I 



Insects. 7799 



of the grass or reed, although sometimes attached only to one, it covers or thatches its 

 habitation with the smaller pieces, leaving no part of its silken shroud visible : this 

 thatched domicile is rather smaller at both ends, or shuttle-shaped, and is suspended 

 perpendicularly : in this it passes the winter, and the perfect iusect emerges the fol- 

 lowing June. These larvae are peculiarly liable to parasites, both dipterous and 

 hymenopterous ; the dipteron is a large species of Tachina, allied to T. nigripes, but 

 I think hitherto undescribed. In our present very imperfect knowledge of the affini- 

 ties of Lepidoptera, now being for the first time investigated in France by M. 

 Guenee, it is extremely difficult to assign to Semyra its natural position : Guenee 

 places it at the end of the Bombycoidae and immediately before the Leucanids. The 

 larva of S. veiiosa appears to have greater similarity to the Ursinaj than to those of 

 the Bombycoidfe, and the French lepidopterist himself observes that " the young larvae 

 may easily be confounded with those of Arctia." The wings of the imago are strongly 

 lined, like those of Leucania pallens, in a longitudinal direction. — Edward Newman. 



Capture of Noclua ditrapezium. near Portsmouth. — This rare species was taken, in 

 the early part of the summer, near Portsmouth, by my brother, the Rev. H. Matthews, 

 and also by a friend of his in the same locality. — A, Matthews ; Gumlty, Market 

 Harhorough, October 21, 1861. 



Second capture of Margarodes unionalis near Torquay. — On Saturday, the 5th of 

 October, I took a specimen of Margarodes unionalis not far from the spot where 

 I imagine Mr. King took his, two years ago. Mr. Terry, another collector here, was 

 with me when I took it. It is in very fine condition, and answers exactly with the 

 figure in the 'Annual' for 1860. — R. M. Stewart; 3, Park Place, Torquay, Devon, 

 Octobers, 1861. 



Captures of Lepidoptera near Dublin. — As I expect to leave Dublin in a few days, 

 I forward a few notes of my most remarkable captures in the neighbourhood during the 

 last season : — 



Lithosia caniola. This species occurred sparingly in sheltered spots on the coast in 

 the middle of August: it was over in fourteen days from the appearauce of the first 

 specimen. It flies gently at early dusk, and is partial to the flowers of ragwort and 

 Galium verum. A female laid a lot of eggs, and the larvae are feeding in the cages of 

 a friend, but, as they evidently hybernate, grave fears are entertained that they will 

 not survive the winter. 



Agrotis obelisca. This species is not rare here, frequenting ragwort bloom in 

 August and the beginning of September. It is singular that, as far as I know, this is 

 its only intermediate locality between Edinburgh and the south coast. 



Agrotis agathina. I have at last discovered this lovely species in Ireland : a few 

 specimens occurred at heath bloom, on the coast, in the beginning of September. 



Dianthcecia capsophila. This species occurred again in June, both at light and 

 hovering at flowers, on the clifiis, but only in small numbers: it appears to be scarce 

 even in its very restricted localities. I looked for the larva amoug Silene maritima 

 and found some, difierent from all our known species, which would probably produce 

 it, but they were so tender that only one or two have entered the pupa state, so that 

 the chance of rearing it is diminished considerably. Singularly enough, I also found 

 larvae of Dianthcecia Cucubali, a species not before known to occur in Ireland : they fed 

 up well enough. 



Peronea permutana and P. aspersana. These local species were not rare among 

 plants of Rosa spinosissima, on the coast, in August. 



