58 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 



Duration in the Larva State of Trochilium apiformis. — In 

 recent volumes of the ' Entomologist ' there have heen several notes on 

 the earlier stages of this insect, and especially concerning the length 

 of time it remains in the larva state. In the volume for 1911, p. 362, 

 I recorded having seen a female on the bole of a balsam poplar in 

 my garden engaged in ovipositing, dropping her eggs loosely on the 

 ground at the base of the tree. A considerable number of eggs were 

 laid, and after securing a dozen for a correspondent who wished to 

 figure them, I left the rest, which I watched from day to day for 

 some time. But one morning all trace of them had vanished, and 

 I concluded that ants, earwigs, woodlice, or some other predatory 

 beasts had devoured them. On August 2nd, 1912, however, my 

 daughter drew my attention to a fine freshly emerged female moth 

 at the bottom of the tree, and there was an empty pupa case pro- 

 truding from its cocoon in the earth close by. It is of course 

 possible that this particular moth resulted from an egg laid before 

 1911, but the tree showed no sign of any previous attack, though it 

 had often been examined on the chance of finding this species or 

 Saperda carcharias attacking it in previous years. It seems therefore 

 probable that this moth was produced from one of the eggs which I 

 saw being laid, and, if so, the newly hatched larva must have entered 

 the earth and penetrated the underground portion of the stem or one 

 of the roots. It is of course possible that other larvae may still be 

 feeding in the roots, though there are no signs of them on the 

 surface ; but so far as the evidence goes it seems to indicate that 

 the larva is not always two years in arriving at maturity, as some 

 writers have suggested. Though I have frequently found this insect 

 on the boles of trees and at rest on leaves, I do not remember having 

 seen it on the wing until one morning last July, when several speci- 

 mens were flying about among the poplars in my small plantation. 

 Getting only a momentary glimpse of the first, I mistook it for a 

 hornet, less from its appearance than from the loud humming sound 

 caused by the vibration of its wings ; but there could be no mistake 

 about the sound. A good view of a perfectly fresh specimen flying 

 in the sunshine is a sight to be remembered. — W. H. Harwood ; 

 62, Station Eoad, Colchester, January 4th, 1913. 



An unusual Parsnip Pest. — In North Durham last year I was 

 struck by the enormous damage that seemed to have been done to 

 some seeding parsnip plants (Pastinaca sativa). The flowers and 

 immature seeds seemed to be spun together in huge masses, through 

 which silk-lined tunnels passed in all directions. I suspected that 

 this was the work of a Depressaria larva, but for a long time I failed 

 to find one, as it was late in August when I observed the damage. 

 However, close search on a very large plant yielded two larvee, which 

 proved to be those of Depressaria heracliana. In many cases the 

 plants were quite killed, and no seeds produced. As I knew that 

 D. heracliana pupated in the stems of Heracleum sphondylium, its 

 more usual food-plant, I examined the stems and sheathing leaves 

 for pupae, but not a single one could I find. I could see dozens of 



