Insects. 7571 



coloured, with scarcely a perceplible shade of green : on the dorsal surface of each 

 segment are two somewhat distant conspicuous markings of an intense velvety black : 

 the figure of each of these markings is that of a longitudinally elongated square or 

 paralielhipipedon, ils limits always clearly defined but not very regular; near the head 

 these markings become narrower or more linear, and the pair on the 12th segment are 

 also narrow and placed obliquely : the legs are red-brown and very shining. These 

 larvae feed on Festuca ovina, several species of Hieracium, Cislus Heliantheraum, 

 Thymus Serpyllum (wild thyme), Scabiosa succisa, Solidago Virgaurea (golden rod), 

 Poterium Sauguisorba (burnet), &c. ; and in confinement revel on Salix caprea (sal- 

 low), especially the calkins. They feed by night only, and bury themselves in the 

 earth by day. They were full fed and finally disappeared beneath the earth on the 

 8th of May. — Edward Newman. 



Life-Histories of Sawflies, translated from the Dutch ofM. Snellen 

 Van Vollenhoven. By J. W, Maj, Esq. 



Nematus hortensis, Hariig. 



Imago : Hartig. Blatt. und Holzwespen, No. 24, p. 127. 



Larva undesciibed. 



Nematus luteus, antennis, cervice, thoracis dorso plus minus, seg- 

 mentorum abdominalium liuea aut macula trigoua nigris, pedum 

 posteriorum tibiis tarsisque fuscis. 



In the first week of September I found some tenth redinidous larvae 

 of various sizes, in my garden at Leyden, feeding on Robinia pseud- 

 acacia, commonly called Acacia. It seemed to me singular that they 

 should be feeding on the leaves of this foreign tree, and which I had 

 not hitherto observed to be attacked by any species of insect, but the 

 comparatively large number of larvae which I found together (I counted 

 fourteen), and the small size of the majority, contradicted the supposi- 

 tion that they had accidentally wandered from some other tree or 

 shrub on to this one ; moreover I was unable to detect any similar 

 larvae on other plants in the neighbourhood. 



The largest somewhat resembled in form and colour the larvae of the 

 preceding species,* but on examination several points of difference 

 were observable. They had twenty legs, the same as the last ; they 

 were also of a pale green colour, with a brown head, but this latter 

 was of a lighter tint ; there was no black dorsal stripe ; spots on the 

 side were scarcely discernible, and the supra-anal horns were not 

 pointed as in N. caeruleocarpus, but consisted of two flat vertical 

 wedge-shaped yellow projections with brown markings (fig. 3). 



* N. caeruleocarpus. 



