72 HOP. 



forming as it were a seventh foot, which has the power of adhering to 

 very smooth substances.'' This power it may be remarked is of 

 especial use in steadying the grub in its struggles with the insects of 

 which it is devouring the contents. The grubs feed for rather more 

 than a fortnight, then form a silken whitish cocoon, in which the 

 change to pupa takes place, and from which the flies come out in 

 about three weeks in summer. These are not long-lived ; and the 

 female lays her eggs in the curious form figured : applying the tip of 

 her abdomen to the place where the egg is to be attached, she exudes 

 a gummy matter, and drawing it out, leaves it as a fine transparent 

 thread, with the egg fixed at the apex or free end, looking altogether 

 not unlike a pin with the head on an exceedingly fine stem. 



I have extracted the above notes of the life-history of the "Golden 

 Eye " mainly from the long and good account given by John Curtis," 

 as I have never had more than occasional opportunities of observing 

 this beautiful and very beneficial insect and its stalked eggs myself, 

 and it is not so well known as it ought to be. Also it is noted by 

 Curtis that the flies which come forth in summer are not long-lived, 

 but the autumnal ones remain through the winter in cocoon, therefore 

 it appears that the observations of the " Golden Eyes" in the numbers 

 found in mid-winter of this year is an unusual circumstance and 

 worth recording. 



" Lady- birds" (beneficial insects). — Eyed Lady-bird Beetle. Cocci- 

 nella ocellata, Linn. Minute Black Lady-bird. Sci/mnus 

 7iii7iiimts, Rossi. 



H.K 



CocciNELLA ocELLATA, Hat. size and magnified. 



On the 1st of October, a specimen of the very fine kind of Lady- 

 bird Beetle figured above was forwarded me by the Editor of the ' Hop 

 Grower,' Wolverhampton, with the remark accompanying: "One of 

 my correspondents, a Hop-grower in Kent, has sent me the Lady-bird 

 enclosed, asking me to name its species," &c. 



The specimen proved to be the Eyed Lady-bird, the Coccinella 

 ocellata, mentioned by Rye as the largest of our species, and " conspi- 



* See 'Farm Insects,' by John Curtis, pp. 77, 78. 



