately near the 

 steamers' loading berths, this is pretty clearly shown, where the hedges 

 on either side of the road for over a quarter of a mile present an ex- 

 traordinary sight when the larvae are nearly and some full grown, not 

 a vestige of foliage remaining. The larvae are everywhere, on the 

 paths, fences, posts, and in the roadway, wandering about in search 

 of food, and there is no doubt large numbers die from starvation, 

 while others perish from the attacks of a fly (not a true ichneumon), 

 very like a house fly, which " stings " the young larvae soon after they 

 leave the egg. When rearing hybernating larvffi, I have noticed that 

 those tliat are stung wake up first and feed up much quicker, and the 

 consequence at Newhaven is that those that are full fed when the food- 

 plant gives out are the larvae that are stung, and the half-fed, non- 

 infected, larvae no doubt perish in large numbers iiom lack of food. I 

 have proved this by bringing the larvae away in the nests when young, 

 and also when nearly full-fed, and carrying them through to the imago 

 stage. Notwithstanding the above, I saw hundreds of nests there a 

 few weeks ago, and there were no signs of their diminishing. I should 

 say that P. chrysorrhcea was very plentiful at Brighton, Eastbourne, 

 Deal, and Margate, but the numbers are nothing like those at New- 

 haven, which reminds one of a great distributing depot, the larvae 

 being easily traced along the railway hedges in the direction of London, 

 and along the coast eastward, over Beachy Head, through Eastbourne, 

 Pevensey, and Hastings, and westward through Kottingdean, Brighton, 

 and Shoreham ; and there is no doubt in my mind that we get con- 

 siderable additions from the Continent of chrysorrhcea, besides other 

 insects that come to light, and which are taken in the neighbourhood 

 of Newhaven. — C. W. Colthrup; 127, Barry Road, East Dulwich, 

 Jan. 20th, 1903. 



SympetrUiM fonscolombii in the Act of Migrating. — Mr. L. E. 

 Adams has forwarded to me a male specimen of Sympetr am fonscolombii, 

 which, apparently, he was fortunate enough to observe in the act of 

 migrating. He says : " 1 enclose a specimen of a dragonfly that I brought 



