1870 J 143 
On the treatment of the hybernating larva of Bombyw rubi.—Like your corres- 
pondent, Mr. J. Hamilton (H. M. M., p. 110), and I believe the majority of 
entomologists, I have failed in my attempts to rear the larves of Bombyx rubi. 
Mr. A. Pickard, of Wolsingham, near Darlington, however, rears the species suc- 
cessfully, and his modus operandi, which I obtained in a letter from him dated 
September 9th, 1870, is as follows:—he fills a flower-pot half full of moss, into 
which, about the end of October, the larvae are placed. The pot is then put in a 
corner of the garden, covered over with muslin, and over that he fastens a piece of 
cardboard to keep it from too much rain. A few plum leaves are put in the pot 
occasionally so long as they last ; but when examined, the larvz are almost always 
down amongst the moss. The principal thing appears to be, to let the larve be 
exposed to all weathers except the heavy rains. The pot was frequently covered 
with snow, but, the moss not getting wet, the larve took no harm. 
This is the substance of Mr. Pickard’s remarks on the subject; any ento- 
mologist wishing for further information, will, I doubt not, readily obtain it, on 
applying to that gentleman. 
I have found no difficulty in rearing many hybernating larve. I always 
endeavour to keep a bit of green leaf (or withered, if not too dry, and the proper 
food so long as possible) in the breeding cage, for them to “nibble” any sunny day 
during the winter months. A large number of species, Callimorpha dominula, and 
many, perhaps all, of the Acidalie, for instance, I suspect could not be kept without 
this precaution, though it is not necessary for such species as Liparis salicis, which 
spend the winter in little silken cocoons.—Gro. T., Porritt, Huddersfield, October 
4th, 1870. 
Variety of Chelonia caja.—I have now on one of my setting boards a very curious 
variety of Chelonia caja, which was bred last month from a second brood, by 
Master Samuel Bairstow of this town. The dark chocolate colour occupies the 
whole of the fore-wings, there being only a faint trace of the usual white markings ; 
the hind-wings are black, edged on the inner margin with brick-red, the spots of 
course being obliterated. The specimen is a male, and, like most dark varieties in 
this species, is rather crippled; this fact being to my mind one strong point of 
evidence in favour of the theory, that disease is to a great extent the cause of 
variation in Lepidoptera.—Ip. 
Food-plants of Ewpithecia campanulata.—About a month since a friend wrote 
to me begging that I would send him a few larve of Eupithecia campanulata. I 
was much occupied at the time, and could not well manage to walk to the woods, 
rather more than a mile distant, where I have been in the habit of taking this larva 
on the seed-pods of Campanula trachelium ; so I turned out into the garden, where, 
amongst a collection of herbaceous plants, I have various species of Campanula 
growing. Ina short time I found the larva of this Ewpithecia on the following spe- 
cies:—Campanula persicefolia, media, latifolia, collina, patula, carpatica, rapun- 
culus, rapunculoides, urticefolia, and Phyteuma campanuloides. I gather from this 
that we may expect to find the larva of this moth on most (if not all) of the British 
Campanule.—H. Harpur Crewe, The Rectory, Drayton-Beauchamp, Tring, Sep- 
tember 19th, 1870. 
