NOTES ON LIFE-HISTORIES, LARV^, ETC. 131 



on gooseberry, and red and black currant* bushes, in an old neglected 

 garden in this city. Judging from the denuded bushes there must 

 have been a large number of larv^, most of which had disappeared. 

 Amongst those left there were a few which appeared to be from three- 

 fourths to nearly full-fed. I took eight of these and placed them in a 

 breeding-cage in a cold room, no fire, giving them such scanty food as 

 I could. Three of the larvse pupated between November 7th and 10th ; 

 one of the resulting imagines emerged on December 7th, 1899, the 

 other two on January 2nd, this year. The first was a male, and the 

 others females — all Avere small and rather darker than the type, though 

 not sufficiently so, to be of any use as varieties — the rest of the larvte 

 are still hybernating. — T. Maddison, F.E.S., South Bailey, Durham. 

 March ^2nd, 1900. 



Emergence of Stauropus fag-i in November. — It may be well here to 

 note that in November last, two imagines of Stauropus far/i emerged 

 from pupte of the year. — E. B. Eobertson, Forest View, Southborne 

 Road, Boscombe. 



Erratic emergence of domesticated Spilosoma lubricipeda var. 

 RADiATA.— Late in October and during November last I bred a few 

 specimens of Spilosoma lubricipeda var. radiata. The emergence of 

 this species in confinement appears to be very erratic, as from a brood 

 of eggs hatching in early June about half the brood emerged in 

 August, a few, as already noticed, in late autumn, whilst the remainder 

 are now in pupa, and will probably emerge in the spring. — A. W. 

 Mera, 79, Capel Road, Forest Gate, E. 



Habits of Poecilocampa populi. — Poecilocampa populi is not 

 uncommon in the larval state at Bishop's Wood, near Selby. I have 

 found it singly in the daytime whilst searching for insects at rest, 

 usually, then, in the cracks of the bark of oak and poplar. Searching 

 in early June, 1896, I found eight or more larvfe on the trunks ; they 

 appear to be nocturnal feeders, commencing to move before twilight 

 (at least they did so in captivity) and eat oak, sallow, poplar, &c. 

 Feeding them in a large flower-pot, they pupated during the third 

 week of June, on the side just above the earth, using some of the light 

 soil to form the cocoon, which, when completed, was of an earthy 

 colour, mixed up with fine particles of the pot on which the cocoons 

 were built. Unfortunately I lost three of the cocoons, but the four I 

 had left had all produced imagines by November 8th, and were all 

 beautifully marked females. I once took an imago at light at Sand- 

 burn, and frequently also at the lamps in this city.^S. Walker, F.E.S., 

 15, Queen Anne's Road, York. April ^Ith, 1900. 



Eggs of Lepidoptera. — Erehia ceto. — A single egg laid at the 

 junction of a small lateral leaf -bearing stem with a larger shoot of 

 ? Vacciniu)n myrtillus. It is of large size about 1mm. along vertical 

 axis by •9mm along horizontal axis. The horizontal section is circular, 

 the vertical one a short oval, flattened so much at top, base, and sides, 

 that it might almost as correctly be called the section of a cylinder. It 

 is almost equally flattened at base and micropylar ends, but is a trifle 

 flatter and broader at base. There are seventeen coarse, roughly 

 marked, longitudinal ribs, but they are wanting in clearness and 

 sharpness of sculpturing, and give an impression of a fading, or not yet 

 fully developed character. Faint traces of cross ribbing can be dis- 

 cerned (with 1" objective), they show clearest on ridge of longitudinal 



