3122 Tue ZooLocist—Juty, 1872. 
This passage is followed by what may be called “ Contributions 
to the life-history of Acentropus,” and most valuable contributions 
they will be found. Mr. Dunning borrows from all available 
sources, but more especially from an excellent essay on the genus 
by Mr. Brown, of Burton-on-Trent, published in the ‘ Natural 
History of Tutbury,’ a work which I have already noticed in the 
‘ Zoologist, and which is really our highest authority on this branch 
of the subject. Mr. Dunning seems to adopt and to endorse 
Mr. Brown’s views, and his facts also, but by no means to the 
exclusion of other sources of information. It is true that the 
statements are slightly discordant, but considered as a whole they 
cannot fail to interest his readers. 
To begin with the eggs or supposed eggs. The first notice is 
by Messrs. Dale and Curtis; they were described, in the ‘ Pro- 
ceedings of the Entomological Society, as “a large mass of white 
and very elongated eggs.” Dr. Hagen describes them as “a 
number of white roundish eggs, laid thickly together on a Potamo- 
geton leaf.” ‘lhe conflict between the two descriptions I think 
sufficient to prove that the eggs described were scarcely those of a 
single species. Then, again, Herrich-Scheffer has figured a 
female Acentropus with a connected string of eggs adherent to the 
extremity of her abdomen, and Mr. Dunning informs us that 
Mr. M‘Lachlan and Dr. Knaggs have specimens exhibiting a 
similar peculiarity. Mr. Dunning does not notice the tendency of 
this character to affine Acentropus with the Phryganide and to 
separate it from the Lepidoptera, but proceeds thus :—“ The larva 
is of a light green colour, and like those of Hydrocampa, Paraponyx 
and Cataclysta, it lives on aquatic plants below the surface; it has 
gills and lives freely in the water.” I think Mr. Dunning here 
makes no allusion to the similarity of the gills of the larva of 
Acentropus to those of the larve of Hydropsyche atomaria, figured 
in Westwood’s ‘Modern Classification, fig. 68, 19, or perhaps 
I have overlooked the reference: if so I retract the observation. 
Brown, op. cit. p. 402, states of the larve that, “ They possess every 
lepidopterous character and make no approach to the trichopterous 
type;” yet, notwithstanding this, we find, from his own account, 
that “ They reside in silken cocoons, which are strengthened by 
small pieces of the leaves incorporated longitudinally in the fabric, 
and which are placed in the submerged axils of Potamogeton 
perfoliatus and P. pectinatus.” 
i 
