20 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



him. Is it too rnuch to hope that at least one ei)tomologist in each 

 county will respond? — Richard South; 12, Abbey Gardens, St. John's 

 Wood, N.W. 



NoTODONTA DROMKDARius ON Hazel. — Re Mr. Gervase F. Mathews' 

 remark on hazel being an unusual food-plant (?) for N. dromedarius 

 (Kntom. XXV. 82l), Dr. Ernst Hofmann, in his new work on European 

 ]ef)i(lopterous larvae (part x. p. 67), now publishing in parts (Stuttgart, 

 18'J0-9^), says, "It lives in two broods, in July and S*^ptember, on birch, 

 alder, and hazel." — F. Bkomilow ; Nice, France, Dec. 9, 1899. 



OcNKRiA DTSPAR. — About 1S40 this species was abundant in England. 

 The late Mr. Henry Doubleday sent me a large number of specimens, and 

 I have forty-five of these in my collection at the present time. These old 

 specimens are quite one-third larger than the examples now bred in con- 

 finement, and the females have scarcely any markings. I have also 

 fourteen male specimens, bred by a collertor at Darlington, which are very 

 similar to ordinary females in coloration. — J. B. Hodkihson ; Ashton-on- 

 Kibble. 



" Ai'PLE-TREES AND WjNGLESS MoTHS." — Those who Can refer to the 

 ' Standard ' for October 19th, 22nd, and 25th, will find a curious and 

 interesting correspondence under this head. The two chief points brought 

 out are: — (1) A ling of cart-grease should be frequently applied round the 

 trunk to prevent the apterous females getting to the branches; but the 

 grease should be put " on bands of specially prepared grease-proof paper 

 tied lightly round the trunks," or the tree will be injured. (2) "All fruit- 

 growers know that a small percentage of female moths will ahvays be carried 

 up by the males." (The italics are mine.) Point No. 1, of course, is beyond 

 dispute. Can the same be said of No. 2 ? — J. Arkle ; Chester. 



[The following extract from a letter in the ' Standard ' of October 19th, 

 1892, is possibly what our correspondent refers to: — "I am informed by a 

 most experienced gardener and keen observer of insect pests that this ring 

 is of no use at all. That the female moth is wingless he admits, but the male 

 moth is provided with enough wing to carry two, and, as a fact, by the aid 

 of a lantern, he has observed the male moth hold the female moth and fly 

 up into the tree bearing her with him, an effectual way of passing the cart- 

 grease ring. — A. B. Morling; Ross, Herefordshire, Oct. 18. "J 



Unusual situation of the Pupa of Spilosoma lubricipeda. — In 

 the autumn of 1891 my children told me that they had found a lot of 

 " ermine " cocoons in a blanket. Fortunately they had not disturbed them, 

 and I was therefore able to note the following particulars. The blanket in 

 question is one of the ordinary brown description, and is used during the 

 winter months for covering over some rabl)it-hutches, and had lain 

 throui;liout the summer, folded up, on top of the hutches, at a height of 

 about eight feet from the ground, in an open shed under a corrugated iron 

 roof, which effectually sheltered it from the rain. On going to look, there 

 I lound, sure enough, some score of cocoons of a Spilosoma, neatly packed 

 between the folds of the blanket, and assimilating so closely with it in 

 colour as to be hardly noticeable. These I carefully removed to a breeding- 

 cage, and in due course they produced some fine specimens of Spilosoma 

 lubricipeda. On examining the same blanket this autumn, after its summer 

 rest in the same position, we again found it similarly tenanted. T am aware 

 that the larvae of this species are wanderers, often ascending to a consider- 



