Insects. 8211 



and after we had been among ibe bushes for a short time I found a larva of Acronycta 

 Alni oil his coat. This I tried wilh various kinds of food, but it refused all, and died 

 appareutly of inanition. — R. McLachlan ; Forest Hill, September 18, 1862. 



Economy of Acronycta Alni. — Going along a sandy lane here on September 1st, I 

 observed what appeared to be sawdust sprinkled on some bramble-leaves. I thought 

 it probably the work of a larva, and so looked for some stem whence it might have 

 fallen. T now found an old dead bramble-stick, one end of which was hollowed. I 

 split this down about a couple of inches, and disclosed a full-fed larva of Acrouycta 

 Alni. On looking at it two or three days later I found it had changed. The pupa is 

 a rich deep chesnut colour, and is head uppermost in the stem. There is no appear- 

 ance of silk or cocoon, and the thin layer of pith above the pupa is very slightly stuck 

 together. — Henry Moore. 



Xylophasia scolopacina near Hythe. — I beat out a specimen of this northern spe- 

 cies at Saltwood Castle, near Hylhe, Kent, in the last week in July. Probably it has 

 never before been taken in this country so far soutlj. Contrary to rule, it was very 

 much darker than the northern examples. — R. McLachlan. 



Description of the Larva of Epimda lichenea. — Head obviously narrower than the 

 body, extremely shining, but emitting several slender hairs ; "body uniformly cylin- 

 drical, obese, smooth, but emitting a very few, very distant, short and fine hairs ; these 

 are only discernable under a lens. Head olive-brown, tessellated with paler markings: 

 body dull olive-brown on the back, pale transparent olive-green on the belly, and 

 having a paler stripe dividing the two colours, and including the spiracles ; the back 

 has a series of somewhat lozenge-shaped marks down the middle, and on each side of 

 each of these is a shorter oblique paler mark, the whole of these markings being 

 obscure and indistinct, yet viewed together constituting a dark median stripe, with a 

 paler and intercepted stripe on each side: the legs are shining, the claspers opaque; 

 both pellucid, and of an orange-green colour. The egg is laid on Senecio Jacobiea 

 (ragwort) in August, and hatches in September, and the larva hybernates while very 

 small : in confinement it feeds freely on Senecio vulgaris, and is full fed in May. 

 Mr. Lynch kindly handed me two of these larvae, which he had received from 

 Mr. Fereday; one of them of the colour described above ; the other of an uniform 

 green tint, the markings scarcely distinguishable. — Edward Newman. 



Remarks and Observatio7is on the Red Ant. 

 By Captain Henry Hadfield. 



On the 4lh of July, about noon, I observed a number of ants 

 foraging ; they quartered the ground as pointers might do in hunting 

 for game, and, like that animal, are, I am inclined to believe, guided 

 or attracted by scent; moreover, they appear to follow in the track of 

 others by the same means, for I frequently noticed, after the passing 

 of one or more over or along the path, others — though several seconds 

 might have elapsed — taking exactly the same course, and not un- 

 frequeutly pausing or haUii^g at precisely the same spots as their 

 predecessors. 1 also remarked that in carrying off their prey 



