350 THE entomologist's eecoed. 



SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 



The cry of Acherontia ateopos. — Professor Poulton informs me 

 that with the aid of a stethoscope (for both ears) ending in a fine tube 

 he was able at once to locate the sound produced by Acherontia atropos. 

 When the tube is placed against the part from whence the cry comes, 

 one is deafened by sound, anywhere else over the body it is very faint. 

 He adds that the noise is produced by air blown into the proboscis 

 from a cavity in the head which opens by a fine aperture into its base. 

 Hence the sound is still made, though fainter and different, when the 

 proboscis is cut off. Professor Poulton, after he had used his stetho- 

 scope, read H. N. Moseley's paper on the subject (Nature, vi., pp. 131- 

 153), and found that the conclusions arrived at were identical with 

 his own. I see this has been a great year for A. atropos. I may mention 

 that the larvae were very common on potato at Carlton Colville this sum- 

 mer. — Hoeace Donisthoepe, F.Z.S., F.E.S., 58, Kensington Mansions, 

 South Kensington, S.W. 



Peodenia ornithogalli, Guen.,beed in Gloucesteeshiee. — Afriend 

 near here sent me on July 6th last, a Noctuid larva, much like that of 

 Mamcstra hrassicae. It was found in a case of bananas (probably from 

 the West Indies). On July 12th, after eating a little dandelion leaf, 

 it commenced spinning a slight cocoon among the leaves, and on 

 August 13th a finely-marked Noctuid emerged, different from anything 

 I had previously seen. The moth proves to be P. ornitJwxjalli, Gn. 

 — C. J. Watkins, F.E.S., King's Mill House, Painswick, Gloucester. 

 Octoher 8th, 1900. 



Assembling Smeeinthus ocellatus, etc. — The males of Snierinthiis 

 ocellatus are attracted very readily. On one evening last summer I had 

 three or four females emerge in an outside cage, when a male flew in at 

 the window. Eequiring a male to pair with the females I went to the 

 cage and found quite a score of males trying to get into it ; this was at 

 1.30 a.m. I had no trouble in selecting a dozen of these with my 

 fingers. Next evening I isolated several females and found that though 

 there was no male attracted by midnight, and only two by 1 a.m., yet, 

 between the latter time and 1.45 a.m., they arrived very rapidly, and I 

 took many, most, however, in poor order. I obtained males of Sphinx 

 lif/mtri in the same way, as well as males of many other species — ■ 

 Notodonta ziczac, Ftilodonia palpina, Sinerinthus tiliac, Cerura vinula, 

 AmpJddasys betularia, many, and it was remarkable that from 1 a.m.- 

 1.30 a.m. seemed to be the time usually selected for pairing. — L. W. 

 Newman, 41, Salisbury Eoad, Bexley, Kent. October dOth, 1900. 



":^ARIATION. 



Poecilocampa populi without basal jiaeks. — A specimen of Poi'dlo- 

 campapopuli appeared to-day without a basal transverse yellow band, 

 although the other transverse line is very distinct, and the fringe very 

 distinctly chequered. — (Mrs.) M. E. Cowl, Aberceri, Spencer Park, 

 WandsAVorth Common. November 1st, 1900. 



Change of coloue in pupa of Apatuea iris just befoee 

 EMERGENCE. — Ecferriug to Mr. Eussell's note {antea, p. 294), I may say 

 that I have for several years bred Apatura iris from larvae taken in the 

 New Forest, and have found it to be the invariable rule that the pup^e 

 turn to purplish-blue colour a day or two before emergence. The 



