154 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



upper side of the fore wings is practically absent, but the broad black 

 borders are also entirely replaced with yellow ; only the very faintest 

 grey outhne, scarcely visible to the naked eye, indicates the inner 

 margin, to where the black border would have extended. The hind 

 wings of this beautiful specimen are entirely white, save only for 

 a faint grey scalloped edging slightly increasing towards the anal 

 angle, again indicating to where the black border was meant to have 

 extended, had the specimen been a normal one. The under side 

 is much the same as usual, only rather pale. I should be interested 

 to know if others who have collected in this part of the world have 

 ever met with this form of T. elathea before ? — Margaret E. 

 FouNTAiNE, F.E.S. ; Montego Bay, Jamaica, February 13th, 1911. 



Note on Trochilium apiforme. — Lt. -Colonel Nurse in his article 

 on the Sesiidse, published in the March issue of the ' Entomologist,' 

 questions Barrett's statement about the larvse of Trochilmm ajnforme. 

 I worked for this species last April in the Fens, where most of the 

 black poplars are infected. I then found the insect in three stages : 

 (1) half-grown larvae low down in the roots ; (2) full-grown larvee in their 

 pupating tunnels — these, when disturbed, withdraw into the tree and 

 were not easy to get out ; (3) cocoons, just under the bark. From 

 this I gather that the larva stage probably lasts only two years, and 

 that many of the larvae certainly do not form their cocoons till April 

 or May, though the majority seem to do so earlier. The few cocoons 

 that I examined held either larvae or freshly changed pupae. My 

 treatment of both larvae and pupae was not satisfactory ; the former 

 without exception died, while of the latter about fifty per cent, emerged 

 late in June, the rest became mouldy. Probably I kept them too 

 moist, for fear that the cocoons should contract and damage the 

 pupae. I should welcome a note from any correspondent on the best 

 method of keeping Sesiidae pupae. — J. S. Carter ; Warren Hill, East- 

 bourne, March 5th, 1911. 



The Italian forms of Zyg^na transalpina, Esp. — In ' Bollet- 

 tino del Laboratorio di Zoologia Generale e Agraria,' vol. iv. pp. 134- 

 161, Conte EmiHe Turati discusses the variation of Zygana trans- 

 alpina in Italy. Fifteen new forms are named, thus increasing the 

 number of known forms to thirty-eight. 



Food of Vanessa antiopa larv^. — With reference to Mr. A. H. 

 Jones's note in the ' Entomologist,' p. 112, on the larvae of V. antiopa 

 being in his experience essentially sallow feeders, it may interest him 

 to know that in 1892 I reared about seventeen or eighteen hundred 

 specimens of this fine butterfly from eggs deposited on willow by 

 captive females, kindly sent me by Mr. Frederick Raine from Hy^res, 

 and that over one thousand were fed exclusively upon willow, but I 

 found sallow appeared equally suitable for food, also birch was readily 

 eaten, even when willow had formed the sole food until the last 

 stage. They also fed well on elm ; nettles, however, did not appear 

 suitable as food, and was not touched by them during the last two 

 or three stages ; it was only when quite young that they could be 

 induced to feed upon this plant, and although they fed for several 

 days on nettles, they did not thrive, and eventually died. In some 



