go I Fuhniary, 



first brood appearing in September anrl October. The larvaj of this brood in most 

 years attaining maturity just as the corn was changing to the ear. They generally 

 attacked the stalk at the first or second joint nearest the head, when the latter would 

 bend down or break oif in a manner resembling the work of the Cecidomyia de- 

 structor ; so prodiguous were their numbers that whole fields of grain were sometimes 

 destroyed in a single night. It was the practice of the settlers to observe the 

 direction they were travelling, and by cutting a ditch with perpendioular walls to 

 intercept their progress : the ditch was then quickly filled with dry straw, which was 

 burned, or it was half filled with water, and thus they pei-ished in millions ; but the 

 most powerful agent in checking their ravages has been the introduced house sparrow 

 (Passer domesticus) , which incrca'sed at an unprecedented rate : in a few years after 

 its introduction from England, these " Plagues of Caterpillars " became a thing 

 of the past. 



In New Zealand, the larvse of many species of Lepidoptera feed on various plants 

 belonging to different Orders, and in each case the colouring of the larva assimilates 

 closely to the plant selected, but the choice of the introduced Cape broom {Genista 

 capensis) as the food-plant of the larva of M. polygonalis is remarkable for the close 

 assimilation of colours, and the protection it affords, and which has, I think, saved 

 the moth fi-om extermination years ago ; in some seasons the moth is more plentiful 

 than in others, but the larva is not yet free from the attacks of the industrious house 

 sparrow, as the latter may frequently be seen searching assiduously for them in the 

 neatly trimmed fences of Cape broom, which is planted to form neat fences around 

 gardens and other enclosures. The larvae rest during the day at full length upon 

 the pale greenish bai-k of the plant, while the minute white ridges of the bark 

 agree perfectly with the two white dorsal lines of the larva. I may remark that 

 bred specimens are generally much paler in their tints than those reared in a state 

 of nature. 



The happy hunting grounds of the older Entomologists in New Zealand are 

 gradually disappearing, as they have done in England, before the advancement of 

 agriculture ; another cause which will affect the economy of many species of 

 Lepidoptera in this country is the increased activity in the flax trade. The flax 

 plant {Phormium tenax) attains to perfection on moist or rich flats, and in some 

 districts covers hundreds of acres, and during the season of bloom the rich melliferous 

 flowers, borne on tall stems like a gigantic orchid, are a great attraction and support 

 to many species of Nocturnal Lepidoptera. In the month of December the flax 

 flats are among the best collecting grounds for Entomologists ; but at the present 

 time the knives of the flax cutters are everywhere busy, and no doubt should the 

 flax industry continue to flourish (and, commercially, we hope it may), we will at no 

 distant date speak of many of our finest species, as the older Entomologists of 

 England do of Polyommatus dispar, in days gone by. — W. W. Smith, East Belt, 

 Ashburton, N. Z. : November, 1889. 



Drepanopieryx phalcenoides, L., in Yorlshire. — I am able to place on record 

 another British example of this insect. My friend Mr. J. J. Walker, has given me 

 a specimen received by him from Mrs. Hutchinson. The locality being not quite 

 certain, I made enquiries, and have received a letter from Miss Hutchinson with the 

 following particulars ; — " I took it myself; it was captured on August 28th, 1886, in 



