8 CHERRY. 



trees may occasionally be seen in July entirely stripped of their leaves 

 by the caterpillars of this species."* 



In the observations sent me from near Lymington last year, the 

 caterpillars were noticed as injurious to the Elms, but the progress of 

 the attack was especially watched on a Cherry tree ; and in the Ger- 

 man observations of Dr. Taschenberg and Kaltenbach they are men- 

 tioned as feeding on leafage of Cherry, Pear, Apple and Quince, besides 

 Elm, Willow, &c. 



The first observation of attack was sent me on the 19th of June, 

 from Ossemsley Manor Farm, Lymington, Hants, by Mr. D. D. Gibb, 

 who mentioned that on the preceding day he had observed that a 

 Cherry tree on his lawn was being stripped of its leaves in a very rapid 

 manner, and on close inspection he found a few beetles, which he 

 believed to be Cockchafers (they were so, Ed.), but on several branches 

 which were almost entirely stripped of leaves, some large caterpillars 

 (of which specimens were also sent) turned out to be the destroyers ; 

 and, as Mr. Gibb remarked, "Aided by a high wind, with heavy 

 showers of rain, and hand-picking from all the branches within reach, 

 I trust to make short work of this pest. Otherwise the tree would 

 evidently have been speedily stripped of all the leaves." 



On June 25th, Mr. Gibb wrote further, with date of when the 

 commencement of the mischief was noticed: — " On the 16th of June 

 I first observed something amiss with a Cherry tree on my lawn ; when 

 examined on the 18th, the caterpillars which I sent you were found to 

 be causing the mischief. I am not surprised to find they are those of 

 a Vanessa butterfly, — several 'Large Tortoise-shell' Butterflies were 

 seen in the spring, and one or two were brought in by my children, but 

 their lives were spared. 



" I now send herewith tips of branches where first observed, and 

 showing the mischief caused. You will observe on the tip of one 

 branch a cellular formation of a honey-comb nature. Can this be 

 where the eggs were deposited and hatched ? " (This was so, see 

 description following, Ed.). "The young caterpillars certainly seemed 

 to come from near this spot. By hand-picking the largest caterpillars 

 (about two inches in length) were picked off and destroyed, others 

 shaken and brushed off, while severe storms of wind and rain, with a 

 low temperature about this time, destroyed the remainder. You will 

 see adhering to the twig the remains of a great number of small cater* 

 pillars, which were destroyed by the storms before they had spread 



* See ' British Butterflies,' by the late Edw. Newman, p. 55. In the same 

 paper on the V. j^olychloros will be found a special report of a good deal of interest 

 of English localities from which observations of its presence, and for the most part 

 the small amount of insects seen, were sent to Mr. Newman. 



