CUERENT NOTES. 139 



room throughout the past autumn and winter, occasionally damping 

 them. The results, so far, I consider satisfactory, the following 

 ■emergences having taken place : April 1st, 14 <? , 9 $ ; 4th, 15 3- , 

 27 2 ; 6th, 7 5^, 4 ? ; 7th, 11 5^, 9 ? ; 10th, 8 <? , 15 ? ; and 

 11th, Q 3" , Q ? . The imagines commenced to appear at 9 a.m., and 

 ■continued to do so until 6 p.m., the majority emerging in the late 

 afternoon. Of the 58 3 and 72 5 which emerged 2 3 and 4 ? only 

 were crippled, but the hindwings of 5 per cent, of the 3 s and 20 per 

 cent, of the ? s were imperfectly formed. As imagines in one or two 

 cases only emerged from the composite cocoons I opened several of the 

 latter. The majority contained two dead larvae, others three, and the 

 largest as many as eleven. Owing probably to the space within the 

 composite cocoon3 being too confined the larvae had failed to complete 

 their pupation. The formation of these cocoons I am now convinced 

 resulted from overcrowding of the larvfe. There are still remaining 

 about thirty of the single cocoons and half-a-dozen of the composite. 

 Some of the former I am satisfied from examination contain living 

 pupffi, which may produce imagines another year, but it is very 

 doubtful whether the latter do. The imagines obtained were all 

 normal in size and type. — A. Eussell, F.E.S., Southend, near Cat- 

 ford, S.E. 



dfURRENT NOTES. 



Professor Fernald, of the Massachusetts Agricultural College, sends 

 us a prospectus which sets forth the work required for students to 

 obtain a degree in Zoological and Entomological Science. The 

 course is evidently an excellent one, aud no doubt students of 

 the College who obtain this degree will be selected to fill the posts 

 of State entomologists and similar positions in the various public 

 institutions. 



At the meeting of the Entom. Society of London on April 4th, Mr. 

 McLachlan exhibited an extraordinary aberration of Enallai/ma cijathi- 

 (jerimi, Charp., taken by Mr. Morton in Glen Lochay, Scotland. The 

 remarkable feature consisted in the predominance of black over blue in 

 the coloration of the abdomen. 



When available, the editor would be glad to have pupae, eggs and newly- 

 hatched larvae (in spirit) of our British Hepialids — Hepialus humuli, H, 

 velleda, H. sylvinus, H. hectiis, H. hqndinus; also newly-hatched larvae 

 of Zeuzera ivjrina and eggs of C(mus lij/niperda. It is hoped that all 

 lepidopterists who obtain eggs of these species will spare at least one 

 or two for description. We would also suggest that systematic details 

 as to dates of emergence, exact duration of egg, larval and pupal 

 stages, and other interesting information relating to the common 

 Sphingids, would be very useful. 



We are pleased to observe that applied entomology has been recog- 

 nised, in so far that Miss Ormerod has been made Hon. LL.D. of 

 Edinburgh University — the first woman thus honoured. 



Professor J. W. Carr and the Rev. A. Thornley are collecting 

 insects of all orders, with a view to the publication of an " Insect 

 Fauna of Nottinghamshire." They would be very grateful for records 

 for the county. We have received the last year's report of the Notting- 

 ham Naturalists' Society, in which there are several interesting entomo- 

 logical articles, the chief of which is "Nottinghamshire Diptera," by 

 the Rev. A. Thornley. 



